Spoons in the Garden

In between allergy attacks, I've been trying to do some gardening. Just clearing the flower beds and planning. Under the leaves and brush, I have found several spoons. Because I don't want the kids to use my garden trowel(I bought a good one!), I've let the them use old spoons. I smiled when I found them.

Can you guess who made this in school? Fill panty hose with potting soil and grass seed. Decorate with eyes and antennae and water. Kinda creepy, huh? It's going downhill. One of the eyes fell off. Adria is glad I put it outside.

Eva's First Art Show

One of Eva's drawings was chosen for the community art show. The school's art teacher chose artwork from two or three students in each grade. Our home is littered with Eva's drawings and paintings. She always lets me know when we are low on crayons or markers. Adria teases that Eva uses so much paper she's responsible for several trees.


So here we have in the cubist style, Portrait of a Crazy Dude by Eva Brown, pastels on paper

My Boy Colin



When we first decided to homeschool Colin, I was unsure about whether it was the right decision or not. But he hated school, and that is not an exaggeration. Whatever the outcome will be, it is great to have him home. He has the quirkiest, wittiest sense of humor. At least once a day I am laughing with him.
Colin is also a great big brother. As soon as Liam was born, I wasn't able to keep the two apart. They wrestle, build forts and climb trees together. About the only time they argue is if Liam tries to "help" Colin play his guitar.
The past year has been one of incredible growth for Colin. He is now taller than me and gaining on Andrew. But I love the way he has matured and mellowed. He is becoming a responsible, thoughtful young man. As a mom, I'm proud of who he is becoming, but a little sad to lose my boy.

Easter Sunday



Today was stake conference at church. We had a broadcast from Salt Lake instead of the usual meetings. The day wasn't as sunny as yesterday, but we took a family picture anyway. It was a bit chilly.

Egg Hunt

We took the kids to an Easter egg hunt at the Shepherd's home today. They are a family from church and all the kids from church were invited. There were over 1000 eggs for all the kids to find.

Liam in Action


Sweet Eva Grace


Noah decided he needed to share eggs with Liam who wasn't offering any resistance.

My Favorite Seven Year Old

As all moms know, you can't have favorites. My kids will ask me who my favorite is, and it's hard to explain, as a parent, you just don't have 'favorites'. I love each of my children for who they are and what they bring to the family. But they love it when I say, "Your my favorite baby boy" or "Your my favorite teenage girl". It helps because of the birth order and distance between the kids that I have pretty much two sets of kids. The older ones and the younger ones, and there is one of each gender in each set.

Eva was born with a joyful, happy spirit. She always has a smile on her face and a giggle in her voice. I love that she brings me dandelions and hate to tell her that they are really weeds and don't like them in my yard. As a baby we called her "Princess Angelbaby". I said it was because God just wrapped up one of His angels and sent her to me. She loves that and the story and now we just call her Princess.
She loves to read and always wants to take books we own to school. One day I watched her walking home from the bus stop reading the whole way. She looked so much like Andrew in that moment. She's my only child that will come to tell me it's time for bed. No kicking and screaming her way to bed like I did as a child. And she's asleep in five minutes.
Everyone is Eva's friend. In no time, she'll know all about you. She also has a deep sense of family and asks questions about extended family members. She's especially fascinated by those who have passed on like her Grandpa Charlie.

We love this dimply girl with the bright eyes and big smile!

Miscellaneous Happenings


The last few weeks have been a bit busy. Seasonal allergies seem to have us moving in slow motion even when life would dictate going at the speed of light. Thankfully, the school year is coming to an end and summer is on the horizon.

We traveled to Iowa City for cousin Jonathan's baptism. Eva and Liam enjoyed playing with cousin Yoroko and their new cousin Gabriel.


We were only missing three of the Brown cousins.




I'm so glad my kids are friends.


We've also had multiple guitar lessons(Colin), piano lessons(both girls), a trip to Florida(Andrew), replaced our stove, had the daffodils bloom one week and snow the next aside from all the daily events of life.

The Things I Deal With When Andrew is Out of Town

Sadly, we have to report that Madison, the goldfish, passed away late Friday evening. She had been a little sluggish for a few days and was found belly up on Saturday morning. As is customary in cases like these, Madison was flushed away to the great beyond. Tears were shed and Liam spoke at the services by proclaiming, "Fishy dead", over and over. Before the tears even had time to dry the question was asked if we could now get a dog.

We anticipate looking for a new fish over spring break. Since our luck with Wal-Mart fish is awful, we will try the local PetCo. We are also suggesting that the names of friends not be used for pets.

Sellers Beware: My Kids are Smarter Than You

We tend not to watch the main tv networks so we get to see a lot of interesting commercials. Colin has decided he wants a Hoveround and a collapsable grabber so he can travel to the Statue of Liberty and never have to bend to pick up anything again. He also knows all the words to the freecreditreport.com commercials. Eva asked me several times if I had any gold to sell until I told her that those ads were a scam. Adria likes to sing along to the Pep Boys commercials and has a little, bouncy dance for it. And whenever Liam sees any toy he likes he yells, "That's mine!".
Adria has been learning about the techniques that advertisers use in her graphic design class. She can't look at a commercial or ad in a magazine the same way.
As for me, I love that I can watch shows on Hulu without all the extras.

Miscellaneous Happenings

Lately, my blog posts have been spotty. We are in the busy part of the semester and the school year. Andrew left on Friday for Argentina. He'll be there for ten days leading a group of students around the main province.

Eva woke not long after 7am this morning and by 8am was out the back door playing. It was in the 60s and just a little overcast. From the smell coming though my bedroom window, I can tell a neighbor is grilling. I am glad that spring is on the way. The cold makes my bones creak.

I cut down a small tree/oversize bush from the corner of the house yesterday. The branches are in the back yard waiting for me to chop them. Eva and Liam have made a game out of playing in them. Each has there own 'house' complete with bedrooms and kitchens. It's better than having them build forts in the dining room. Soon I'll be able to send them outside every day.

Stowaways with Great Hair

It's that time of year for Andrew to jet around to conferences, symposiums and whatever else he's up to these days. Liam decided he would try to hide in Andrew's luggage. I have a similar picture of Colin at that age somewhere. Do you think I can stowaway in Andrew's luggage, too?


For Andrew's recent birthday, Liam insisted on balloons. It just isn't a party without them. He and Eva discovered the rub the balloon against your head and stick it to the wall trick. The result is Eva walked around for a few days with shocked head of hair. Below is a tame version of her hair. Midnight was none too pleased about having his picture taken let alone being strangled like that.

"Letting the Days Go By... You May Ask Yourself, How Did I Get Here?"

Friday the 13th can be a day of eerie, odd and just plain, crazy happenstance. Most of these days come and go, but this one is one to remember. Adria received her permit to drive today. She has now passed the written exam, has a license and will be learning the nuances of driving. It feels eerie, odd and crazy that she's driving. Can she be that old? How did little Applejacks get to this point? I know time flies so I shouldn't be surprised. She has been talking of which colleges to apply to and one would think it would occur to me that she'd be getting a driver's license before that happened. But she's still my little girl who likes to cuddle up with me and tries to sit in my lap.

Snow Days Bring Unexpected Visitor

We have been experiencing our first big snowstorm of the season. Yesterday was ice and sleet which made the roads slick. Last night brought the snow. We've measured about 6 inches of snow in the back yard which for us is a lot. The kids are enjoying the time off from school. Liam keeps grabbing handfuls of snow, throws them in the air and yells, "Snow Fight!" Sadly, no one has taken him up on it yet.


A reminder to me that my beloved summertime is still far away.


We did have one, nice surprise. A Cooper's Hawk landed in our backyard. We quickly googled hawks and were able to easily identify him. No doubt he knew my yard was infested with moles, rabbits and the notorious squirrels. I couldn't get close for a good picture. He was, unfortunately, scared away before helping me with my critter problem by Liam's hawk imitation.

Furnace Blues

We made an important discovery this week. After noticing it was getting cold in the house, we realized our furnace was turning on, then switching off a few minutes later. After calling the best furnace guy on the planet, he let us gently know that it was dead. While we were lamenting the spending of thousands on a new one, he called the manufacturer and "Hip, Hip Hooray" it was still under warranty. Our fifteen year old furnace still had five years left. What could have been like losing a limb turned into a stab in the toe. Painful, but not debilitating. The furnace guy brought by space heaters for the night so we wouldn't freeze in our beds. All and all not a bad experience.

Comedy Central

Liam has begun telling 'knock, knock' jokes. Granted with his speech delay we usually can't understand most of what he says, but it is adorable to hear him. And his jokes are at the typical, three year old's level.

"Knock, knock" "Who's there?" "Apple" "Apple who?" "Apple tree"

We also have variations using bananas, pears, etc. After a while he begins grabbing at random words and phrases he knows. Once in a car ride home from church, he had us laughing so hard no one could speak. We have tried to teach him ones that make sense, but he acts like ours are the nonsense ones. He also has begun saying his name which for him is a huge accomplishment. For days, we would ask him what his name was just to hear, "Weeum Bown".

If You Haven't Found It, Then You Haven't Looked Everywhere

A couple of days ago, Colin asked me to come downstairs and use some of my Mommy Skills. When I asked what he was talking about, he replied that he wanted me to come down and find the remote because he had looked everywhere. Every few days someone asks, "Mom(or Amy for Andrew), I've looked everywhere, where is my______?" Even after telling them where to look, I usually go find it. As Grandma Virginia would say, 'if it was a snake it would have bit them'. So, I suppose that finding objects undetectable to anyone else in the house is one of my mommy skills. Which leads to me to ponder what abilities do I possess that are only highly rated by my family. Being able to find dinner in a pantry full of food when no one else can is one. Another one is checking the tire pressure on the car. When the house is quiet and the basement door shut, I know the kids are up to no good. Adria and Colin are finally figuring out that while I might not literally read their minds, I have a pretty good idea what they are thinking. Eva and Liam still aren't sure how I know they are fibbing or able to detect that the cat's about to go down the laundry shoot or that the glass of water isn't to drink, but going in the Barbie swimming pool which isn't an inside toy.

There are some skills I would like to develop. Unlimited energy and the ability to avoid all cold and flu viruses would be at the top of the list. Those will probably come in the next lifetime. As for Colin, I think he's catching on. He found the remote before I made it downstairs. It was right where I told him it would be.

Winter Cold

I am a warm weather person. I love the spring and summer times of the year. You won't find me venturing out much once the temperatures dip below 30F. This winter we've had periods of windy cold in the teens, rainy cold, snowy cold, temperatures in the 60s one day and 30s the next and anything and everything in between. We even were under a tornado watch two days before icy weather. Enough already! All of this makes it rough for the sinuses. We have been passing a cold around. Just one of those normal, annoying winter colds. With me, it takes longer to get over them and exhaust me. It's only the 5th of January and I'm ready for the warm weather of April and May. At the least, the weather could stabilize and give us a reprieve from all the colds and viruses that come with the winter cold.

Livin' It Up on New Year's Eve

I spent New Year's Eve eating creme puffs and eclairs and watching a CSI marathon with Colin. Andrew was at the New Year's youth dance with Adria. He went as the bishopric presence at the dance, but I think he secretly wanted to see who his fifteen year old daughter was dancing with. Eva was in usual form with, "Mom, it's past my bedtime. I better go to bed!" It's nice to have one kid that doesn't kick and scream her way to sleep. Liam, however, rolled around trying to sit on Colin's head until he finally passed out. It was probably all the sugar since he and Eva discovered that they like eclairs which according to them tastes like they have 'melted ice cream' in the middle. After years of staying up past midnight with sick kids or insomnia or whatever else parenthood and adulthood brings, New Year's Eve has lost its mystique. The days of watching Dick Clark and the shiny, glittery ball drop on Times Square and wishing I were there are gone. Even venerable Dick Clark is on his way out to be replaced, I presume, with faux-DJ Ryan Seacrest who I'm not sure has actually seen or held a vinyl record. New Year's Eve is definitely not my holiday. Now the last day of school: there is day I can still celebrate like a teenager.

Notes from Christmas

Life has been busy, but I thought I'd share a few moments from the past few weeks

*The Nativity Reenactment: We decided to start a new tradition and act out the nativity. Originally, Liam was set to be baby Jesus. At the last minute, he decided to wear an old Harry Potter cape-costume since everyone else was in costume. Then he began making these hawk-like Caah noises and flapping his arms. When asked what he was he said a bat. So a Christmas bat is now part of our nativity scene.

*Santa's Cookies: Eva wanted to leave cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and water for the reindeer. Santa ate all the cookies, but one and drank the milk. One carrot was left with nibble marks out of it. But with no chimney, how did Santa get in? Too many questions and I'm not sure Santa will survive this next year for Eva.

*Casual Christmas Morning: It felt good to have a cosy gift opening and then a lazy Christmas Day. We love our families, but not having to rush around this year was nice. On a different note, we are all sick of ham leftovers.

*Wedding Reception: Adria and I helped man the kitchen for a wedding reception in our ward. It was exhausting and fun. I learned a lot about logistics, organization, food and venues for wedding receptions. It won't be too many years before I have to start thinking about these things. Yikes!

*Crazy Weather: We have had days where the high temp was in the teens and ice or snow on the ground. Then the past few days, weather in the 50s and even 60s with LOTS of rain. Too much of a variation all at once, has our sinuses going crazy.

*Church Zaniness: Our ward rotates starting times with the other wards in the building every year. Starting next week, we will be going at 1pm. I keep telling myself it's better than the 3pm we once had in Virginia. We also had the opportunity to go to tithing settlement with our 'bishop'. One of those odd moments in a long first year as the bishop's family.

*Late Hours: We are a family that naturally likes to stay up late. Over the break, we've been slowly edging back our bed times. Of course, this makes for cranky people and throws off the next days schedule. Last night everyone was ordered to bed early. The kids were great probably due to Christmas vacation exhaustion. Now, if only, I could fall asleep early.

We wish all our friends and families a Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year's and Best Wishes in the upcoming year!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...And We Ate Chinese Food

All of December has been hurling along to this one day, Christmas. Too many activities, too much food and too much shopping. Last night, I decided takeout from our local Chinese restaurant was in order. I had already been in the kitchen preparing for today. The last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner. Of course, no one complained. Give the kids chicken fried rice and their tummys were happy. While I continued to bake pie crusts, we watched A Christmas Story. You've gotta love Ralphie and his quest for the perfect Christmas present.

By 6:30am, we assembled in the living room for presents. Apparently, Eva had been checking the clock every hour since 4am. Adria was ready for her to just get the suspense of "Did Santa come?" over. Sadly, I think this is the last year for the Santa myth to exist for Eva. She's had too many questions and too many naysayer friends. But there is still Liam to keep Santa alive.

Merry Christmas!!