Brown Living

Mount Mingus

2011-07-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

Every wonder what you would get if you pointed your camera at a dark spot in the night sky? I had, and I was very surprised just how many stars my camera picked up. These were taken from the top of Mount Mingus, a few hours after sunset. All these stars could not be seen by the naked eye. I even caught a shooting star!

For those other camera enthusiasts here is the technical data: I used my 50mm lens with the aperture set at 1.4 to capture as much light as possible. I set the ISO at 2000 with a shutter speed of 30 seconds.

I took this next picture with the same settings, however it was of the adjacent mountain ridge. The light pollution from the small town of Cottonwood at the foot of the mountain is very noticeable. However, it was interesting to see how there was just enough light to give the red rocks color in the photo.

Another weekend, another skirt

2011-05-15T16:25:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this skirt took two weekends. I sized down the pieces from Jennifer's skirt and made a few adjustments to allow for growing.

London enjoyed looking just like her mother.

The Hunt

2011-04-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

Looking high

Looking low

On the move!

Showing off the treasure!

The hunt was a great success!

London 6 year old pictures

2011-04-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

Since we have a nice camera we have decided to start taking the kids birthday pictures ourselves. It was a team effort from Rob and I. We brought all four of the kids to the temple grounds to get pictures of the girls and just have a nice family outing. The temperature was great, but it was a bit too sunny for some of the shots I wanted.

Rainy Day Project

2011-02-27T21:32:00.000-08:00

It was a rainy day. Time to get my mind off of accounting for the weekend. So off the fabric store we went. Jennifer and I found some nice brown material with an embroidered floral pattern that would be perfect for a long skirt. Jennifer was in need of a skirt after losing a few dress sizes, and at six feet tall, long skirts are hard to find. I used a skirt Jennifer recently bought as a model for my project.

-Rob

Turning 2

2011-01-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

My baby is 2! Time is going way too quickly. I told myself I would not do it, but I just can't seem to help myself, I baby my baby. Yes, Guinevere gets away with so much more then my other children. And of course she is a smart little girl and knows that she can get away with stuff. I love how she still curls up on my lap when she is upset. I love that she enjoys crashing cars and playing dinosaurs with her brothers and combing her hair and playing dolls with London. She is a picky little eater, and is often cranky because I won't give in and let her eat only graham crackers. Guinevere is adorable and presious, and while it is fun to see her learning new things and start talking, I am sad that my baby years are behind me (I don't miss the lack of sleep though).

We enjoyed a quite party at our house with family for her birthday. I was not feeling very motivated, so after putting on the white frosting I just let my mom decorate the cake. She did a great job like usual.

Opening all those presents was a little too exhausting for Guinevere.

It is a good thing we had some cake on hand to perk her back up.

Our trip to see Santa

2010-12-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

Visiting Santa this year was a true test of my patience. When a few too many things decided to work against me I should have scraped the whole idea and rescheduled for a different day, but I didn't. The place where I go to get pictures is a huge store, but they allow me to use my own camera to take pictures and they give the kids a print out of the picture they took, all for free. I like free, so I go despite the craziness of the store. On weekdays Santa does not show up till 5pm. I knew that I did not want to go on a weekend because the crowed is too much. Since Rob does not get home that early I decided to arrange for two extra adults to go with me, both for different reasons were unable to show up. I feed the kids an early dinner and we headed out alone. Guinevere was not happy for whatever reason and was screaming almost the whole way there. We arrived at 5:10 and there was already a line. My kids, like all kids I am sure, do not like to wait in lines. They had activities for the children but they were all up closer to where Santa was and I did not feel comfortable letting my kids go up there since I had to stay in line. After 10 minutes of wining I let the older three run up there were the explicate instructions that they had to stay together, yah right. Guinevere was not happy about this either, and proceeded to scream in my arms for 5 minutes before I allowed her to wonder up to where London was by herself. I was close enough not that I could at least see them for the most part. I got a few looks from the other parents standing around me for this, but I am use to it so it did not bother me too much. When I was three people away from getting to see Santa I tried to round my children up. London was the only one who came willingly. I left London in line with the camera and stroller while I went after of my wayward children. London, Jacob, and Joseph all stood willingly with Santa for me to get a picture. I place a mostly calm Guinevere on Santa's lap and she screamed. I was not even able to get a picture of her with my camera. I had originally planned to see Santa a couple times so that I could get a good picture of each of the kids but I was so exhausted after one trip that I never went back.

Zoo

2010-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

I recently made the mistake of taking the kids to the zoo on a Saturday when an event was taking place. I wanted to go and check out Boo at the Zoo. We were not going to a pumpkin patch this year, it was advertised that there would be a pumpkin patch at this event, and I wanted some cute fall pictures.

First we waited in line to see the new koala exhibit. Cute.

Then we headed to the main event. First off was the hay maze. Rob did manage to get one shot of Guinevere with a bow in her hair before it was lost. None of the other children in this rather lame hay maze. The other kids all made there way to more interesting exhibits like painting picture of a cow.

When Joseph found out the the cow that he had drenched in paint had to stay at the booth to dry and be retrieved later we ended up with this.

After all this fun we lost Jacob to the play area. It was at this time that Rob pointed out the "pumpkin patch" that I had come for. I was somewhat less then optimistic when I sat out to wait in line with the three girls for our turn in the "pumpkin patch." After getting this lovely picture we left. Oh the way home we enjoyed a choir of screaming, thus rounding out a beautiful morning at the zoo.

Halloween

2010-11-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

I am finally posting pictures again. Sorry to all our family and friends who have been oh so patiently waiting for me to get my life together and post pictures of the kids.

We had quite the Halloween this year. First on Friday we had a trick-or-treat thing at Rob's work in the afternoon, and then London had a thing at her school in the evening. Then Saturday we had the ward Halloween party, and Sunday night the kids went out in the trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. After three straight days of Halloween we ended up with way too much candy, and two very worn out parents.

Before we went out trick-or-treating on Sunday Rob took the kids outside and got some great pictures of them. London was a total ham for the camera. The boys were mostly cooperative, and as long as I did not try to put Guinevere's wings or hat on she tolerated pictures as well.

Total by chance the little girl that I baby sit was also a ladybug for Halloween. Guinevere was not very cooperative at Rob's work trick-or-treat until Esther got out her camera. Both girls loved looking at there pictures.

Camping on the Mountain

2010-09-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

A post by Rob:

This weekend we escaped the heat of the valley by visiting our favorite campground in the mountains. Since our camping plans earlier in the summer were scratched due to rain the kids were really looking forward to spending some time in the mountains. As we drove out of the valley and began to climb the first mountain pass London said to her siblings “Look! We’re on the mountain!” We were so surprised that the campground, which usually fills up quickly Friday afternoon, was entirely vacant. We were to only campers the first night, joined by only one other camper the second night. We set up at our favorite spot, which has a view overlooking the valley 6,500 feet below. As sunset approached, I experimented with several of the exposure setting on the camera, trying to capture the views that make this spot so great. The second day we walked the 1 ¼ mile loop road at the top of the mountain. This wore out Joseph and Guinevere who took a nap in the tent. We saw less wildlife than our previous visits but did have an unwelcome skunk come through camp after the kids were asleep.

I really like the layers of mountain ridges in this photo.

Sunset colors over the mountains.

As night falls, the city lights appear!

With an exposure time of 30 seconds, the planes landing and taking off become a streak of light.

Hope you enjoyed the photos. Can you identify some valley landmarks?

The Beach

2010-08-19T13:43:00.001-07:00

Over the summer we decided to take an impromptu trip to the beach. My Aunt was so wonderful and let us stay at her house on short notice. She even made dinner for all of us while we were there, she is a great cook, so that was an extra bonus.

The kids loved the beach. It was Guinevere's first time to the beach, and Joseph wasn't even a year old the last time we went to a beach so I don't think the other kids remember it all that well. All the kids loved the water. I thought it was cold, and I really did not expect the kids to play in it that much, but I was wrong. Guinevere would start to turn purple and we still had to drag her out kicking and screaming. When the other three got to the point that they were shaking because they were so cold I would suggest they go and play in the sand for a little while to warm up, and they would insist that they were not cold and did not need to get out. Crazy water loving kids!

I had a hard time picking pictures to post because we took so many good ones. I can't wait to scrapbook all of them.

Yes, Guinevere is about to fall over in this picture. I thought the kids would get water on there toes, see how cold it was, and then run back up and play in the sand. Boy was I wrong, all four of them got there pants wet.

A few days before we left I was trying to take Guinevere's 18m pictures and she refused to look at me. For some reason when we were at the beach she decided that every time she saw me with the camera she would look at me and make this face while saying cheeeese.

Jacob was very difficult to catch on film. Every time we got out the camera he would look down or hide his face. I had to take this one from a distance.

Joseph's 3rd Birthday Party

2010-08-09T15:08:00.000-07:00

My sweet little boy has been anxiously awaiting his birthday party every since Jacob had his. When we went to his cousins Tinkerbell party all decked out in purple and pink he got so excited and asked "This Joseph's birthday?" When my sister brought some of the leftover cake over to my house again he got really excited and asked "This Joseph's birthday party?" For the 4th of July we decorated a cake for Americas birthday and again Joseph asked "This Joseph's birthday party?" He never got upset, he would just say "Oh" and move. When the day actually came for his birthday party I made sure he knew that the cake I was making was definitely for him.

Joseph has been into all things Toy Story. In the nursery at church they have a Mr. Potato head. Every time he sees it he gets really excited and says "Toy Story!" When he saw his cake he said "Oh Mom, its Toy Story."

As he opened each of his presents and spied a character from the move he would yell "Toy Story!" I know he knows all the characters names, so it is kind of amusing to me that instead of saying who they actually were he would just say "Toy Story."

When he pulled the card out of this gift he said "stars." He didn't say it like he was noticing a shape, but more like he was in aw that someone had given him actually stars. I wish we had been taking video at the time, it was that cute.

I did not really want to do anything terribly difficult on the cake, so I decided that Mr. Potato Head would be the easiest character to put on the cake. I was super excited with how well the cake turned out.

Joseph is such a wonderful, sweet boy. He is truly a joy to have around most of the time, and I could not imagine our lives without him.

Individual Pictures

2010-07-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think Rob and I have had a good picture taken of us since we were married.

Guinevere of course would not stop to pose, so we had to get a picture of her on the run.

Joseph I love this picture of Joseph. The angle and everything is just perfect.

Jacob really did not want to take anymore pictures. Such a fake smile.

London was all about having her own personal photo shoot. We got a lot of cute ones of her, but this is my favorite.

Family Photos

2010-07-21T15:42:00.001-07:00

While we were in Utah for a family reunion we took some time for my sister-in-law Denise to take some pictures of our family. Understandably so, this was a rather difficult task. Guinevere was screaming most of the time. Jacob and Joseph alternated times that they refused to do anything we asked them to do. London was pretty cooperative most of the time, she just got tired of smiling and really bored.

3 Girls

3 Boys

It took some photo merging, but I did get two family photos where everyone is looking at the camera. Thank you to Denise (and Paul) for all there hard work.

Jacob's Birthday

2010-07-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

I know that I am way behind, but here are some pictures of Jacobs 4th birthday. I was not feeling very well, so I just made a simple M&M cake. Jacob loved the cake. He thought that putting candy on top of cake was just about the best idea ever.

Jacob got an array of wonderful gifts, and I got an array of not very good pictures of him with his gifts. He had a great time outside playing with some special 3D chalk. Doesn't he look adorable with glasses.

The Queen

2010-06-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I became know as a "Queen" to my children. No, it is not because my children cherish me so much and want to show me love and respect. I was named the Queen after this fine lady.

If you are not up on your Disney this is the evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

It happened like this. I ever so politely told my three eldest children that they needed to clean up the huge mess that they had made in the living room. This was met with much whining and complaining about how there were too many toys out and how they were too tired to clean. Being the kind and understanding mother that I am I told them to do it anyways. That is when it happened.

London: (grumbling to Jacob) "Mommy is a Queen"
Me: "What was that London?"
London: (with a very defiant look on her face for one so young) "You are a Queen mommy!"
Jacob: "Ya, your a Queen!"
Me: (with a very confused look on my face) "What do you mean I am a Queen?"
London: "You are a mean Queen like on Snow White."

I could not believe it. I had been called mean a few times, but to put me at the same level of meanness as the evil Queen who had tried to kill Snow White. Now everytime I ask them to do something they do not like they call me a Queen. At first I did not like the title, but it has grown on me and I now wear it with pride.

Preschool Graduation

2010-05-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

At the end of the school year the preschool that London and Jacob attend had a little graduation ceremony for those who were going into kindergarten. I thought it was adorable that they had little caps and gowns for them to wear (free of charge as long as you returned the thing).

First London's class came out and sang a little song.

Then Jacobs class came out and sang a little song. It cracked me up that Jacob was so much taller then all the other kids in his class. The girl next to him even has little heals on for this special occasion.

Here is London taking a bow after everyone received there little certificate. I don't know why they did not have them throw there hats? :)

They even had this cute little sign out for the kids to take a picture in front of. This is London and her friend that we carpooled with.

April Camp Out

2010-05-18T15:16:00.001-07:00

We had this wonderful three night camp out planned for April with some friends, but due to weather and other circumstances it was canceled. So we chose a new location, with what we hoped would be better weather, and just set out a day later then originally planned by ourselves. It was still a little colder then I would have liked the first day. The kids did not seem to mind too much and had a wonderful time exploring our new campsite. Because we got to the campsite so early we were able to get one of the larger sites so the kids had a lot of room to explore without bothering other campers.

That night it was much too cold, and Guinevere would not sleep. I finally pulled her into bed with me where she insisted on sleeping cheek to cheek. Luckily the other kids slept right on through Guinevere's screaming and they managed to get a good nights sleep. Between the crying and the less then ideal sleeping arrangement Rob and I did not get much sleep.

While the next morning was a little chilly, it warmed up nicely and our second day out was great. That is until exhaustion took over and Rob and I decided to call it quits a couple of hours after lunch. Fearing another horrible night we quickly packed up and headed home. We got home a little late, but we still managed to have everyone bathed and in bed by 8:30pm.

Even though we did not stay as long as we had planned we got some great pictures of the kids, so it was all worth it.

Joseph posing for the camera

London freezing next to the fire

Me and Guinevere

Guinevere really loved going in and out of the screened in shade area. It was not very useful the first day, but the shade was welcomed the second day.

Guinevere smiling for the camera

I love how in this picture you can actually see the sand that Guinevere is throwing. I also loved that London was willing to sit down and play with Guinevere.

Looking through my pictures I was surprised a just how few I have of Jacob on this camping trip. He must have been a little camera shy. The boys loved driving there big trucks all over the campsite. They would load up there toys, drive them to a new location, dump them out, reload them, and drive them to a new location. It was hilarious to watch.

Hunting Eggs

2010-04-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of the Easter pictures, finally! We had a great time hunting for eggs over at Aunt Barbara's house.

Here is my niece, Jalynn, hunting for her first egg. Isn't she just so cute.

And of course we took tons of pictures of Guinevere. She is just so cute how could we possibly resist.

I just love how in this picture the eggs in the tree are in focus, and she is not. She saw that lower yellow egg and just took off after it. It is so much fun when they finally get what all the excitement is about.
Joseph

London was hard to get a picture off. All the pictures of her hunting for eggs she has her butt facing the camera, or her hair is covering her face. She absolutely loves the blocks that the Easter Bunny brought her. Her creativity never ceases to amaze me.

Jacob really liked the dinosaurs that he got, and Joseph really liked the dinosaurs that Jacob got. Joseph initially liked the truck he got in his basket until he saw Jacobs dinosaurs. Luckily Jacob like the T-rex the best, and Joseph was ok playing with the stegosaurus.

After the kids found all the eggs the adults had to scour the yard looking for the eggs that got hid a little too well. Once that was done we decided to play a little football. We had a lot of fun, and minimal injuries. I was pretty impressed with the nice bruise my sister gave me on my upper arm (sorry, I forgot to take pictures so that everyone else could be impressed as well). Out of the many action shots that Rob got of us playing football I decided on the one below because it makes me look the skinniest. I am finally shedding some of the weight I gained through four pregnancy's, and I could not be happier.

After football we had a wonderful dinner, and just enjoyed spending time together. I love holidays.

Egg dyeing

2010-04-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

On Friday my Mom and Aunt Brenda came over to help us frost Easter cookies and dye eggs. I just love how bright the frosting turned out.

Here is London showing off one of the eggs that her and Aunt Brenda dyed.

Joseph took control of the blue egg dye, and would not let anyone else use it. He has decided that anything that he touches is his and that no one else should touch it. It has been a difficult stage for us since there are so many other children in the house touching all of "his" toys. Luckily the other kids did not care if they could not dye there eggs blue, and we did not have a meltdown.

Jacob decided he would be in a supervisory roll for cookie frosting and egg dyeing. He knew exactly what he wanted and made sure that the adult at his side carried out his wishes. Here he is inspecting the eggs to make sure they are the right color.

I attempted to let Guinevere in on all the fun, but she only wanted to put her hands in the dye, so this was the only egg she assisted with.

Most of the eggs came away unharmed from the egg dyeing process and a fun time was had by all.

Fantasyland

2010-03-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

After breakfast we headed back to Fantasyland. We figured the carousel would be a good warm up ride for the kids.

That is my Aunt Earlene next to Joseph. I stood next to Guinevere once the ride started, I just stepped back for the picture.

Next we moved on to Dumbo. The line was surprisingly short. Good thing to because my kids were super impatient about waiting in line. They kept trying to cut in front of people to get to the front of the line.

I was sitting right in front of Barbara, Jalynn, and London so I got some great action shots of them up in the air.

Here is me, Joseph, and Guinevere waiting for the ride to get started. I am pretty sure this was Josephs favorite ride.

My Dad and Jacob were a little too far away to get a great picture of them.

Next we headed over to the Casey Jr Circus Train ride. (Don't worry I don't plan to give a play by play of the whole day.)

This is a great picture of London on the Snow White ride. It is a mixture of excitement and fright. London and Jacob both did great at going on all the rides, even Big Thunder Mtn, and Space Mtn. After the Snow White ride and Mr. Toads Wild Ride Joseph would not go on the Pinocchio ride. After siting out that one ride he went on everything else. Surprisingly he loved all the rollercoasters. When given the choice to go on the rollercoaster in Toontown a second time he chose to go.

Unlike Guinevere, Jalynn was very content to be passed around, and everyone got a chance to hold her. Here's her and Papa in line for the storybook boats.

All three kids loved the tea cups. Barbara took both boys with her,

and London and I had a pink cup all to ourselves.

We did go on It's a Small World later that evening, but I don't have any pictures from that. Tomorrow, if I have time, I will post more pictures of our wonderful adventure at Disneyland.

Disney Breakfast.

2010-03-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

To start our Disneyland trip off right my Dad took us to a character breakfast. The food was great, and the kids absolutely loved seeing all the characters that were there.

Joseph sleeps with a small Winni the Pooh and Tigger, so I really tried to prepare him that the ones we would be seeing were going to be a lot bigger. He had no problem loving on all the giant Pooh characters.

Jacob and Joseph with Eeyore. I just love how Joseph is too engrossed in cuddling up to Eeyore to even look at the camera.

I think the cheesy grin on my face might just be as big as Hooks.

This is not the best picture, but it is the only one I have with all 4 of the kids.

This is my sister Barbara with her daughter Jalynn, Me holding Guinevere, and the lady in red is our breakfast hostess Minni Mouse.

London was so excited to show Minni that she had a picture of her on her shirt.

Guinevere loved Pooh. She kept grabbing his nose, and petting his soft fur.

Minni got right down and was playing peek-a-boo with Jalynn.

Here are the other three with Pooh. He was the first character that we saw when we got into breakfast. Each of the characters came around multiple times, so the kids really had a chance to warm up to them.

We all had a really great time. I hope the kids remember this experience for a long time. Thanks Dad.

Jalynn's Blessing

2010-03-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my niece Jalynn was blessed. Rob preformed the blessing and it was beautiful. We are hoping since my mom takes her to church every Sunday that she will be a spiritual guide in her families life.

I had hoped to get more pictures, but it was starting to rain, so we had to make do with just one group shot minus Rob (he was behind the camera)

For those of you patiently waiting, I am working on our pictures from Disneyland, and will have them up as soon as time permits.

London's Friend Party

2010-01-27T14:27:00.001-08:00

I spent a lot of time planning, cleaning, and decorating for this party, but not much money. I was very proud of how frugal I was, and how nice everything turned out. I tried to make a cannopy above the main party area with purple tulle, and then some pink streamers and balloons in the other room. London thought it looked really cool, and I guess since it was her party that is all that really matters.

When the guest arrived they decorated there own crowns. I had some stickers and glitter glue. The kids all loved this part. I made my crowns out of card stock that I had on hand for my scrapbooking.

After everyone's crowns were made we played pin the lips on the frog. I also made this game up with some card stock. I love the internet. I found a great picture of a frog, and all I had to do was make it bigger and trace it onto my card stock.

Next we sang to the birthday girl.

Then we opened presents.

The girls then had time to play dress up while I got things cleaned up and the cake and ice cream served. I think this is my favorite picture from the party. A big thanks to my friend Laura for helping me out with some extra dress up clothes.

Everyone enjoyed some cake ...

... including Guinevere. She does not like to be left out when it comes to food.

I did not get any pictures of it, but after cake the girls made princess play-dough. Each girl got a ball of pink and purple play-dough, and then they kneaded fine glitter into it. This was my first attempt at making homemade play-dough, and I thought it turned out really well. (Just a side note, if you do the cook play-dough, don't warm the mixture up too much. The recipe just said to warm it, and I got it hot. I ended up burning my palms and finger tips trying to knead the flour in. Not really bad, but learn from my mistake.) The girls loved adding the glitter to it.

As each girl left she got a party bag with her princess play-dough, and this cute princess hair tie. I forgot to take a picture of them all make up before the party, so luckily a couple girls did not show up, and I was able to take a picture the next day when I remembered. I did not plan it that way, but Joseph, London, and Jacob's crowns that they made are in the background. These bags were supper easy to make, all you need is some card stock, a hole punch, and some yarn or ribbon for the handles.

I thought that the party went really well, and all the girls seemed to have fun. Hopefully since I have one childrens party under my belt I won't stress out as much for the next one.

London is 5 now

2010-01-27T13:33:00.001-08:00

My little girl is 5. London is helpful, sweet, sensitive, smart, and very talkative. She has a wonderful memory. I am constantly amazed at all the things that she remembers. She loves going to preschool, and she enjoys being a Sunbeam, so that she can be in Primary with all the older kids. She definitely got Rob's outgoing genes, she is not afraid to make comments in class, or at church, and she will volunteer get up and say prayers in from the the whole Primary with out any help. Don't get me wrong, she is a typical 5 year old, we have temper tantrums and plenty of crying, but for the most part she is a joy to have around, and I simply could not imagine life without her. It will be a little hard on me when she goes to kindergarten in the fall.

We had a family party and friend party this year. I will talk about the friend party in a different post. She was really happy with all the gifts that she got. She got some harder puzzles (she was breezing through the ones that we had), some games, 3 new dresses, and some ponies.

She has really enjoyed playing with everything that she got, but she loves her ponies. They came with combs and lots of hair accessories. Don't you just love the holes in her leggings. I stitched them early on, but she wears them so much that they just kept ripping. I have tried to get her to throw them away, but she "loves" them.

Christmas Morning

2010-01-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

They are a little late, but I wanted to make sure I posted some pictures from Christmas before we got too far into the new year. We enjoyed a nice Christmas at home. My mom and sister came over and enjoyed the festivities with us.

We don't have a fire place, so the stockings were hung from the stairs. Santa worked extra hard to get the toys popping out so that I could have this wonderful picture.

And here is a picture of the tree after Santa arrived.

This remote control motorcycle from Aunt Barbara was Jacob's favorite toy by far.

London loves the princess castle that she got from Nana. Since the gift was for both Guinevere and London, London lets Guinevere pull all the purple flags off the top and chew on them, but she really does not like it when Guinevere touches anything else.

Joseph liked most of his toys I think, but he plays with these cars he got from Aunt Barbara the most.

These large dump trucks were gifts for the boys from Nana, but we quickly found that the babies enjoyed them the most on Christmas morning. After being pushed around in them Guinevere and Jalynn were both content to just sit in them and play with other toys they were given.

The kids were fairly well behaved, and enjoyed playing with there toys all day long. In the afternoon we all went out to help London learn to ride her bike with just two wheels, and so London could show off her new helmet. We enjoyed a nice dinner that evening, and all went to bed pretty early, Christmas is exhausting.

Visiting Santa

2009-12-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

I could not believe it, but I actually found a place that would give you a picture, and let you take your own picture for free with Santa. There have been a few years where I didn't get any pictures of the kids with Santa because they were too expensive.

Last year when we went to see Santa London was the only one who would willingly go and sit on his lap. This year all four kids sat with Santa, and Jacob and London actually talked to him.

London said that she wanted more ponies to play with.

Jacob asked for cars and airplanes.
Joseph said nothing, but did steal a few glances at the big guy before getting off of his lap.

Guinevere stared at me the whole time. I don't think she even realized she was sitting on someones lap. As I put her down I assured Santa that she had a dry freshly changed diaper, he gave me a little laugh at that.

Guinevere's Birthday

2009-12-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

We recently celebrated Guinevere's 1st Birthday. I can not believe how quickly this past year has gone by. Perhaps I will be saying this forever, but it feels like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. I am amazed at how quickly she is growing.

I love the dirty look she is giving the candle in this picture. She just stared at it for the longest time, and then right on cue for the end of the song she tried to grab it.

This is one of the only pictures that we got of her actually looking up at the camera.

She was not a big fan of the cake. She tried some of it, and sort of pushed it around on the tray, and then cried to get down.

My grandma is frequently out of town, so we were pretty excited that she was able to be here for Guinevere's first birthday. This is her with my Aunt Brenda.

It was a short, quite, simple party, but that was all right with me and the birthday girl.

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

On Friday I decided to be brave and dareing by make sugar cookies with the kids all by myself. Some of you that don't know me that well probably think this is not really that big of a deal. For those of you who know me, you know that I can be quite annal about how my cookies turn out, and anything less then perfection in this area can put me in a bad mood for a few hours at least. Fearlessly I embraced the Christmas spirit and started making the cookie dough. Guinevere was the first to protest, and insisted on being able to see what was going on. Having a baby on the kitchen counter made this process much slower then I would have liked, but I pressed on.

Having plenty of open counter space and two new small rolling pins I put aprons on all the kids, let them flour there work area, and gave them each a ball of dough. My grand plan was that London and Jacob would do fairly well with minimal supervision while I worked on the other side of the counter with Joseph and the big rolling pin. The minimal supervision thing went right out the window, but with a lot of help they did manage to roll out there dough to varying thicknesses and then begin cutting out the cookies.

Joseph it turned out was not too happy that I would be helping him. He thought this was going to be more like playing playdough, where you roll it out cut out some shapes and then roll it out again. He was none too patient, and while I was on the other side of the counter he started to collect all the dough back into a ball before I was able to get the cut out shapes on to a pan to bake. After that I gave him a much smaller ball of dough and just let him have fun.

As I tried to help the kids with there dough I accidentally sat my cup of flour too close to Guinevere, who insisted on still sitting on the counter, and she promptly dumped it all over herself and the counter.

After each of the children had rolled the dough out a few times I felt that dough and my nerves could not take much more, so I sent them all to wash up while I cut out the remaining cookies.

That afternoon while Guinevere was asleep I allowed the kids to decorate the cookies how ever they wanted. I only intervened here or there when the frosting was so thick that it looked like it might break the cookie, or the sprinkles so thick that you could no longer see the cookie.

London was very proud of the cookie that she decorated to look like her. Can you all see the likeness? The huge eyes, and the two green dots in her hair as rubberbands.

Overall, everyone had a good time, and I survived with my sanity. Even though the cookies do not look perfect, and some are a little thicker then others, they still taste really good. Let this be a lesson to me that perfection is not necessary. Hopefully this posting has encouraged, not discouraged, others from making sugar cookies with there young children. Happy Baking!

Dance Recital

2009-11-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is one of the clips from the dance recital that London and Jacob were in. They were showing off the basic tumbling moves they have been learning (rolling, somersaults, dog with a broken leg, and cartwheels). It is a little long, but I could not edit it.

Second Dance

2009-11-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

This is the second clip from the dance recital.

Zoo

2009-11-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

Back before Thanksgiving, I made a trip to the zoo with all five kids. Luckily I went with another mom who only has one child, so I managed to keep my sanity, and all five of the children. I took only two pictures on our outing.

The first is of a goose standing on one leg. I guess she has been spending too much time with the flamingos that she shares her enclosure with. It was just too funny of a picture to pass up, and this was still early in our zoo adventure.

The second was of my two babies. When ever I take the two of them out I always have people stop and ask me if they are twins. Don't they just look so cute. They spent the majority of there awake time at the zoo fighting over each others pacifiers.

I wish that I had gotten a picture of them both asleep in the stroller, but by that time I was so frazzled that there was no way I was taking the camera out again. Jacob and Joseph were both complaining that they were tired and wanted to ride in the stroller. London had the bright idea that she could just hold one of the babies on her lap while she rode in the stroller. If they had not both been sleeping this might have been a viable solution. As it was I ended up trading off packing one boy while the other whined at my side about how tired he was. I told London that she was too heavy and would just have to walk. Needless to say I got a really good work out in at the zoo.

Our Honorable Ancestors

2009-11-08T20:25:00.000-08:00

In observance of Veterans Day this week I wanted to remember our ancestors who served in the military. Some participated in historically notable wars while others fought in wars that are now often forgotten in history. These brave men chose to fight for their convictions, protecting their families and fellow countrymen so that we may enjoy our land and our freedom.

Our Honorable Ancestors:

John Bronson (born about 1600 in , , England - died before 28 Nov 1680 in Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, New England). He served in the military during the Pequot War in 1637.
James Polly Brown (born on 22 Apr 1803 in Taylorsville, Spencer, Kentucky, USA - died on 6 Nov 1871 in Rockville, Kane, Utah, USA). He served in the military during the Mexican War (Mormon Battalion) in 1846.
Robert H. Brown (born on 11 May 1832 in Greenville, Floyd, Indiana, USA - died on 14 Mar 1877 in Orderville, Kane, Utah, USA). He served in the military during the Mexican War in 1846.
John Campbell (born on 6 Feb 1761 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA - died on 14 May 1847 in Jackson, Preble, Ohio, USA). He served in the military Captain R. Adams' company, Colonel Lynch's Virginia regiment in Jun 1778 in , , Virginia, USA. Served 3 months as a private guarding lead mines in Virginia. He served in the military Captain James Dickson's company, Colonel Williams' Virginia regiment in Feb 1781 in , , Virginia, USA. Served as a private in the battle of Wetzell's Mills and battle of Quilford Court House. Served for 6 months. He served in the military Captain Beard's company, Colonel Trigg's Virginia regiment in Aug 1781 in , , Virginia, USA. Served two months. Marched to Yorktown, and was there until after the surrender of Cornwallis.
Louis Albert Campbell (born on 20 May 1923 in Joycoy, Baca, Colorado, USA - died on 14 Nov 1991 in Layton, Davis, Utah, USA). He served in the military during the as a Sergeant in the US Army Air Corps on 20 Feb 1943.
Ralph John Campbell (born on 11 Jan 1893 in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, USA - died on 6 Oct 1982 in Spokane, Spokane, Washington, USA). He served in the military U. S. Army Private in 1918 in , , France.
Balser Dishong (born in 1835 in , , Pennsylvania, USA - died on 15 Sep 1864 in Andersonville, Macon, Georgia, USA). He served in the military during the Civil War in 1863.
Robert Henry Drake (born on 28 Apr 1836 in , Holmes, Ohio, USA - died on 2 Sep 1922 in Sharon, Woodward, Oklahoma, USA). He served in the military Cavalry during the Civil War – Confederate in , , Missouri, USA.
Thomas Flinn (born about 1730 in , Prince George, Virginia, English Colony - died about 1783 in , Surry, North Carolina, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War from 1774 to 1782.
Isaiah Curry Guymon (born on 27 May 1753 in , , North Carolina, English Colony - died after Oct 1819 in Dalton, Stokes, North Carolina, USA). He served in the military Revolutionary War.
Ashbel Hopkins (born in Stockbridge, Berkshire, Massachusetts, New England – died in 1793 in Pittsford, Ontario, New York, USA). He served in the military Revolutionary War.
Nehemiah Hopkins (born on 14 Apr 1730 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, New England - died about 1814 in Crown Point, Essex, New York, USA). He served in the military during the Indian War. He also served in the military during the Revolutionary War.
John Hulet (born on 16 Sep 1716 in Killingly, New London, Connecticut, New England – died after 1771). He served in the military during the French and Indian War.
Sylvanus Hulet (born on 7 Nov 1758 in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut, New England - died on 10 Nov 1824 in Nelson, Portage, Ohio, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War in 1779.
Jacob Hans Keller (born on 22 Jun 1837 in Schwellbrunn, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland - died on 5 Oct 1892 in Manti, Sanpete, Utah, USA). He served in the military Utah Indian Wars on 1 May 1867 in Manti, Sanpete, Utah, USA.
Robert King (born on 15 Jan 1736 in Englishtown, Monmouth, New Jersey, New England - died on 6 Jan 1806 in , Sumner, Tennessee, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War.
William Marion McGinty (born on 21 Sep 1837 in , Hancock, Georgia, USA - died on 27 Sep 1911 in Aspermont, Stonewall, Texas, USA). He served in the military Civil War - Confederate.
John C. McManus (born on 12 Mar 1787 in , Franklin, Pennsylvania, USA - died on 29 Dec 1852, buried in , Preble, Ohio, USA). He served in the military during the War of 1812.
Nicholas Olmstead (born in 1612 in , , England - died on 31 Aug 1684 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, New England). He served in the military during the Pequot war as a soldier in 1637. He also served in the military during King Philip's War.
Simeon Parmelee (born on 3 Aug 1741 in Durham, New Haven, Connecticut, New England - died on 3 May 1820 in Westford, Chittenden, Vermont, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War in 1777.
Peter Polley (born before 1748 in , , Virginia, English Colony - died before 13 Feb 1818 in , Shelby, Kentucky, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War in 1777.
Seth Putnam (born on 9 Aug 1754 in Charlestown, New Hampshire, New England - died on 10 Feb 1848 in Middlesex, Washington, Vermont, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War in 1777.
Frederick Reasor. He served in the military Revolutionary War.
Michael Reasor Sr. (born about 1735 – died about 1824 in , Washington, Virginia, USA). He served in the military during the served in Lord Dunmore's War on 24 Oct 1774.
Michael Reasor (born on 3 Feb 1760 in Winchester, Frederick, Virginia, USA - died on 11 Jul 1843 in Little Mount, Spencer, Kentucky, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War from 1 May 1777 to 1779.
Ebenezer Sears (born in 1754). He served in the military Revolutionary War.
John Seymour (born on 24 Nov 1726 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, New England - died on 5 Feb 1809 in West Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, USA). He served in the military during the Served in the Revolutionary War in Sep 1777.
Dr. Bertram Oliver Swinehart (born on 21 Jul 1881). He served in the military during World War I as First Lieutenant.
George Swinehart (born on 4 May 1841 in , Richland, Ohio, USA - died on 20 Nov 1916). He served in the military during the American Civil War 7 Aug 1862 to 5 Aug 1865.
George P. Swinehart Jr. (born on 7 Apr 1886 in , , Illinois, USA). He served in the military during World War I.
Azariah Tutthill (born in 1724 in Oysterponds, Suffolk, New York, New England - died on 20 Dec 1804 in Rocky Point, Suffolk, New York, USA). He served in the military during the Revolutionary War.

If you would like to know more about these honorable men and how you are related to them I will gladly send you their known history. Each of these men is more then a name, more than a soldier, each is our father.

-Rob Brown

Halloween

2009-11-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

I decided I would dress all four kids up as pirates this year, and I convinced Rob to help me make the costumes. London wanted to be a princess, so I had to do some convincing there as well. London and Jacob were the only two who would cooperate to take pictures. Guinevere would not sit still, and Joseph wanted nothing to do with the camera (he was not feeling well). I had hoped for better pictures after all the work we went through to make these outfits, but no such luck. Guinevere loved sitting in the stroller looking at all the pumpkins and decorations that were out. A few people even put candy in her stroller, like a baby can eat candy. I was worried that it was going to be cold out and that I should have bought long sleeve white shirts for the kids to wear, but the weather was perfect. It was a pretty good Halloween, but I am glad it is over. I am ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Camping in October

2009-10-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

When we planed our October camp out we decided we would not go to the mountains, but stay down lower, where it would be warmer. Then we saw the forecast. It was suppose to be 101 degrees where we planed to camp, so we headed to the mountains once again. The temperature was perfect (if you are in the sun you can wear jeans and short sleeves, but in the shade you need long sleeves on), and there was hardly anyone up there. There was an almost constant breeze, so there were no bugs to speak of. The only down side was the cows. Yes, there were cows. I did not get any pictures of the cows, though we did see and hear them a few times. Mostly we just saw what they left behind, large cow patties (I didn't think anyone would want me to post pictures of that). The kids were really good at spotting the cow patties, and thus avoiding them. I may not have liked and cows being around (mostly because of what they left behind), but I think for the kids it was the highlight of the trip.

We had a great view from our campsite. Here are London and Joseph posing for the camera. Jacob did not want his picture taken. Every time I got out the camera he would hide his face and try and run away.

London wanted me to get a lot of pictures of her. Here is London and Rob

Here is a picture that Rob got of the great view we had from our campsite.

I think that this picture of my two boys walking along talking is just so cute. They don't get along most of the time because Jacob is into imaginative play like London, and Joseph doesn't understand what they are doing. I think once Joseph bridges that gap that they will be inseparable.

The kids have finally started to enjoy being able to just sit around the fire and watch it "dance".

London was kind enough to take this picture of Rob and I as the sun was setting.

I am kind of sad to see this camping season come to an end. The kids did so great on this camp out. They didn't fight very much, they were content to be outside and just play and enjoy the weather. Sure, Jacob still woke up around 3:30am and would not go back to bed, but that is better then the last few camp outs. I will enjoy having Guinevere with us next year, and I do love all the winter holidays. I think I can come up with plenty of other family activities for us to do till we start camping again in March or April.

Sleeping babies

2009-10-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

It cracks me up how kids can just fall asleep any where, no matter what is going on around them, or what they are doing.

Here is Joseph sleeping on one of our road trips. This position would definitively make my neck sore.

Most babies sleep with there knees tucked up under them, but not mine. You might think this is uncomfortable, but this is how she always sleeps. I have decided that she is exceptionally flexible.

Guinevere 9m

Sundays seem to be particularly hard on babies sleep schedules. It is difficult to know whether they should just be put down for a nap, or if they need to eat something first. I guess on these two occasions sleep just could not wait.

Guinevere 9m

Joseph 11 months
(at least he finished the bottle before promptly rolling over and falling asleep)

This picture is of London when she was 2 1/2. She refused to go to bed, just wanted to sit there and eat her Chex, so I let her. Next thing I know she was fast asleep with some Chex actually sitting in her mouth uneaten.

Oddly enough I could not find any pictures of Jacob in really weird positions, but I do think where he puts his arms is kind of funny. They are either spread out wide like below, or he sleeps with both hands behind his head like he is relaxing on the beach or something.

So did this post make you laugh, or run for your bed to get some shut eye?

September

2009-10-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

While others are out enjoying the fall colors and cooler weather we were swimming. Yes it was that hot. I don't think the kids minded, since they love to swim. All summer long when we would go swimming Joseph would refuse to get in the water. He was quite content to sit at the edge of the pool (flooties on just in case) with just his feet in the water. I figured this time would be no different, but to my pleasant surprise when I asked if he wanted to come in with me he said yes. As I figured, he loved the water. He was happiest when he was also inside a floating ring for the extra buoyancy.

Jacob

We knew that Guinevere loved the water, but this was the first time that we put her in her own floating thing. I was not sure if she would be big enough for it yet, but she was.

London

We also started giving Guinevere finger foods in September. I tried for a couple of weeks to get her to eat Cheerios, but she could not figure out how to get them out of her hand. She would get so frustrated that she would just sit in her high chair and scream till one of the kids would put Cheerios in her mouth. I finally broke down and gave her sticks of graham crackers. She was in heaven. As soon as all she had left was the part she was holding on to she would drop it and pick up a new stick. She made a big mess, but I am glad that she was enjoying them.

That is September in a nut shell. Hopefully since I am caught up I can stay on top of my blogging entries.

August

2009-10-06T14:50:00.001-07:00

In August we celebrated my birthday. I will leave everyone to guess how old I am now. We did not have enough candles, so I got one candle for each child. London was very excited that I was four just like her.
The main attractions at my birthday celebration were these two. The other kids always give Guinevere baby dolls to play with, and I am sure that she thought Jalynn was the most real looking baby doll she had ever seen. She kept grabbing at her face. I chose this picture because I love the look Jalynn is giving Guinevere.

We also picked up some new pajamas for the boys in August. I think kids look so cute in feety pajamas. I just love the ones that Rob got for Joseph. Little monsters, and they even have faces on the feet. I think these pajamas truly exemplify Joseph's personality, a cute little monster.

Jacobs have a cute monkey on them, but he would not stay still enough to get a picture of it. I made the mistake of leaving and empty laundry basket downstairs, and the kids quickly made use of it. Sometimes they would all pile in, and others they would have one person in while the other two pulled/pushed them around the living room. They put a nice crack in the bottom of the basket, and I had to take it away.

Hopefully I will have a quick overview of September up soon. Have a great day!

July Birthdays

2009-08-26T10:34:00.003-07:00

I know I am really behind on my posts, it is almost September, and I am doing July birthdays. How does life get so busy?

My Aunt Brenda celebrated her 50th birthday this year. We wanted to do something really special, so we had a big family get together. The theme was disco. I even found some neon die for the cake frosting.

I spent a lot of time gathering, sorting, and scanning pictures for this wonderful photo album that I was going to make for her. My siblings and my mom helped a lot, watching the kids so I could work, and going through all the pictures with me, but still I only got 8 years done, when I had originally planned to do like 30. I know, that was a pretty novel ambition, but I am still working on it, so hopefully by next year at her birthday I will be able to present her with some more pages. All in all it was a really fun party, and I was really happy that so many family members could drive into town for the occasion.

We had Joseph's birthday party the following weekend. I can't believe he is already 2. I did not have much time to work on a cake or any of that stuff but I got a dog on there (he loves to point at dogs and say the word, but he is not a big fan of dogs getting to close to him). He was not very happy at the beginning of the party. I think he was a little confused since we had to wake him up from a late nap after church. Here he is looking less then thrilled about everything.

He did warm up as he started to open the gifts, and he was really happy when he got to eat cake and ice cream. He insisted on playing with his new toys while eating. Not something I usually go for, but since it was his birthday, I let him.

I think his favorite toy was to large bag of blocks he got. Or at least they are the toy that is the most fought over. Here he is building a large tower. He loves to make a tower run over to me and say "big tower." After I look at it and smile he promptly kicks it and takes all the pieces apart and then builds a different tower.

Today

2009-08-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

We got a really good thunderstorm and plenty of rain last night, so I had late night visitor to my bed. Jacob hates thunder, lightning, and rain if it is dark outside. Rob and Jacob spent the night taking turns hitting me in the face as they both fought for more space on the bed in there sleep. Needless to say, I did not sleep very well. I am not a fan of children sleeping in the bed with us, but for those rare middle of the night thunderstorms I make an exception for Jacob. Once the sun was up I could not keep the boys at the table to eat there breakfast because they wanted to go outside and play in the puddles. It was drizzling off and on, but it was warm outside, and the boys were ok getting wet, so I conceded to let them go and splash in the puddles. London went out for a little while, but she didn't like the boys getting her wet so she came back in.

Inside Guinevere was very proud of herself for learning how to sit up. Isn't she just so cute.

After all that sitting she thought she would wage war with another baby over a toy. She lost, and then spit up in protest. Apparently she is a sore loser.

That's my morning so far. It should prove to be an eventful day.

Fourth of July

2009-08-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

We woke up early as usual of the 4th of July. We decided since it was so darn hot out that we would take the kids to the pool in the morning. Would you believe we were the only ones at the pool at 8am. It was really nice to have the pool all to ourselves, and the water was already plenty warm, I don't think I would have wanted to be out there any later in the day.

Here is Joseph, London, and Jacob waiting to get in the pool. They all insist on having there floaties on and having a noodle. Joseph refuses to get in the water, but he needs floaties and a noodle on just so he can look cool or something.

Here is Guinevere and Rob enjoying the water. This was her first time in the swimming pool. She loved it.

London

Jacob

Later in the day we had my mom and Aunt over for some fryed chicken and biscutes. They took London and Jacob to see the fireworks. This was the first time that either of them had been to see fireworks. London absolutly loved it. By the third firwork Jacob was screaming his head off. My mom tried to calm him down and keep him quiet, she even tried stuffing food in his mouth. Nothing worked. Then about half way through the show London turned to him and said "Jacob aren't the fireworks beautiful?" That did it, he imidieatly stoped screaming and started chating away about how wonderfull the fireworks were. He said to my mom "Nana there are no monsters in the fireworks, they are in the woods." Maybe this is why he has a hard time sleeping while we are camping. They did not get home till a little after midnight, but they all seemed to have a lot of fun. Hopefully next year we can skip the screaming incident.

Hair Cuts

2009-08-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

The boys all needed hair cuts, and I figured since I had out the clippers we could go ahead and cut Guinevere's hair to. I have had a few people tell me that if you shave a babies hair that it will come back in thicker. Since Guinevere only really had hair on the top of her head, and it was pretty thin I figured what can it hurt. Since Rob and I were both needed (one to hold and one to cut) we passed the camera off to London who actually got some pretty good pictures of Guinevere's first haircut.

Here we are right at the start, that is Josephs big head in the picture with us. He found the whole hair cutting process very interesting.

London got a bit bored only taking pictures of Guinevere, so she ventured out and got pictures of other interesting things.

Joseph did just fine getting his hair cut, Jacob started out ok, but by the time I was half way done he started screaming. Afterwards he was fine posing for a picture for London.

Here is Guinevere with her freshly shaved head. Doesn't she have a beautiful head!

Here is Jacob, Joseph, and Guinevere showing off there new hair do's

Sprinkler Fun

2009-06-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Rob finally got around to hooking up the sprinkler for the kids to play in the water out back. It was a sunny hot day, and the kids loved it.

Joseph kept trying to drink the water.

Don't they all look adorable in there water hats?

Summer

2009-06-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

I love summer for so many reasons, one of which is not the horrible heat here in the Southwest.

I love to have the kids wash the car, and not worry if they get themselves wet in the process. Sorry about the under line, I can't get it to go away.

I love to send the kids out with home made apple juice Popsicle. They think they are a treat, and I know they are somewhat healthy, so I don't mind making them almost everyday. I'll do most anything to get the kids to play outside for a while in the summertime.

I also love to go camping. However I do not love taking a baby camping with me. There is so much going on that they just get put down and forgotten about in random places. Good thing she was not yet rolling over when this picture was taken. Doesn't she look confused.

I also love to take the kids to the pool and get them supper tired so that they sleep well. Sorry, I don't have any good pictures of that. I hope everyone is enjoying there summer as well.

Random things

2009-05-28T13:28:00.001-07:00

London loves to have parties with all of her animals. On this day it was Bambi's birthday, and she wanted Guinevere to join her. She put a large lego-like toy in front of each guest as a plate, and then gave them each a wooden bead for cake. Guinevere found the whole thing quit interesting. Those are Jacobs legs. He is throwing a fit because he was not invited, and he wanted some cake. I finally convinced London to include him, and all was well. Yes, I have to comfort my crying children about not getting to eat fake cake.

A lot of people can not believe that I take all four of my kids grocery shopping and to pediatrician appointments. They think I must be crazy (and maybe I am), but I really just don't have a choice in the matter. I do have the option of bathing them at separate times, but it is just so much faster to do it all at once. A little crazy, but faster. I usually try and get one of the older kids to hold Guinevere, but Joseph threw a fit when I gave her to Jacob. Joseph has really taken a liking to her. Maybe he still understands her when she babbles?

Guinevere has just recently started liking taking a bath. She is smiling even though Jacob keeps dumping water on her head.

Life is a little crazy with four kids under the age of 5, but it is also a lot of fun.

Camping

2009-05-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

We took our first camping trip of the season. This was a first time Joseph has ever gone camping. Guinevere stayed at home with Nana. I think taking babies out camping is just too difficult. It was great to get out of the heat and up into the cool mountain air.

The kids enjoyed playing in the dirt, and climbing on all the rocks while Rob and I got camp set up. Once the fire got started though it was hard to pull there attention away from it. Here is all the kids mesmerized by the fire that Rob got started.

This is just a sample of how dirty the kids got. Joseph just could not keep his hands off his face.

The kids were really excited to roast marshmallows. Rob helped each one roast a marshmallow to put in there smore. Then Jacob said he wanted just a marshmallow, not in a smore. We gave it to him and he said he did't want it because it was dirty. He did not like that I had taken the time to carefully make it golden brown for him. I guess roasted marshmellow is an aquired taste.

Here is Joseph getting his first taste of a smore. I am not sure if he liked it or not since half of it ended up in the dirt and he was not upset about it.

It took forever to get the kids to finally fall asleep. You would think all the excitement would have tired them out. Once we all finally got to sleep Jacob woke up twice durring the middle of the night. The first time he was cold, and wanted us to turn the light on in the tent. We turned on the flashlight and tried to get him to sleep in his sleeping bag, or under one of the extra blankets that we had brought. It took a while, but we finally got him back to sleep. Then he woke up around 3:30 am just screaming. He was unconsolable and screamed for about 45 minutes. Of course he woke up his siblings, and even though we tried, I don't think they ever really fell back to sleep. I don't think the campers next to us were very happy since they were packed up and gone by 6am. Here I am a not so happy camper tending to the breakfast fire.

We decided to take our cast iorn cook wear out and make meals over the fire. Our griled cheese sandwiches for dinner turned out great and were a big hit. However, the scrambled eggs, bacon and biscutes for breakfast took too long for the kids and then they hardly eat any of it. Robs biscutes came out a little burnt on both sides, so Rob tried to convince them to just eat the middles out of them. They did not like that though. Rob and I thought breakfast was great, and we were pretty proud of ourselves.

After breakfast we cleaned up and went out on a hike. Here is the view from the top. London loved looking throught the binoculars that we brought with us. I could not even get her to put them down for the picture. The hike was a little shorter then we were hoping for because Joseph kept sitting down on the trail and refusing to walk.

The kids were a little winy, and did not care for all the bugs, but I think overall things went pretty well. Rob hopes to go camping once a month over the summer. I am hopeful that the more often we camp the better the kids will get at it. If anyone has some good suggestions of fun activies for small children while camping I would love to hear them. Happy trails!

1/2 Marathon

2009-05-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

In order to get back in shape and lose my baby weight I am doing a half marathon with my sister and some other ladies who have recently had or are about to have a baby. Granted this is a first baby for them and my 4th baby, but I think I can do it. Rob got me a treadmill for Mother's Day so that I can work out at home. My goal is to walk 5 days a week, but for the last two weeks I have only done it 4 days a week. The race allows you only 4 hours from the gun time to finish the race. However since it is a very popular race they have a wave start. So we may only get like 3 1/2 hours. Our goal is to be able to do 4 miles per hour. Currently I only work out for 1/2 an hour and I can do a little over one mile. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I am confident that I can do it. The race is not till January 17th. I will keep you all posted about my progress. They say the best way to achieve your goals is to tell people about them, so I am making my goal as public as possible. I need a lot of motivation and support. Anyone who would like to is welcome to train and fly down and do the 1/2 marathon with me.

Jacob is 3

2009-05-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Jacob is already three years old. How the time flies. Three seems to be a transitional time for Jacob. Sometimes he takes naps, sometimes he does not. Sometimes he acts like such a big boy and wants to be so helpful, and sometimes he acts like a huge baby (can't put his own shoes on or go to the bathroom by himself). He is also very strong willed. Good luck convincing him to do something that he does not want to do. He has quite the temper from time to time as well. We are going to have to better help him learn how to express his anger before he gets bigger and stronger then his dad and I. That is probably about 12 years away, but I am already thinking about it. I love him to death, and can't imagine life without my little helper following me around the kitchen wanting to do everything that I am doing.

We had a small party at home to mark the occasion. I did not have much time to decorate the cake, so I went with a simple football design. Jacob wanted a lion, but I was not that motivated. This is the first cake I have decorated entirely by myself.

Jacob blowing out the candles with a little help from London.

He was really excited about the set of 5 cars that he got from Aunt Barbara. He wanted to just play with them instead of opening the rest of his gifts.

He was super excited about the big boy bike he got from his Nana and Aunt Brenda though.

All in all, it was a great party.

Do they look alike?

2009-04-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

People always comment about who they think Guinevere looks like, so I thought I would post a picture of each of them at 4 months old to see who she really looks the most like. If I had a lot of free time on my hands I would have rounded up pictures of Rob and I at 4 months old as well, but I have four kids so I have practically no free time. At this moment my two boys are downstairs making a mess with the cereal. If I want to get things done though I will just have to ignore this fact for a few more minutes.

Guinevere

London

Joseph

Jacob

This is just a cute picture I got of Jacob and Guinevere today. Jacob loves his baby sister.

Easter

2009-04-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year. London and Jacob both understood what was going on, and Joseph was just happy to be a part of all the action. We had fun dieing eggs. We only had one accident with die getting on London's shirt. I think that Jacob and Joseph mostly liked playing with the eggs while they were in there die bath.

The kids stood patiently behind there baskets so that I could get a picture. The Easter Bunny found some great stuff at the dollar store to fill the baskets with. I think the favorite item was the pinwheel. They can also be used as a wand. The kids are still carrying them all around the house. They even wanted to take them to the grocery store today. I was a mean Mom and only let them have one piece of candy each on Easter since they were just getting over a bout of diarrhea. Thank heavens they are all feeling better now.

After breakfast Uncle Drake and Daddy went out and hid all the eggs. Aunt Brenda tried to help Guinevere find some eggs, but I think she just wanted to go inside and take a nap.

London was very proud that she was big enough to reach some of the eggs hidden in the trees.

Jacob on the other hand had to have a lift up from Uncle Drake.

There was a whole section of the grass that was devoted to Joseph. The eggs were more or less just laying in plane sight for him to pick up. After he got the point he even found some of the "hidden" eggs in the bushes.

It was a great time had by all. I am glad we live near family so that we can all enjoy the holidays together.

Repeling

2009-04-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we went out repelling with some friends from church. Mostly to test the gear for the following weekends scout outing. London was at dance class, but the rest of us had a great time out there. Rob is the only one from our family to actually went down. I was to big of a chicken, plus I needed to keep and eye on the kids.

Here is Rob on one of his descents.

Guinevere was a perfect angel out there. She was happy to just sit and watch everything that was going on. Doesn't she look so cute in her little hat.

The boys had a blast playing in the dirt and watching people repel. We stopped by the dollar store and got them each a bucket and shovel. It was the best two bucks I have spent in a while. The got dirt all over them, but they were happy, so I was happy.

Family Picture

2009-03-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

Every year in the Spring time we get a new family picture. This year Rob thought it would be nice to take pictures outside with a nice desert background as oppose to an indoor picture with a professional. I figured this would be ok. It would save money, and might even be fun. I picked a day, got my sister Barbara to wake up and take the pictures for us, and found clothing for everyone that sort of went together.

I am sure that all of you with young children can guess what happened. It was a disaster. None of the children wanted to cooperate, and at each location we choose the sun was in our eyes. Barbara took about 30 pictures, and Joseph is looking at the camera in 1 of them. Yes, just one, and in that one picture London is trying to take her shirt off, and Jacob is leaning over looking at something on the ground.

I had really hoped that since this was our first family photo with Guinevere in it that it would be nice enough to frame and put on the wall. I have moved pass this to hoping that next years picture will be good enough to frame, and can now laugh about what a disaster last Saturday was.

Here is the picture that hours of preparation and one stressful Saturday morning resulted in.

ABC's

2009-02-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

Jacob is very concerned every time Guinevere cries. When she cries from the next room while he is eating he quickly says "Just a minute Guinevere," and then gets up and goes to see what is wrong with her. He tells her she is ok, and sticks the pacifier in. Yesterday while Rob and I were up stairs, Jacob ran up the stairs to tell us that Guinevere was crying in her swing (like we could not hear her). So we told him to go and sing to her so that she would stop. He said "OK" and ran back down the stairs. We did not actually expect him to quite her, but sure enough a few seconds later all that could be heard was Jacob sweetly singing the only song he knows all the words to, ABC's. Oh how I love my sweet little boy.

Parada del Sol

2009-02-24T11:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went out to the largest horse Parade. I am not sure if this is in the Southwest, US, or World, but it is must be worth bragging about since they kept mentioing it. We got up early and waited for an hour at the parade route, so that we could get a good seat. Rob and flat Tyler got a picture with the queen of the parade.

After the parade we went down to the Trails End Celebration. They had a petting area for the kids. Jacob is sacred to death of live animals, so when this donkey walked by he tried desperatly to squeez inbetween Nana and the fence.

We eventually got him calm enough to hold this cute baby goat.

Joseph loved the petting area. He did not really pet the animals, just stared at them as they walked all around him.

Then we rode the horses. All the kids really loved this part.

London saw other kids going on the electronic bull, and she said she really wanted to go on it too. We stood in line and as we watched other kids get thrown off we asked if she still wanted to ride. She said she did so we let her. Jacob went first, and as you can see he absolutely loved it. He was laughing the whole time. Even when it finally threw him off. Obviously the guy at the controls makes it go much slower for the younger kids.

London on the other hand started screaming as soon as the thing started moving. By the time I crawled up there to get her she had tears streaming down her face. I guess to see how much Jacob loved it, it was worth the wait in line.

All in all it was a great day. The weather was perfict, and I remembered to put sun screen on all the kids this year, so no one got burnt. Thanks to Uncle Drake, Uncle Kendale (really it is Aunt Kendale, but this is what the kids call her), and Kendale's mom Chris for getting us a parking pass and bracelets for the kids to go on all the rides.

Blessing Day

2009-02-08T19:45:00.001-08:00

On Feb 1st Guinevere had her baby blessing. It was a beautiful day outside and we got a few pictures before the blessing. Guinevere was not very happy, but the rest of us were enjoying the weather.

Uncle Drake and Guinevere. We were very happy that Uncle Drake could pull himself away from the pregame shows and the Super Bowl party that he was hosting at his house for this special family event.

My Mom and Aunt Brenda with Guinevere

The Grill

2009-02-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

At Robs work they have a test you have to take in order to be eligible to interview for supervisor positions. The three hour written and 2 hour oral test is call a "Grill." As I understand it, the Grill goes over corporate policies, accounting schedules, and other accounting stuff. Rob has been studying hard, and on Thursday he took and passed his Grill. Now instead of a Staff Accountant he is Senior Accountant. He is still doing the same job, but he has a new title. We are now eagerly awaiting the hiring and promotion freeze to be lifted so that Rob can start applying for supervisor positions. Congratulations Rob! I knew you could do it.

London Turns 4

2009-01-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that my little girl is already 4 years old. The time seems to go by so quickly. London asked for a kitten chasing a butterfly on her cake. My mother and I spent a good chunk of Saturday working on the cake. It took so long because my mom was trying to teach me how to decorate the cake. I think it turned out pretty well for my first cake.

London's birthday was a while ago, but we just had her party. We kept telling her that she was already 4, but she insisted that she was not 4 because she had not had her birthday party. At the party her uncle asked her how old she was and she said 3. "But I thought this was your 4th birthday party." "No, I am not 4 yet." After she blew out her candles he asked again "Are you 4 now." He got a resounding "Yes" from the birthday girl. If blowing out the candles on the cake is what makes you turn another year older I know a lot of people who would stop putting candles on the cake.

London has grown out of her Princess Jasmin dress up outfit, so we got her a Bell outfit with shoes. She loved it, and changed into it right after she finished her cake and ice cream. We had a hard time getting it off of her when it was time to change into her PJ's.

Joseph loved the cake and ice cream, and I think he was even more thrilled that we would let him eat it by himself. Rob tried to help, but Joseph just took Robs spoon away. Its not really a party if there is not a mess to clean up.

Here is Uncle Drake reading one of the stories that he got for London.

It was a great night, and London seemed to enjoy herself. I felt kind of bad that I was not up to having a friend party for her, but she did not seem to know the difference. Maybe next year.

The Pediatrician

2009-01-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

Guinevere is now one month old, and has been to visit the Pediatrician twice, plus seeing the Pediatrician at the hospital everyday while she was in the nursery. Is all this really necessary? I know they need to get there shoots, and I would never forgive myself if something happened and I did not take them in for all the check ups the Ped says they need, but give me a break. The Ped wants her back in at two months of age as well. I also took Joseph in for his 18m check-up, and she wants him to come back in a month to be re-checked as well. She is not very happy with how he is developing, and also wants me to schedual an appointment with developmental specialist (which I am not going to do). Is my Ped just paronioid, or is this how they all are. Yes, my 18m old is not running yet, and does not talk, but he is only 18m old. I think that now days Peds see so many kids that are only children that they think all kids should develop at this rate. Let me explain. With your first child you spend so much time reading to them and trying to get them to talk and learn all there colors and body parts that of course they are going to start doing all these things sooner then kids that are from a big family. Joseph does not have to talk, because some how both London and Jacob understand what he wants when he grunts and they tell me what he wants. Plus parents with multiple kids understand that sometimes it is better if they can't talk. If you have a non stop talker like London you know what I mean. So what do all the other parents out there think, am I just not concerned enough, or is my Ped too concerned? As a side note, all my children measured in the upper 90th percentiles for there hights, go figure.

December

2009-01-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

I would not recommend having a baby in December. Not that we had planed to have Guinevere in December, but life happens. Not only do you have to adjust to having another little person in the family, but you also have to deal with all the holiday parties, decorating, and baking that needs to be done. It makes for one tired family, not just mom.

December 12th-15th we celebrated Christmas with extended family on my mothers side. The grand kids (that's my generation) all got a hands on cinnamon roll baking lesson from my grandma. We played games and ate lots of food. And a few of us even made it to the zoo after the partying was over

Grandma with all her grandchildren and great grandchildren

London holding Hailey

Guinevere was born on Dec 18th, and after five days in the hospital she came home on Dec 23. The next morning I woke up and made sugar cookies to decorate that afternoon with Nana and Grandma Brown. Then we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner.

Nana

Grandma Brown helping Jacob, he really liked to goob on the frosting and sprinkles

London just liked to squeeze the frosting out and call it good

Joseph just ate the already frosted cookies

We had fun opening presents on Christmas morning with Grandma Brown and Papa Steve

Grandma Brown had to show the kids how to play hopscotch

Guinevere with candy from Santa

After the New Year we celebrated a late Christmas with my siblings and parents. Instead of a traditional Christmas dinner Christopher and Kendall decided to have us all make our own pizzas. After dinner we opened presents and played games.

Mom and Aunt Brenda preparing there pizzas

Travis and his wife Chris

Christopher and Kendall showing off there pizza

Jacob and Papa getting ready to put there pizza in the oven

Barbara and London proudly displayed there pizza for the camera

Guinevere just eat, slept and looked pretty during the party.

I love Christmas time, but I am sure glad that December is over. Hopefully next year I will not be pregnant, or sleep deprived from staying up all night with a new born.

Guinevere Has Arrived

2008-12-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

Guinevere was born on Dec 18th at 4:36pm. She was 9lb 5oz, and 22.2in long. It has taken me so long to write because unlike we had planned Guinevere was born in the hospital and had to stay for 5 days. To make my explanation as short as possible I will leave out the medical terms. Around noon on the 18th my amniotic fluid turned green and my midwives transported me to the hospital. The green was due to Guinevere pooping while still in the uterus. After she was born the cord was quickly cut and they started sucking the poop out of her lungs. She got an infection and had to be in the Special Care Nursery for 5 days on antibiotics. It was not the wonderful home birth that I had hoped for, but I am very thankful for hospitals and modern medicine.

Guinevere is home now and it doing just fine. I will post more pictures later.

Thoughts On Pregnancy

2008-12-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

I really love being pregnant. That is until I reach that window of time that my baby can be born. Then I can't stand it any more. I am a planner, and I dislike the fact that I have no idea what day or time the baby is coming. Don't get me wrong, I would never plan a c-section or something so that I could plan my life. I just wish that natural birth could be a little more predictable. I have currently passed my due date and thus have not been in a very good mood lately. I know the baby can't stay in me forever, but that does not help me from constantly wondering when she will come. I am constantly running game play strategies in my head. If she comes at this time then so and so can watch the kids, but if the labor takes too long then so and so will have to pick the kids up, yad yad yad. I have always wondered if I would have been more calm in waiting for labor to begin with my first child since I did not have to plan out who was going to take care of my other children. London came early and thus I never had time to worry about when she was going to come. So until little Guinevere makes her appearance I am trying to stay upbeat and not drive myself and others crazy with my constant wondering. Sorry to all those who catch me at my not so happy moments.

Arizona Falls Park

2008-11-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we decided to have an afternoon outing to Arizona Falls Park. I had never heard of it before and Rob said that it was new since I left for college. We both though it was going to be a nice park with a waterfall where the kids could run around on the grass and we could enjoy sitting on a blanket near the falls. We got all packed up and were very disappointed by what we found when we got there. It is an urban park of all concert and the waterfalls were made up of canal water. Apparently the land there naturally slopes downward, so they decided to put in scenic waterfalls for people to enjoy. There were actually couples making out there. It was kind of cool, but the smell of canal water would not make me want to make out with my date.
The kids did enjoy seeing the loud waterfalls. Jacob was scared of them and we had to coax him near the fence, but London and Joseph were both totally in to it. We were only there for about 30 min, but I did manage to get some good pictures.

Needless to say, we will do a little more research before we head out for our next afternoon adventure.

Pregnancy

2008-11-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

I have had a few people mention that I never post or send pictures of myself, so today I had Rob snap a few shots of me and my pregnant self after church. Overall this pregnancy has been going really well. Just a few weeks left and I am still actively pushing all three of my children around Costco and the zoo. I figured out the other day that when all three of them are in a shopping cart it is over 100lbs of just kids, not to mention groceries. By this time in my pregnancy with Joseph I was pretty much just sitting around the house hoping he would come out soon. So I am either getting stronger, or Gwen is not going to be a huge baby like Joseph. I hope you all enjoy the picture of me, you probably won't see them very often.

Weather

2008-11-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

The weather here has been so nice. This is the time of year that I really love to live in Arizona. We went to the zoo on Tuesday morning and enjoyed 70 degree weather. We have been able to have all the windows open so the house can air out. Soon we will have to close up the windows at night so the kids don't get too cold, but if it was up to me we would leave the windows open all winter long. Last night Rob had to throw another blanket on his side of the bed because he said it was cold in the house. I thought the temperature was perfect and would not let him close the window in our room (maybe I will be colder after this pregnancy is over). My children think that it is cold outside as well. When they go out they insist on having there jackets on, and London wants a pair of mittens to play outside in. London lived in Alaska the longest of any of my children, yet she is the biggest baby about being cold. If we want to see snow or the fall colors, we can drive a couple of hours north. However, I still have no desire to see or play in the snow even though we have not lived in Alaska for 3 years now. If any of our friends in Alaska or Utah want to come and visit so that they can defrost for a while you are more then welcome. I love Arizona winters.

Halloween

2008-11-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

This was the first year that London really understood what was going on, thus was able to get excited about it. We had been planning her custom for a while. She wanted to wear a tutu, and I saw a picture of a "flower fairy" in my Parents magazine that was wearing a tutu, so we endeavored to copy the picture. Seeing as how I have limited time and energy this was quite the endeavor. London was very happy with the end results, so I figured that was good enough.
Jacob and Joseph were both dressed as dogs. It is much easier to make a costume when the person wearing it has no say in what the costume should look like. After Barbara applied face makeup to the boys we all set out to go trick or treating.
My children had quite the entourage as they hit the streets. Dad was pulling the wagon and Mom, Nana, and Aunt Barbara were all along to make sure the little ones did not get picked on by any of the bigger kids in the neighborhood, or run into the street and get hit by a car.

At first Joseph would just walk up behind the other two because that is what we were telling him to do. Then after about 10 houses he started to figure out that when people put a bowl of candy down in front of you you pick up a piece and put it into your pumpkin. He would continue to put candy into his pumpkin till someone stopped him. The people handing out the candy thought this was very cute, so he made off with a good deal of candy.Overall the night was a success. The kids and mom were all quite tired after walking the neighborhood. I am just glad that it had started to cool down a bit and we were not trick or treating in 80 degree weather.

Getting things started

2008-11-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

After seeing so many of my friends and family members blogs I thought that I should start one of my own. Hopefully this will help everyone keep up to date with our ever growing family. I still have not totally figured out how to do everything, so there is not much to look at right now. Hopefully I will have figured everything out before Guinevere comes and I will be able to post pictures of her.