4 to 2

We were ALL thinking it was going to be a girl. A nice little Brady Bunch. Soon after we started the ultra-sound it was VERY clear we were having a BOY! I don't know why we were surprised, I mean there are only two choices here. But everything looked good (which was my main concern) and it's nice to know which names to start focusing on.

My Family has been going to the 4th of July Parade in Provo for over 30 years. We have all had our chance to "sleep" over to save our usual spot. This year Todd, Brigham, and Mallory had their turn. My Dad set out the stuff early on July 3rd and Todd and the kids came later that night. Everything went well, except for the 1:00am downpour. But of course they still had a great time. Can I just say how ANNOYING people are who think they can show up 1/2 hour AFTER the parade starts and lay a blanket out right in front of us? Seriously people. My cousin tried to explain that we had been saving this spot for 24 hours and they had the audacity to waltz in and sit down as if no one was there. Things got a little heated when they wouldn't move. They eventually saw the error of their ways and left. It was quite entertaining. So was the drunk guy across the street. Ahh the 4th of July, it brings out the best in us.

Long Days, Short Months

I have been hoping a camera would magically appear on my doorstep before I posted again. But it's been one month since my last post and... nothing. So I will have boring picture-less posts for a while.

Some highlights of the past month include our trip to my Brothers house in Scottsdale. I put my Sis-in-law in charge of taking pictures for me. So as soon as she sends them I'll post more about our trip. All in all we had a great time swimming, eating, and playing with family we don't get to spend much time with. The only downfall was our air conditioning going out in our car the day after we arrived. Not to mention, we had it fixed one week earlier. So we drove 12 hours home with NO AIR. Luckily the weather was unusually cool that day.

Fun Fridays are going strong. So far we've (me and all the kids) enjoyed miniature golfing at Mulligans and Discovery park with all the kids favorite, Icee's afterwards. Tomorrow we're going on a tour of the new Fire department. Can you tell that our theme this summer is FREE (or at least really cheap.) Everything starts to add up when you take 5 kids with you everywhere you go! My kids are great sports. It's easy to come up with activities that cost money. I've had to get creative with my kids. They don't always agree that going to the park can be just as fun as Liberty Land, but they are getting good at helping me come up with inexpensive things to do. They are stoked to go to the fire station. Who would have thought? Brigham made the comment yesterday, "The 'Browns' went to Lagoon today. Wow, they sure have been wasting a lot of money lately." How funny. Someday Brigham, someday.

Blogiversary

My cute kiddos one year ago.

One year ago today I started this blog. I am thrilled that up to this point I have somewhat kept up with it! I've never been great at keeping a journal. Let me rephrase that, I always KEPT a journal, but after a few months it was forgotten. Instead of starting up again I would use this as an excuse to get a newer, fancier, cuter, newer smelling journal to take it's place. I have a dozen of these unfinished journals. But blogging is for me. I can't go out and buy a new one when this one doesn't have that freshly printed smell anymore. AND most importantly I don't have to see MY ugly hand writing. I think that's the best part.

If I had my way I would celebrate this anniversary with a spankin' new camera. Mine died a few weeks ago. I haven't been able to let it go. Not that it was a good one, but it was the only one I had and times is tough. So no camera for me for a while. I hope this blog AND the summer activities can survive with out the luxury of taking pictures. I think I might cry a little.

Barefoot and...

PREGNANT! I can't think of a better way to finish off 2009 than with a new baby. It amazes me that I am this excited. I guess I never thought baby #6 would be as exciting as 1, 2, or 3 (or 4 or 5.) I feel so blessed to be having another baby. I LOVE witnessing the changes a new baby brings to our home and especially with my other kids. They learn things from this experience they wouldn't learn otherwise. So, here we go again!

Catching Up

I've always had a hard time keeping up with my journaling. I tend to get behind, then overwhelmed by the thought of catching up. I am NOT going to let that happen. Well, I already did a little. But I'm determined to catch up. So, as not overwhelm myself, here are a few snippets of whats been going on in my world this month.

Todd has been gone a lot. But he was in town the whole week of spring break. He needed an escape so of course he wanted to go camping. But get this, he offered to take the kids and let me get some much needed "Jeanne" time. How awesome is he? So Todd, Brigham, Mallory, Quin, and Cole, loaded up a borrowed motor home (with a little help from me) and headed for Moab. They had so much fun hiking, making smores, watching movies, and just spending time with Todd for a few days.

While they were gone Haydyn and I had some fun of our own. My friend Hillary lives way to far away and we usually only get together a couple of times a year. So I headed to her house for the day. I came home with these:

Not to mention the other 5 pair of shoes, AND a great new doo. Hill- Thanks for a great day of chatting, hair do-ing, and munching!

I had been wanting to paint our bathroom for a long time now and took this opportunity to finally get it done. But having 4 kids out of the house I had more time on my hands than I was used to. So I took my paint job 1 step further than planned. This ended up being a HUGE pain!! Not to mention the fact that the brown glaze looked like someone wiped poo all over the walls. So when my kids actually do wipe poo on the wall no-one will know. ;) When all was said and done, it turned out better than I had anticipated.

Last but not least, yesterday was our 12th anniversary. Todd was out of town but sent beautiful flowers. Sweet Mallory brought home a big poster she had decorated at school and secretly hung it on the wall. She amazes me sometimes. I wish Todd could have been here. I had to celebrate at Carl's Jr. with the kids. :) I love you babe! Happy Anniversary!

Cheeeese

The past few years have been TOUGH. This little lady and her sweet, happy spirit have brought sunshine to many cloudy days. Haydyn makes me smile during times that nothing else can. The other kids are full of giggles whenever they are with her. What a blessing this charmer has been!

My Heros

I am blessed.

Motherhood is the only job I know that continually brings out ones faults. Each day I'm reminded of something I can improve upon. And rarely do I want to give myself a standing O for a job well done. This isn't a bad thing. I don't even want to imagine the person I would be without my children. I have learned more about myself from being their mother than I ever thought possible. And it's only been 9 years. Imagine what the next 9 years will bring.