this day...

so it is now 11:47 and i this is what my day has consisted of so far...(please note that I am still in my pj's, hair is a crazy mess, and i still haven't brushed my teeth)

made 2 beds

oatmeal for kena and abbie. which i later washed down the sink. it looked like puke NASTY! they are on their own tomorrow.

cold cereal for ella and preston

cleaned up breakfast

unloaded dishwasher

loaded dishwasher

made 3 lunches. 1 peanut butter and honey. 2 pband j's. cheetos, carrots and apples, and a baby candy cane:) ate a few cheetos for breakfast

changed a diaper

dressed ella

did 3 girl hair consisting of a side braid for kena, 2 braids for ella and helping abbie fix her pony

brushed ellas teeth

changed ella AGAIN! (seriously when is she going to get over her fear of the potty)

cleaned the front room and the kitchen

had the "yes you have to go to school today"conversation with 2 out of the 3 kids

inspected the kids bedrooms (yes we do inspections here cause they have a tendency to LIE about their rooms being clean. imagine that!)

had family prayers- no breakfast lesson today. oh well!

dumpster dived for abbie. apparently she really needed that pig thing i threw out

drove part way to the school in the snow to see if preston really wanted to walk in the snow. he did. UGH!!! drove back home

colored

cleaned up the bathroom

started a load of laundry

put the movies away that ella has spread over the family room

cleaned up hand sanitizer that was squirted on the couch. thank you ella

played playdoh

went through the receipts in my purse. that was a miracle in and of itself

balanced my checkbook

paid my bills

cut up my emergency credit card. realizing that i have an emergency fund for a reason so i don't need the credit card. thank you dave ramsey

checked on my parents

dressed ella again

did the happy dance when i got the call that we were on for bear lake this summer

gathered library books. i probably missed a few.

sent 3 texts

clipped ellas fingernails

painted said fingernails

snack for ella

put a band aid on a owie that i couldn't see

made ella a special pillow bed and started a movie for her

this list is for tonight when josh gets home and asks how my day went. i think i will go take a shower and brush my teeth. i have to actually do some stuff today:)

thursdays thoughts...

I have been so absent from the blogging world that I probably don't have any followers anymore! well for those of you that are die hard brown blog followers (my sister) here's what is on my mind today.

•    signed up for a 3 hour spin class. super excited about it. still thinking about taking my own bike and trainer (well Q's bike) since my fanny likes that seat better. i figure that if i am going to be sitting on it for 3 hours it should have a say right?
•  this giving up treats thing is not as easy as i want it it to be. when i went into the gas station for a diet coke i found myself walking very S.L.O.W.L.Y. by the donut case. OH MY they smelled SO GOOD!!! didn't buy one. HURRAY ME!
• speaking of diet coke i am limiting myself to three a week. in know i should just get rid of it all together but i LOVE it way to much and i would fail so "limiting" works much better for me.
• my computer has been hacked into so we are having it fixed. therefore no photos of the cute crafts that i have been working on. thanks eighteen 25 for the cute ideas:)
• broke my tooth on a sunday and Dr. Leishman met me at his office that day to fix it. LOVE that guy.
• during FHE josh was giving a lesson on how families are like a team and we have to work together to make things happen. kena raised her hand and said,"are peoples butts made out of fat or muscle? I am just wondering." what the heck??
• abbie put in her very own site yesterday!!! this is the big shot she has to get every couple of days. this is HUGE. giving yourself a shot is rough so this was a great accomplishment. way to go abbie!
• went to the school to check on abbie and when i walked into her classroom it smelled like poo and glue. NASTY!! one of the things i don't miss about teaching;)

I care...

have you ever had one of those days when you think no one cares about you? like you could fall of the face of the earth and no one would notice? like you are the last on the list or not important enough to even make the list? well i know this feeling well and yesterday when i talked to my bff she was have one of these kinds of days. this made me so sad because she is one of the most amazing women i know. 

 

This is my bff JENNIFER. 

(the finger and camera belong to sweet mason..hehe)

she is BEAUTIFUL, smart, TALENTED, thoughtful, selfless, spiritual, an amazing friend, loving, kind, incredible mom, the best shopper, always willing to laugh...cry...or listen, forgiving and she has a gift of making you feel like you are the most IMPORTANT person in the world.  i look up to her for all these QUALITIES. she has been and always will be a great EXAMPLE to me. i honestly don't know what i would do with out her. i can call her anytime and she will always be there. i feel like i have been so blessed to have her in my life these last 15 years and hope that i can be the FRIEND she needs too. i cherish our FRIENDSHIP. i hold dear all the times we have spent together from laying on the couch watching tv, trying on every shoe in the store, target shopping trips, weddings, disasters, crafting, and babies. did i mention that jen was my "mom" when i had preston?? yup! she held him and fed him his first bottle while i was in a drug induced coma. that is the kind of friend she is and i LOVE her for it. 

i love you jen!

season of thanks...

LOVE thanksgiving!!! This is one of my favorite holidays. When I was a kid (and now at 100) I looked forward to all my sisters coming to mom's in the morning to cook. Sometimes we would have my Aunts and Uncles over and all of us cousins run around crazy probably putting our mom's in the home. The smells....the food...yummy...my mom is the best cook!!!  Tomorrow will be a little different. Some of the family is out of town and others are at their other families this year. I know SAD huh??? Well never fear!! I am picking up my Diet Coke and heading to my mom's. We will eat one of the relish trays for breakfast and cook like mad. We will eat till we are stuffed, look at the ads, and my heart will be happy!

Asked my family what they were most thankful for this year...

Josh- a beautiful wife, healthy kids, the gospel, an education, career, friends/family,and freedom

Pam-MY FAMILY!!! The most important people in my life. I LOVE YOU!!

  Preston- my family, house, and grandparents

Abbie- family and friends

Mckena- my mom and dad, food, my teacher, and friends

Ella- brubber (brother)

Hope you get to spend thanksgiving with the ones you love also!

HaPpy tHaNkSgIvInG!!!

jarvis reunion and girls camp

We had planned to go camping for our Jarvis reunion but my Dad was scheduled for another back surgery the week before so we changed our plans. We camped out in my parents backyard so that Dad could participate as much as possible. We ended up having a great time. We had some yummy dutch oven chicken and potatoes and then Josh set up a movie outside for the kids

Ella followed Kenny's dog, Hemi, around for the whole 2 days

In the morning after pancakes and bacon we did mani's and pedi's for all the girls.

Ella thought it was bath time

k

Jessica planned a family version of Minute to Win it but we ran out of time but never fear we got together for FHE the next week and had so much stinkin fun. Sorry the pic's are on mom's camera:(

One of my favorite things to do this summer was girls camp!!!

We loaded up on Monday night and had the best week. Heber Valley Camp ROCKS!!! Of all the activities the girls liked the challenge course the best. Here they are after completing one of the challenges.

Cute huh??:)

Not only did I get to spend the week with my sweet girls but with some of the most amazing women I know

Here are 5 of the 8 members of the "Dream Team" 

I LOVE these ladies. They are truly amazing and I cherish my friendship with every one of them.

We made memories we will never forget:)

best vaca...

Took our kids to our favorite close to home vaca spot. BEAR LAKE! We filled our days with the sun, sand, water and shakes!

We stopped in Logan for a little lunch and of course the kids wanted to sit outside.

Went to the Minatonka Cave

Ella being funny:)

Spent most of our time here!

The water was warm and beautiful. The kids played...

dug...

rested...

and played some more!

Even though we used sun screen like crazy josh ended up like this

(hahah...he is going to kill me for posting this pic)

oh well :o)

I took the kids to the Pickelville Playhouse to see Bandito Rides Again. If you make it to Bear Lake you must spend an evening here. Never been disappointed.

Like I said the best vaca EVER!!!

annual brown celebrations

Every year the Brown's have super fun traditions. We ALWAYS have a fourth of July water party at Grandma's house and a camp out at the Chrisman park. We would miss either!!!

Josh spent some time feeding and loving on his new niece.

 Then tried to drowned Preston

 Abbie got in on the action
 and got both of them. We really did have a fun time and as always Grandma was the hostess with the mostest.

 The Chrisman camp out is a MUST every summer. We have a BBQ first and then the good stuff is pulled out. SMORES!!! I think Spence is as excited as the kids:)

 I LOVE this picture of Abbie and Mckena:)

 As you can tell Mckena is all girl. The purse of course when EVERYWHERE!

 Spence was super sweet with Miss Ella and helped her make a smore

She LOVED it! Surprise Surprise.

 We set up the tents but it was raining so we went inside for the movie. Then the Browns braved the weather and slept outside.

It wouldn't be a camp out if we didn't sleep in the tent!

Thanks Jo we had a GREAT time!!! 

See ya next year:)