Merry Christmas!!

This was such a fun Christmas this year. It was a little calmer than usual. Now, this may sound a little busy and crazy to some; but when you are lucky enough to live in the same city as both parents, holidays can be a little tricky. This year was so nice; we actually had some down time at home with the kids and were still able to see all the family we wanted (except for a few unlucky ones with the flu...)



We had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents house which was so much fun! Marc had to work until 7ish that night so it was nice to spend the evening with my family. Christmas morning Mom, Dad, and Ashley came over to see us open presents then we hurried to my parents' place to talk to my brother Justin who is serving a mission in Slovakia. It was so great to talk to him! He comes home in April so we are getting excited! After our talk we headed home to break in the Wii Santa brought. Marc's parents came over in the afternoon to visit and see what we got. Then we went to their house for a lovely dinner with the whole gang and had another great phone call from Marc's brother Roland who is serving a mission in Texas! He will be home in May!

I must say, Christmas as a mommy is a whole different ball game than I ever imagined. It is such a trick to get everyone something special, keep everyone focused on Christ, and not spend too much! Oh, but is it ever worth it! I look at these pictures and just love the joy on their faces. Their favorite things aren't even the ones that cost the most. Marc gave Grace and Jill their own little treasure chest (from Tai Pan) filled with chocolate coins (Sees) and taped a paper to the lid that was "Good for one girl to go to Pirate Island Pizza with her Dad"...Jill snuck away and ate ALL of the chocolate and then told Grace she had to share hers because hers was empty...


It gives me a whole new appreciation for my parents (ok really my mom because anyone who knows my dad knows he doesn't shop) and all the planning and secret keeping that went on during my childhood to make Christmas magical. So thanks Mom and Dad; not only for that but for always teaching us about Christ and His birth so that I know of Him and can now pass that knowledge on to my children. I know Marc feels the same way Gary and Betty!

Hope you all had as Merry of a CHRISTmas as we did!!
Love, The Browns













So there was no way I could put all the pictures I wanted on here so here are some slide shows of the rest for you! Enjoy!!

Let it SNOW!!

Here are some cute pics of the girls enjoying the first big snow storm this winter. After searching the city for possibly the last pair of snow boots in her size, Grace was finally able to go out and play. She just wanted to make snow angels the whole time. Jill on the other hand wanted to clean it up! Notice her smile as she shovels the sidewalk...gotta love these girls!

Thanksgiving!

Oh, Thanksgiving! I just love Thanksgiving. Those of you who know me well know that this is my very favorite holiday of the year. We get together with the ones we love and eat! We cook together, make new and old recipes together, visit, play games, and just enjoy each other's company. Outside the changing leaves are beautiful and we get to break out the cozy clothing! We dwell on the good; the things we are most grateful for. It is a time of reflection and gaining perspective. Life is good! There is so much to be grateful for! Have I convinced you yet? Well, if not, maybe the picture of the pies will sway you! Hope you had as good of a time as we did! Happy Holidays!

Uncle Dave was so good with baby Izzy. She loves him!


This is Katie, Jessie, Grace, and Jill making apple pies the night before Thanksgiving. So fun!





All dressed up and ready for the day!


Adorable! Need I say more?


She really wanted to eat with us!


Grace loves the Wii. This is her special bowling technique. She call it "jump spin." Somehow she always wins!


Aunt Stacy and my cousin Tyler


Uncle Dave with Katie and Jessie


What all of us wished we were doing...Marc and Izzy; so cozy!



Love those cousins!


More cousin love!


Grace with her bowling competitor Luke Champion; (he's practically a cousin too.)


Mmmmm....PIE!


Awww...so sweet! You'd never guess they were actually making some tooting noises with the phone! Go figure!

Fall Fun!

Lately we have been really busy having fun! It seems a good chunk of our family traditions take place in October. This is my favorite time of the year! I love the changing colors and cozy nights. I love decorating my house for Halloween too! There are so many fun things we do together this time of the year. Here are some of our favorite fall activities.
Around the first week of October we take a drive up the canyon to look at the beautiful leaves. We let the kids bring a bag and fill it with leaves to use for art projects when we get home. They love looking for the perfect leaves and all the colors. We also pick a leaf bouquet to display at home that stays up ‘til Christmas.



There is a fun little pumpkin patch down the street from my parents where we get our pumpkins. The girls had a lot of fun picking out their pumpkins and a “wittew wun fo Izzy” –Jill. They also had fun posing for pictures (as you can see!)









We have some pretty nifty pumpkin decorations for the girls so they don't have to carve them. They really don't like to scoop them out; and honestly, I don't like it much myself! So these little 'Mr. Potato Head' accessories work great for us! They look fun too!





Another fun thing we do is go to Witches Night Out at Gardner Village. Marc’s family (girls only!) dresses up and goes to a fun festival at a really cool outdoor shopping place. I made the girls witch costumes this year and we brought along our little friend Sadie (who looks like she belongs to me;) ) They had a great time dancing and dressing up with their cousins, aunties and friends.



This year we also attended the Scarecrow Festival with some friends. It was so much fun! I was a little hesitant because I thought that it would just be way too crowded but it was really great! There were so many toys and so much space that it was really fun! Grace had fun on the blow up slides and rock climbing wall and Jill really liked the cotton candy and shooting off rockets!





Isn't she the cutest?





Jill really didn't want to do anything at the festival. We couldn't get her on any of the blow up toys. She kept saying "Go backwards Daddy!" Finally Marc started back to the car when they came to the rocket launch. THEN she wanted to stay. She had seen it on the way in and was trying to get back the whole time. She must have shot her orange rocket off a dozen times...it would have been more if the side of it hadn't blown out.