Granny Diann's Oasis

Eva insisted on taking posing and taking pictures in Granny Diann's backyard. She had specific thoughts on the photo shoot and recruited Adria to pose with her.

Vacation: Oklahoma Style

We have had a good time visiting family in Oklahoma. The kids have enjoyed cousins, swimming and the all important sno-cones. Everyone was enjoying the sno-cones too much to have time to take a pic. Maybe later.

Currently, Andrew and Colin are at Scout camp. I have to admit that I've always been a little skeptical of a group of boys running around in the woods in paramilitary uniforms, setting fires and sharpening knives. And this was before I knew about the rifle or the shotgun shooting merit badges which I will get to in a minute. Apparently, my son has taken to Scouting like a mosquito on the back of my ankle. He is thriving at camp, has a good attitude and does whatever is asked of him. Where did this kid come from? Just a year ago, we were worried about him enough to pull him from public school and homeschool him. Gone is the sullen, moody kid. What has arrived is a tall, respectful, responsible and dare I say happy young man. An interest in Scouting is just one of the changes in Colin. Playing the guitar has given him an artistic outlet. He has always had a good ear and can quickly pick up rhythms and notes. Having something that he is really good at has given him confidence. So about that merit badge. One of the badges Colin is working on is the rifle shooting one and he's loving it. A year previous I would have been wary, today I'm thoughtful and optimistic about where he is headed in life.

Fourth Fireworks

Last year, we spent the Fourth at outhouse races in Vermont. This year we trekked down to Kirkwood (neighboring town) for their annual fireworks display. I have to say we were more inclined to lounge around the house and watch the PBS display. But some good friends called and asked/begged us to come down. I'm glad we went. They had an amazing display with our favorite being one that looked like a waterfall which continued to "flow" for a while. The kids also liked the one that looked like a Happy Face.

Summertime

Last year we had our great Vermont adventure. This summer is a lot more laid back and slow paced. We have a couple of summer camps, speech therapy for Liam and music lessons for the rest, but for the most part the kids and I are hanging out. I did buy a big plastic pool for the kids. It has provided hours of fun and quiet time for mom. The only thing missing is a good sno-cone stand like we have back home or a Creamee stand like those in Vermont.

A Need For Caller ID

Phone Call

Adria: Hello?
Caller: Can I speak to Andy?
Adria: (handing me the phone since no one calls Andrew "Andy", at least if they know him well) Mom, I think it is a telemarketer for Dad.
Me: Hello?
Caller: Hi, is this Amy?
Me: Yes
Caller: Hi, this is Andy's ex-wife Crystal. (Pause) Do I have the right Andy and Amy Brown?
Me:(Trying not to laugh) Nope. Sorry, but my husband was never married before me.
Caller/Crystal: Oh, I'm sorry.
Me: That's okay there are millions of Amy Browns in the world.

There are lots of people with my and Andrew's names. Even at the doctor's office I have to give additional info for them to find me in the computer. We won't even discuss Andrew's first name. We have tried to give the kids more unusual names so they won't have this problem. Adria has no problem, Eva does fairly well, Colin will only have real trouble if he ever lives or travel in Britain and Liam? Well, Liam has the most common name. After his birth, Liam's popped up everywhere. But I know my Liam (and all my children) is one of a kind.

Monsoon Season

Of course, my son(that's the 12 year old not the 4 year old one) decided the back yard made the best slip-n-slide. My new camera picks up the rain well enough to create a blur across the pics.

Preschool Survivor

Liam's preschool year ended with a picnic. All of his friends were there. He loves preschool so much we've already had a hard time explaining the summer vacation concept. But time will fly and he'll be back to the Bumblebee classroom in the Fall.

Last class day with Miss Amanda, teacher's aide, and Jade.


Liam with Sammi on the far left and Jade in the middle. Not a day went by that I didn't hear something about Sammi and Jade.


Liam also loves his buddy Max. He and Max share a love for monkeys and ringing the bell in class.


Miss Jen was Liam's speech pathologist/miracle worker. We can't sing her praises loud enough.


Miss Jill is his amazing teacher. Liam didn't want his pic taken as it meant we were about to leave the park.


Liam also has a great time with Miss Janie. She is a teacher's assistant in the classroom who happens to be a speech therapist. She also takes care of the car pool lanes and keeps the parents from crashing into the buses or each other. Liam, like Eva. is a social butterfly. All the kids ran up to play with Liam when he arrived to the picnic. Thankfully, a few will attend his elementary school when it's time to go there.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Rain couldn't stop our ward's annual Memorial Day picnic. The kids didn't mind getting wet. Eva and Liam trooped through the puddles in rain boots. The Young Men in the ward played football during downpours. Thankfully, everyone had eaten by the time the rain started so people could leave early if they wanted. I'm glad the lady in charge decided to do pulled pork sandwiches instead of grilling burgers. The rest of the day was spent napping and watching old Farscape episodes.





Colin is the blur in the orange shirt behind the quarterback!

Go Faster: The Training of a St. Louis Driver



Liam has become a back seat driver. Our daily journey to preschool has become a driving lesson for him. He was very concerned about all the stopping until I explained that the light was red, I had to stop or a police man would give me a ticket which would mean less money for his McDonald's cheeseburgers. Now in addition to when and where to turn, he lets me know that the light is now green and I need to step on it. He also tells me to "honk horn" when a slow driver or "crazy dude" is in front of us. Where does he get this stuff? :-)

A week ago his class talked about stop lights and made these cute stoplights. When Liam came to the car, I thought I would give him a quiz on the meaning of each light.
"What does the red mean?"
"Stop"
"And the yellow?"
"Go faster"
"And green" (Barely being able to keep from laughing)
"GO!!!"
Indeed, where does he get this stuff?

Mother's Day Birthdays

Today was our sweet, little Liam's birthday. And what does our little monkey deserve on this day? A monkey cake, of course. I made it while he was in bed last night.


He bounced out of bed and found a pirate ship waiting for him. He skipped breakfast just to play with it. I think it was a good choice.



One of Liam's request(demands) had us wearing birthday hats. EVERYONE had to wear them.


Andrew made french toast for all of us this morning. Eva has been showering me with cards and gifts all week. Colin and Adria helped with the kids during sacrament. I have some great kids and think I will take a nap.

***Did you notice the chocolate on Liam's face before he had cake? Such a cheeky monkey.

Spring Music

Eva and Adria performed in the spring piano recital. Eva was nervous as she's only been playing a few months. She did a great job.


In our opinion, Adria deserved Best in Show.




The only way to keep Liam quiet was by giving him an IPod.

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.