Merry Christmas! Love, The Browns

Look at my cute husband

We got our annual invite to the Carter's Christmas party and this was the picture they used. It's fantastic! Seth told me he thinks he was trying to be a tough guy in the picture. just thought I would let everyone else see this awesome picture.

Are You Kidding Me #13

FYI Jennifer Aniston:

I no longer care for you. I liked friends, I liked the "Rachel" cut. But I'm sooooo over you! Recently you were quoted in a magazine saying "I don't get why people care (about me), it's none of their @!#? business". Are you kidding me? Really... if you feel like that than why pose for GQ wearing nothing but a tie(I would post the picture, but it falls under what I consider porn). That picture disgusts me. I'm tired of women degrading themselves. I'm also tired of celebrities pretending they "don't like the attention", but then doing anything and everything to get attention.

So, farewell Jen. I'm done with you...and your friend Oprah.

Gingerbread Fun

My grandma gave us some yummy

gingerbread men and we had fun decorating them. Actually I think Seth and I had fun decorating them and Bella had fun eating the icing and candy.

Mistake

A few months ago after the reunion I posted that Christy Hepworth has 9 children. Apparently that is not true. She found me on facebook and some of you already know this, she has 6 boys. Anyway I feel like I should clear that up since I was the one who said it. Also I guess I learned my lesson about getting information from people who might be drunk, even if they sound like they know what they're talking about.

My little performer

A few months ago I signed Bella up for a group called Sunshine Generation. I guess I must live under a rock because I seem to be the only person who had never heard of this group.

I have been so happy with them! The kids learn songs and dances and just have fun. Everything about this group is innocent. As you can see from their costumes (they haven't changed since the 70's).

Bella has so much fun and seems to have found her calling in life.....performing! Not that she's the best by any means (I say that with love). Just that she loves to be front and center and seems to have no problem being in front of a crowd. I wish I could put the video on, from the performance. At one point I was laughing so hard I cried. And then the next minute I was just beaming, because I was so proud of her! I love being a parent! I can't wait for March, when she has her next performance.

This is Bella's friend Maleah, who happens to Andrew Taylor's niece. Small world. I remember when Matt & Teresa had their baby. Oh wait he's 11, I guess that's not a baby. (That makes me feel old)

The girls are so cute together.

Birthday Week

Here are just a few pictures from Bella's birthday week. We started the morning off with our traditional breakfast and presents in bed. I over heard her telling someone at church that she got "FREE breakfast in bed". She got to take one friend to the Tree House Museum in Ogden. (That was my first time and I'm seriously wondering why I've never been there before. That place was awesome!)This is the girls dressed up as pioneers. The girls had so much fun. I can't wait to go back.

Dinner at California Pizza Kitchen

A family party for Bella and Luke, who share a birthday. Bella's friend Kim, who works at Parsons, made her cake. The princesses even light up.

What a fun week. Can't wait until next year! Love you!

Happy Birthday Bella

Today my sweet little Bella turns 4 years old. I feel I should pass on one important lesson to you. Exploit your birthday! I will basically do whatever you want (within reason) when it comes to your birthday. Seth take note, the same goes for you and Claire. I live by this motto. Which is why my birthday tends to last 3 weeks. It's fantastic!
Wow! I can't believe it was only 4 years ago that you came into my life. I was in the darkest most unhappy place and then you were born and changed everything! You made life worth living, even when I thought otherwise. Those first few years when it was just us were so special to me. (to be fair, dad did come into our lives when you were 7 months. you were always so happy when he came around!)But we did have some special times, just the 2 of us. I was and am so blessed to have you in my life. Here are just a few of the many things we love about you.

You are the most social outgoing child

You love church

You love and play with your little sister so well

You are very smart

You are very obedient

You take naps with me

You make us laugh

You have the best imagination

You love going to Utah football games with dad

You say I am your best friend

We hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy the rest of your birthday week. (pictures to come) We are so proud to be your parents

Love , Mom & Dad

Tis The Season

This is my neighbor Larry's front yard. (If you click on the picture you can get a closer look at everything) He stores all of this in our back yard. Every year he tells me he's not going to buy any more lawn ornaments and every year he does. Infact as I was taking this picture he pointed out the 3 new things he had added to the front yard and then proceeded to tell me about everything that's now in the back yard. Yes, that's right, he lights up the back yard with lawn ornaments! Oh bless his heart. He really is such a nice man that gets such a kick out of being the one on the street "to go all out", as he puts it. I love this time of year. It brings a smile to my face, even when I can't get to sleep because the light show across the street is to bright.

Let The Games Begin

You'd think these people love BYU or something

Ok I know I look crazy. I was just so excited from our little mission

In honor of the big BYU/Utah game my friends and I thought we would play a little prank on one of the biggest Utah fans we know. Our good friend Joe. Since Joe can't stand BYU we thought it would be good if he woke up to BYU stuff all over his house. (For the record, Seth would have no part in this.) On our way over Marianne and I got a little pep talk from her husband Rick. His biggest rule was; get all your talking and giggling out before we get there. I have to say we were doing so well. No talking, just working. Then we heard something at the door. We tried to hide, but in all the rush I started giggling and Marianne jumped behind a bush. I followed and pushed her back (yes, she's 7 months pregnant) making more noise. Turns out Jenny thought her door wasn't closed. Note: it was not due to us making noise. She laughed and let us finish what we started. Rick, however was not impressed with our prank skills and has banned Marianne and I from any future pranks. Come on Rick, we'll do better next time I promise! I think it turned out great. Rick even got a BYU licence plate cover over their Utah one.

Poor Joe though. He has so many BYU fans that want to get him that he couldn't figure out who did it. His wife had to tall him. We love ya Joe!

Thanks mom for helping me.

If you have kids read on.......

I just wanted to tell everyone about a company called Santa Letterz. Check out their web site and the youtube link. It explains everything. Oh and this is for my brother Scott's company. He is a partner, and still works at Noahs. In case you were wondering. let me know what you think. I'm sure he would like the feed back as well.
http://www.santaletterz.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxDIUJ1pZAk&eurl=http://www.santaletterz.com/blog/category/santa/

Are You Kidding Me #12

This post is for my cousin Jami and anyone else that cares. She recently did a post called confessions. I was reading it thinking are you kidding, she's actually telling people these thing. Like the fact she loves high school musical. But as I read it, I really enjoyed it, mostly because it put a smile on my face. So I thought I would do a little confessing myself. Some of you might also read this and think are you kidding, why is she telling us this, we don't need to know that. But oh well. Here goes.
1. I once had a non-sexual crush on a married 60 year old man I worked with. Yes it's true. He was amazing. He moved to the states from Tonga, learned English, joined the church, got his Masters degree(with the help of his wife) had 11 kids; 6 who served missions and was an amazing mentor to the kids we worked with in jail. The more I think about my crush, I think it was admiration. But it got your attention.
2. I lie. A lot. Some times I don't even notice. Like when I bring you amazing soup and you ask if I made it myself and I say yes. What I mean is I bought it at Marie calendars. It's so bad that a few weeks ago we were at a family thing and I guess I lied about something. When we got home I noticed my mistake and asked Seth why he didn't correct me, he said "Oh I thought it was just one of those things you lie about." Now that's a good husband.
3. I have no fashion sense. It's true. I can some times pull off a good outfit, but most days I'm one step away from wearing white socks and tevas. Which I hear is a fashion fax puo.
4. I usually have more than one treat a day, but I'll tell you I only had one. (see #2)
5. I have a guilty pleasure that I watch on E!. I won't tell you what it is, you might judge me.
6. I didn't like Twlight. If you read my blog over a year ago, you already knew this. And please don't try and get me to read it again.
7. I saw Elton John in concert a few years ago and paid $200 for one ticket. Awesome concert, but what was I thinking blowing money like that?
8. I love doing cross word puzzles. The only other people I know who like doing cross words are my dad and Stanly from The Office. Does that make me a nerd?
9. I hate driving. I'm a horrible driver and I totally admit it. Some day when we find a money tree I'll get myself a driver. Until then I guess I'll be driving.

Man that felt good. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Now the question is, will I still have friends after you read this?

I Heart My Girls

A few months ago my friend Adrian from the ward offered to take pictures of my girls. I have to say she down played the whole thing and made it sound like she wasn't that much of a photographer. Then a few days ago I was looking on my friend Jenny's blog and noticed her amazing family pictures. They were done by Adrian and they were awesome. I was so impressed I called the next morning and set up an appointment. She later told me she was nervous. I would have never guessed. She was professional and great with the kids. She was able to snap 162 pictures. I even got in on a few of them.
Anyway, thanks again Adrian. I love them!! Oh and thanks Jen for letting us use your back yard. You could charge for that, you know? Your backyard is beautiful. But maybe wait for the next person who wants to use it.

Hallelujah it's almost over!!!!

I am so excited for tomorrow to be over! I decided that I wouldn't blog about politics this year. It seems to me that people either think they know what they're talking about and they really have no idea, or they do know what they're talking about and it scares me. Either way I'm so excited that tomorrow everything will end. Locally and nationally.

A few things that I won't miss: The debates- I never got to actually hear much about what the politicians thought because they were both too busy bashing each other. The Ads- again slamming the other person and nothing about the issues. Judgemental Utah Mormons-(I won't go there) Ellen Degeneres- We get it you support prop. 8! Elizabeth Hasselback- We get it you're a republican! The one thing I did enjoy.......SNL.

Wish me luck tomorrow. I'll be the dumb one who put off voting, and waited until the last day, standing in line with 2 kids.

Halloween Time Part 2

Taking treats to our friends

Dad, The Girls & The Witches

Bella & Jaci

We did a few more things this week and I had to add them. Make cookies with friends, visit the witches at Gardener Village, and take Halloween treats to our friends. Halloween with kids is so fun! Thanks girls for making it that much better.

Halloween Time Part 1

Tonight we went to our wards annual trunk or treat. We all love this. It's so fun to see all the kids dressed up. Bella went as a ballerina and Claire was Minnie mouse. In the past Seth and I have been a little more creative with our costumes, but this year I felt like it came to fast. Anyway we did the best with what we had. Seth was such a good sport, as always, for dressing up. (He's wearing his dads pants)
Being the party hoppers that we are, Bella and I headed off to Salt Lake for another Halloween party after the trunk or treat. Claire and Seth were too tired. But we had a great time. Thanks Alisha for telling us about it. It was put on by the Hess/Hunt families and was free, all they asked was that people brought food donations for the Utah food bank. This party was probably the coolest one I've been to in a long time. The theme was circus. There was a man on stilts, a big screen tv with a kids movie, pony rides, games & prizes, a bouncy castle, and lots and lots of food! They had scones and I actually gave in and had one. So worth it! We hung out with some of our Okland cousins and even grandma Okland made it out dressed as a skeleton.
Such a fun weekend. I don't get Bella's new smile. She thinks it's so funny.

Grandma Okland & Bella

The Girls

The Brown Families

Running with dad

Seth decided to go for a run with the kids tonight. We got them all ready for the cold weather, borrowed our friends Burley(thanks Stewart's), and he was off. I'm pretty impressed with him. I don't know if he realized it or not, but he was pushing over 50lbs. Awesome! I had to get a picture because the kids looked so freaking cute all bundled up. Love it, Love it, Love it!!

Family Weekend

This past weekend my parents had a condo in Park City. We had so much fun playing cards, staying up late, shopping, making crafts with the kids and just being together. We also got a tour of Noah's, where Scott works. Everyone needs to check it out. I was going to take pictures, but that wouldn't do it justice. If you're wondering what Noah's is, check out their web site http://www.mynoahs.com/.

Hi, I'm Amy and I'm Addicted to Treats

I have a serious problem. I can't go a day without a treat. I've tried and believe me when I tell you, you don't want to be around me on those days. My problem is so bad that my kids and I are on a first name basis with the workers at a local bakery. What blows my mind is that I know people who are disciplined enough to go without it. I have some friends, who will remain nameless, that only have it on the weekends. Even crazier than that, is my neighbor who allows herself a treat just one day a month. Who are these people? Have they lost their minds? I'm all for loosing weight, but I found when I went without treats I was just mean. It wasn't worth the pounds. I have however, decided that I must put some restrictions on my habit. For now I'm restricting myself to one treat a day. I think that's reasonable. If there is anyone else out there like me, take comfort knowing you're not alone!

Winter is here

I guess I better just embrace winter. Because it's here whether I like it or not. (But I have to admit she does looks so cute in her snow clothes)

Men are from mars

Of course I've always known there's a huge difference between the way men and women think, but I tend to forget. Case in point. Today I came home from the grocery store and couldn't wait to tell Seth all about my great deals. I won't bore everyone with all my finds, but one included frozen vegetables that were on sale for .99, plus I had a coupon for $1.00 off. Yes, they were free!! Anyway, I had many other great deals like that and I was so excited to talk about them. I mean, literally I drove home from the store with a huge smile on my face because of all the money I had saved. I came in and started telling Seth all about my deals and what does he say? "That's great, good job". I was expecting a little more excitement. I know for a fact that many of my girlfriends would be just as thrilled about my purchases as I was.
Oh well. I'm glad we think differently and don't get excited about the same things. (like Seth and football). Next time I have a great day at the grocery store, I'll just have to call a girlfriend, who also gets excited about grocery deals. Anyone interested?

If Only...

Last night I woke up to Bella crying. I went in her room and she said she had a bad dream and could she please sleep in our room. Kids almost never sleep in our room, but how could I say no?
A few hours later I turned over to watch her laugh, while sleeping. It just brought a smile to my face. She was so peaceful and very happy. Even in her sleep. Being a kid is great! They really have no worries. If only adults could be that carefree and happy all the time.

Fall Is Here

I LOVE fall! I would be happy if it was fall all year round. I HATE winter and I'm not to fond of 100 degree days in the summer. But fall is perfect.

So today I got out all of our winter clothes. Of course Seth was wearing shorts. It really wasn't that cold, but it definitely felt chilly. I need to get some pictures in the leaves. Those are the best. I did get one of the girls in their sweaters and one with Seth and his mini-me in their Utah gear before the game on Thursday.