tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68902599900892399562023-11-16T10:59:02.590-08:00Bits & PiecesLauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-1991952681983797072010-08-20T19:17:00.000-07:002010-08-20T19:24:25.583-07:00Things NOT to do in front of potential landlord...After walking several people through our next door apartment, I've discovered a few mistakes that people make. First, do NOT tell the landlord that the lower level is perfect for letting kids make messes because you can just close the door. As the landlord in this situation, I say, "No. Actually, it's a better idea to clean up those messes." *Smile* Next, do NOT fight with each other. Landlords sharing a wall with renters will NOT enjoy hearing arguments through the wall. Last, do NOT tell landlord that you send your child to a private school, but need help paying for rent. ?? Okay, that one was the worst. <br /><br />The good news is that we had quite a few people walk through that were excellent candidates! It was rough to decide which family was the best. In the end, we picked the couple that could commit to a year and seemed to be very respectful and responsible. They accepted and we're trying to get the place ready for next week. :DLauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-28845720917997152762010-08-09T15:19:00.000-07:002010-08-09T15:35:03.729-07:00Avatar: The Last Airbender<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJZLLrwLXlN4c6vgMeV-lUgMRSZwtuWo_EZ2NjE7eKwbzS7c1LjtytScEST-NwfvfGA4JVoGbeVa3J8XnjObKo01OAN4dSCz_raURNYnfSQ4874zDJ-PlOUTH1XonGWGoJWKabOvVHdk/s1600/aang.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJZLLrwLXlN4c6vgMeV-lUgMRSZwtuWo_EZ2NjE7eKwbzS7c1LjtytScEST-NwfvfGA4JVoGbeVa3J8XnjObKo01OAN4dSCz_raURNYnfSQ4874zDJ-PlOUTH1XonGWGoJWKabOvVHdk/s320/aang.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503540592390009426" border="0" /></a><br />Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cartoon series about a world where select people can bend elements. Water, Earth, Fire and Air. They live within these nations (i.e. Fire Nation) and have done so in peace because of the abilities of the Avatar. The Avatar is the only person who can bend all elements, but, perhaps more importantly, is the bridge from the mortal world to the spiritual world. He can speak and receive guidance from the spirits when necessary. He acts as the mediator during times of trial and helps keep peace and order throughout all the nations. This series depicts the events that happen after the Avatar (in hiding for one hundred years) returns to an overzealous Fire Nation who is trying to take over the world and capture the Avatar.<br /><br />It is so addicting! The story is complex enough to captivate an adult crowd (hence, Dustin and I are hooked, as are some very close friends of ours), but light enough for children to follow along. We watch it every evening and can't get enough!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bci_S0y7zJ4L0YhJ70nri9Xw9S9Vg8phfjzV5_BMrsdYLl13h-p-GDJ5QjI8rP68HZGWT-Z-Ll5fSwJ-TGQM2iAej4ufa0uYfh23cPxGhmXi41KRRLBZcERQ7cs_b5ILjK-h7bSXJGI/s1600/405px-The_Last_Airbender_Poster.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bci_S0y7zJ4L0YhJ70nri9Xw9S9Vg8phfjzV5_BMrsdYLl13h-p-GDJ5QjI8rP68HZGWT-Z-Ll5fSwJ-TGQM2iAej4ufa0uYfh23cPxGhmXi41KRRLBZcERQ7cs_b5ILjK-h7bSXJGI/s320/405px-The_Last_Airbender_Poster.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503540600747610642" border="0" /></a><br />So, we recently went to see the Hollywood take on this series. It was OK. I was bummed that they didn't follow the story line as well as I hoped and that it was mega-serious, but they did get the main points and expanded on the complexity of the story for a more mature crowd. They also had some fabulously accurate sets. All in all, it was worth watching and I'm excited for the next one.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-201052383907330282010-07-19T14:27:00.000-07:002010-07-19T22:50:41.560-07:00Anthropology and Home Life<div style="text-align: center;">**WARNING** THIS POST IS RIDICULOUSLY LONG AND BORING!!<br /></div><br />This block, I signed up for my general social issues requirement. All of the classes sounded super hard except for the anthropology one, so I took it! I'm finishing up week #3 and am actually enjoying myself. For the most part, the material is quite interesting. I wouldn't recommend the teacher to anyone with a brain... or even a pulse, but I do enjoy talking about different cultures, people, traditions, etc. It's all very fascinating! This brings me to the point of my blog -- diversity and tolerance. Since it is the Summer of Diversity, it is only fitting that I'm learning about the study of people. I find that I have a lot to talk to the kids about and, hopefully, we can learn and recognize our own quirks and traditions.<br /><br />This week, we're realizing how different we are from our friends and family. This may be embarrassing and I hope I don't regret blogging about it... Oh, who am I kidding, I'll just privatize the thing. Anyway, in our family, we have some definite traditions. We were thinking of them over the last few days and listing them off. They started out quite ordinary and predictable, but progressively got weirder and weirder.<br /><br />Here's what we have so far:<br />1. We value the time we spend with one another and create many opportunities to participate in family activities together.<br />2. We make the most of the extended family we have in the area, and consciously work on maintaining lasting relationships with them.<br />3. Trust is something that is earned, but also practiced.<br />4. Respect is never expected, but is given liberally.<br />5. Punishments are determined by child and parent on a case-by-case basis.<br />6. Apologies (given by child and parent) are sincere -- not, "I'm sorry you took it that way."<br />7. We have rules set up for equality among each other. (If you knew me as a child, you knew this one was coming...)<br /> A. Birthdays and other special events are celebration for everyone -- presents are given to each child and appreciation is given to both parents (not Santa or the Easter Bunny!).<br /> B. If one person is working on chores, everyone joins or suffers consequences.<br /> C. Fights are two-sided and, therefore, no one will receive a harsher punishment for continuing the dispute.<br />8. We tend to sleep in the same bed -- okay, now we're weird.<br />9. The driver (usually Mom) is the last one to buckle up in the car. (Reasoning = if someone's going to die, the driver should die with them. Creepy? I know, this one's all me.)<br /><br />I am mostly proud of the things we've accomplished with the kids. We have continued (even through incredibly busy moments) to work on our relationships/bonds with them and each other. I can see that we have a lot of work to do when it comes to hypocrisy from our parenting, but I think everyone is prone to being a hypocrite. All we can do is apologize and continue to do our best.<br /><br />Now, I feel like I need to address the shared-sleeping arrangements. When both kids were born, I was too emotional to fight with them (Ferberize) about sleeping in their own room. I felt like they were attached to me for nine months and I couldn't listen to them scream when they were ripped away and shut up in a big, dark, cold room. Too dramatic? Sorry... I'm sensitive when it comes to my kids. So, instead, we set up a bassinet next to my side of the bed and tried to get them to sleep there. Mostly, it didn't work, but we kept trying. Ultimately, the kids would get to where they could start the night off in bed and then wound up in our bed half-way through. I could live with it because they were little. WELL! Now, that they're 7 and 5 and still doing it, it's rough. We've tried everything to keep them in their own beds, but we can't follow through with anything. For example, we've talked about it... Telling them to stay in their beds is easy, but they don't want to, so it's a waste of time. We have threatened them, but I honestly think they'd rather sleep with me then play video games any day ... and I'm actually happy about that. We've tried locking our door (can't lock theirs because they may need to use the bathroom). This was the best bet, but with summer weather and being in the hottest room in the house, closing our door is OUT OF THE QUESTION anymore. So, we're back to square one. They are very good kids and losing a little sleep so that they can feel connected to us shouldn't be a bad thing.<br /><br />I am grateful for their presence in my life and the relationship that we have. I think the Summer of Diversity is good for the kids, but very beneficial for our family life. I hope that they can look back on their journals and appreciate what we are doing.<br /><br />PS -- Thought I'd show you what my freakshow of a professor looks like. Her hair seriously looks like this every day! Only in real life it's like orangey-yellow and flatter on the sides.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gWYtk3L5QIyzTgWhMGcsMVGC8Ks45foNRUJDTOxQ2bfSWya3CWToAh2FMFgdhyphenhyphenENLtW7g9IMKgqrqhgBgw1nQ9jZ-J_7cttJpJQncRHK8Sk_O_krUSqEjMnSn_u7ba-4VLlKW_T8klc/s1600/Gabrielle+Hodson1"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gWYtk3L5QIyzTgWhMGcsMVGC8Ks45foNRUJDTOxQ2bfSWya3CWToAh2FMFgdhyphenhyphenENLtW7g9IMKgqrqhgBgw1nQ9jZ-J_7cttJpJQncRHK8Sk_O_krUSqEjMnSn_u7ba-4VLlKW_T8klc/s320/Gabrielle+Hodson1" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495741271019943394" border="0" /><br /></a>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-19961734836648049272010-06-01T14:28:00.000-07:002010-06-01T14:52:53.377-07:00Summer of ...Some of you know about my crazy themed summers, but I thought I'd do a blog today about what we're doing this summer. The reason is because the kids and I made "Summer Journals" for them to write in every day. I probably won't join them every day because Sean still needs a lot of help, but I'm doing it today. <br /><br />Two summers ago, it was the "Summer of Swimming." We go swimming weekly during the summer anyway, but that summer the kids spent a lot of time at the pool. They got so tan, and I got jealous. :D It was loads of fun. Last summer was the "Summer of Reading." We joined the Summer Reading Program at the Orem Public Library, and the kids read (with some help from me) a TON! Bad news, we got so many late fees I cannot even tell you. We went every week, but because they were so excited to show off their reading skills, we misplaced several books. We'll probably do it this summer, too, but we've started reading chapter books; and, thanks to Nina, we've got tons to read. :D<br /><br />So, back to this summer. I decided that we would do the "Summer of Diversity." Recently, the kids have had a few opportunities to learn about other people and what they believe, so it seemed fitting. Last week, we got to go to our neighbor's First Communion. It was a great time to talk to Reilly about how there are other churches that believe differently than us. We talked about the similarities and differences during and after the service and she got to know her friend a little better. Then, on Saturday, our youth at church got the opportunity to volunteer at the Special Olympics at BYU. They said all friends and family were welcome to come, so I decided to bring the kids. Sean, however, had other plans, so he missed out and got to go to the stinky dump instead. (That story would be a blog all by itself...) Reilly and I enjoyed cheering for the soccer teams. While everyone else cheered for every player, we decided it'd be more fun if we rooted for opposing teams. Reilly and her friend would pick one team and her mom and I would take the other one. It was fun to trash-talk with one another while getting excited about our teams. The experience was great. They played so well! I was amazed at the abilities they had. Even for "regular" players, they had impressive skill and determination. The goalie of one team has some AWESOME saves! I went in thinking that we were going to watch a slow paced game and got exactly the opposite. It was great for Reilly, too. After the last game, we went to congratulate one of the teams and they all shook Reilly's hand. She had fun and walked away with a little more tolerance for different people. <br /><br />Today, we're writing in our journals and will do it every day throughout the summer. Hopefully, we'll get more opportunities to become a more diverse, tolerant family. We plan on hitting several of the festivals in our area. We're not stretching much for the Scottish Festival, but the Icelandic and India Festivals should be very diversifying!<br /><br />Hopefully, I'll keep you posted as the kids journal.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-89682243511043183472010-05-26T01:46:00.000-07:002010-05-26T01:54:49.297-07:00Three months? Really?!I check my blog periodically, but I can't believe how long it's been since I gave it a post. Sad. Sad. Sad. I started it so that friends and family could keep in touch and informed with our happenings. Since the last real post we've had numerous field trips, recorded events, and milestones met. I, however, have also had a huge load of school and church and lessons and family and house duties (... I said duties - haha!). Before the end of the summer, I have the intention of updating this thing so I hope you'll all come back to me. <br /><br />Right now, I'm pulling an all-nighter because my planner and I are on the outs and I keep forgetting about things. Today, I was supposed to go to the junior high for observation, but stupidly planned on having an hour and a half of lessons, plus I volunteered to babysit the neighbor's kindergartner. What the crap! Get with it! I haven't been this unorganized with my time in years. I keep having a reoccurring panic attack that revolves around my lack of organization. I look around my house and think, "How are we supposed to live in this? How long is this going to take to clean up? How did it get so bad?" I'm running on no sleep with anxiety, all the while trying to juggle kids, husband, work and school. <br /><br />I'm determined to be positive through it all, but I'm bound to have a bad day once in a while, right? Well, today is that day. Breathe. Breathe.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-20203011240666947412010-02-10T20:16:00.001-08:002010-02-10T20:16:25.663-08:00I'm Baaaack!But not for long.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-25171033132806391672009-10-26T14:35:00.000-07:002009-10-26T14:36:10.119-07:00PS - stupid banner!Next to the new pictures I've taken of the kids, my banner looks all out of focus and dark. We need new ones already. Guess it's a good thing I don't have to pay every time I feel like getting new pics, huh?! Expect them sooner rather than later.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-26707849202167640262009-10-26T14:21:00.001-07:002009-10-26T14:27:15.677-07:00Halloween, here we come!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYEtZ79iG_u_DxRFzGvL7PmmnyGmQ3i6pDRdLI1z_-VamjDc-wyhkEM7gYgAztly6Eurw29pMYfyBl9O83gZ3jS-hK-upVdFVuFm3W95lx-oV0YWboiTqYTjF4VMJjqqA2cRCCnIw4k4/s1600-h/Sean+Doggy"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYEtZ79iG_u_DxRFzGvL7PmmnyGmQ3i6pDRdLI1z_-VamjDc-wyhkEM7gYgAztly6Eurw29pMYfyBl9O83gZ3jS-hK-upVdFVuFm3W95lx-oV0YWboiTqYTjF4VMJjqqA2cRCCnIw4k4/s320/Sean+Doggy" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397023344185330994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvBQ6Bpt5wEpZ-umS5kY03bC38mHigp0fNBVPVALtKa5K8hyphenhyphenFXgsL_szTTmmYQ42_alsbCXCN1bjiCXUSp1gtOXRvKmpLINMLTnRjF7bXyRfynqQQss6KSzuoqifjVAFf707dOhFnz_c/s1600-h/Sean+Doggy+2"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvBQ6Bpt5wEpZ-umS5kY03bC38mHigp0fNBVPVALtKa5K8hyphenhyphenFXgsL_szTTmmYQ42_alsbCXCN1bjiCXUSp1gtOXRvKmpLINMLTnRjF7bXyRfynqQQss6KSzuoqifjVAFf707dOhFnz_c/s320/Sean+Doggy+2" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397023341943756850" border="0" /></a><br />Last night (this morning?) at about 1:30am, Dustin and I stitched and pressed the last of costumes for this year. It was so much better this year than last because we picked costumes that were easier. I knew that Sean's would be easier than Reilly's because his pattern said "1 HOUR" all over it. It only took about 4.5 hours. If we did it first, it would've made Reilly's easier, though. I am baffled at how many different ways there are to achieve the same shirt/pants/jumpsuit. His had significantly less stitching to it, but looks quite good! I think it's the best one we've made yet!Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-85653075044248470172009-10-23T19:36:00.000-07:002009-10-23T19:55:13.214-07:00Sad, sad story.Last week, I got a call from a neighbor who was at the emergency room. She informed me that my dog had bit her daughter and they rushed there to treat and report the bite. As a result, Maya was put in quarantine for 10 days for observation. I'm not sure what they were observing, or why they had to retain her for so long, but we followed the law - literally - to the doggy impound. Today was the end of the quarantine, so Sean and I went to the Animal Shelter to pick her up. I paid the fee and followed the girl back to identify my dog. This is a necessity because they do a 'procedure' for release and they needed to do it on the right dog. Well, let me tell you, it was APPALLING! The circumstances that Maya was in for those 10 days are nothing short of abuse! She was wallowing in her own excrement and understandably upset over the whole thing. I went up to the front of the kennel to let Maya smell my hand so she knew it was me, but just as the girl was telling me I couldn't touch her, Maya growled and slowly coward to the back of the kennel. She wouldn't come to the front for anything. I mentioned to the girl that the kennel was incredibly messy and I was concerned that Maya had been in it for the whole 10 days. Dogs are naturally clean animals and don't like to hang out where the pee/poo, so if they cleaned it, they did NOT do a very good job. After the release procedure (and bath) was complete, we met the girl out back for discharge. Maya was excited to get outside, but was unsure about me and Sean. We put her in the car and drove home, but it wasn't until we got in our yard that she seemed to be relaxing into the Maya we knew before her horrific jail time.<br /><br />Since this morning, she's been very lethargic and her nose is all dry. I'm worried that she may have contracted a bout of kennel cough from the low conditions she was kept in. But it made me and Dustin think. If we had put her under the same conditions as they had - small confines for an extended period, with minimal cleanup - we could be prosecuted for animal abuse. I hope that she doesn't have any sickness that needs to be treated. Firstly, because I would hate to see her suffer anymore for this. And secondly, because I had to pay nearly $200 for her quarantine, I can not afford to spend anything else.<br /><br />Please, fast and pray for us.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-37188857795791730622009-10-21T15:05:00.000-07:002009-10-21T15:14:38.620-07:00Reilly's Costume = DONE!!!We worked a lot over the weekend to finish Reilly's costume. It wasn't hard, just time consuming. I am always worried about the kids staying warm while still being able to show off their costumes while they trick-or-treat, and this year was considerably easier than last year. Reilly wanted to be a 'blue' princess this time, however since we couldn't get the pattern she liked, she had to come up with a different plan. I don't know where the idea came from, but we settled on her being a hippie instead. I bought the fabric for 50% off, the pattern for $1 and between me and Dustin, it was done in a manner of hours (stretched across three days). So, we made her a tank-top and fleece sweatshirt, flared out her old jeans, added a patch and finished off with a handkerchief for her hair. I think it turned out great as-is, but Reilly's bent on adding peace signs to everything. I'm just going to push it off and then paint one on her face. Hopefully, that will work.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmUeaE72gf3dowzJ8Ml9DUSt6SOlSmAdoLv89DaM8AJc6fbH_tWftLLbHPl84V4p66lA7fK_vEKnm8w8var_Ns5_bvZ-WOiSkIHK-mOqrIBm2-H1kElWWfMt9uqy8wYc02uXPooNtR64/s1600-h/Reilly+Hippie"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmUeaE72gf3dowzJ8Ml9DUSt6SOlSmAdoLv89DaM8AJc6fbH_tWftLLbHPl84V4p66lA7fK_vEKnm8w8var_Ns5_bvZ-WOiSkIHK-mOqrIBm2-H1kElWWfMt9uqy8wYc02uXPooNtR64/s320/Reilly+Hippie" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395179417291483362" border="0" /></a><br />PS - I know the sweatshirt's forever big on her, but she'll be able to wear it more than for Halloween....Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-51391320785017033212009-10-19T20:15:00.000-07:002009-10-19T21:16:11.585-07:00Stuff, and some stuff... and some more stuff...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Bc9gDoNdpweZVSaFQcjIT1is0PFJl3G-v8WLW4k4xyECQLWR-zqb6wP1SHOpOWmVGyJ8-YsTGd7nFnOeQRUMeM1rAOfxib3xLuM_gSd-wyHctYOCjIKfzhsHgZwH7QUEWjNxk8juA74/s1600-h/B&P.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Bc9gDoNdpweZVSaFQcjIT1is0PFJl3G-v8WLW4k4xyECQLWR-zqb6wP1SHOpOWmVGyJ8-YsTGd7nFnOeQRUMeM1rAOfxib3xLuM_gSd-wyHctYOCjIKfzhsHgZwH7QUEWjNxk8juA74/s320/B&P.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394530904449712194" border="0" /></a>Other possible header? Which one's better??<br /><br />Reilly has started and quit at everything she's ever tried... I'm getting worried about the kid. I put her in gymnastics, soccer and dance and she's hated all three. I need to know - when is it okay to push and when is it okay to let her give up? There's a fine line between pushing and encouraging and I don't think you find out which one you've done until the child turns 20 and resents the heck out of you.<br /><br />So, recently she's taken to roller skating. I love it because I can do it with her. The roller skating rink here is pretty expensive ($6 per person plus a rental if you need it), but on Thursdays, it's only a dollar. I'm resolving to make my schedule accommodate that next semester so that we can make it a weekly thing. Cheapest sport - EVER!!! Well, if she decides to quit that one, it's swimming. That's the only other thing I can think of. She hated soccer because it was a team sport; she hated dance because she wasn't flexible enough; and she hated gymnastics because she had to be coordinated enough to stand on her hands for a split second. The kid sure is picky! ... Rollerskating it is!<br /><br />Sean, on the other hand, has taken to many things lately - video games, staying up late, whining... wait, he was already a whiz at that one... Seriously, though. I don't know what to do with that one either. He's become impossible when meal times come around. Reilly's tastes have broaden through the years and she's started becoming very experimental with her taste. Sean is quite the opposite. He's become more and more picky. I'm not really sure how to reverse it, but forcing him to eat has CLEARLY not been working. I started a rule recently where he has to try everything I cook. If he's still hungry once he's done with that, he can have an apple, or a sandwich. It's not working... he's still horrible. :(<br /><br />Okay, on the up side, both kids are doing GREAT in school!!! Reilly's ahead of her class in reading by two levels and she's right on track with math. We've neglected that at home, so her counting by 2's isn't the best. On our way to Great Grandma's house yesterday, she realized that counting by 2's is just skipping every other number. She'll figure it out soon. We had parent teacher conferences last week and her teacher kept saying how much she loves having Reilly in her class. She's a great example to her friends on behaving and getting her work done. She's a peacemaker among the kids in her desk group. She's also very willing to help her teacher with extra things in the classroom. I think her teacher just loves that she'll do whatever she's asked and doesn't talk much. I was SHOCKED to hear all that from her teacher because last year went so poorly. She hasn't fought with my ONCE to go to school and she has earlier and longer days this year. I'm so proud of the little monkey! :D :D :D<br /><br />Sean started reading this year because he did so well learning all of his letters and sounds over the summer. He now knows some sight words that he rewrites on notes to give to me when he's mad at me. For example, last night, he didn't want to go to bed, so he turned on the light in his room (while Reilly slept) and wrote me a hate letter. I know you're not supposed to laugh at them when they're being serious, but you wouldn't believe how hard it was just to keep from busting out. Smiling the whole time, he told me why he wrote the letter (something like, "I didn't want to go to sleep because I already knew I would have a bad dream. And you are mean because you said, 'good-night' before I wanted to go to sleep.") and then he read it out loud. It said, "See Sean. I am Sean. I am me." It had a very scary picture of a blob with spikes coming out of it, too. I'm impressed that he's so into reading, but even more impressed that he's trying to write out his feelings. :D :D :D His teacher says he's doing very well in school and, while he doesn't socialize as much as I want him to, he's doing very well with a couple of the boys. We had a field trip last week and he actually sang the songs. His Halloween program is this week and I'm so excited to get it on video! I think it'll be the first program that he's really looking forward to. :D<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HdWTVBQStSM5eVTVLZkgxW0R4l4Pi8OWAl-cakDvh9FeZM-zNztcfed-B9fDE94cU6Puh26NVVg8MJD8Aqex0HOD5yUpSWiZwVSx13vE1juyCHPXWkbpoEN3G1L6RoGXuZBk0tXxOZc/s1600-h/FamilyPicsFall09048-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HdWTVBQStSM5eVTVLZkgxW0R4l4Pi8OWAl-cakDvh9FeZM-zNztcfed-B9fDE94cU6Puh26NVVg8MJD8Aqex0HOD5yUpSWiZwVSx13vE1juyCHPXWkbpoEN3G1L6RoGXuZBk0tXxOZc/s320/FamilyPicsFall09048-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394530921406449730" border="0" /></a><br />Oh, and we did some family pics... they didn't turn out very well, but that's - okay.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-78365444123284734742009-09-05T22:23:00.000-07:002009-09-15T10:17:39.765-07:00Go! Fight! Winnnnnn!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LWVgdcWCqT9lr6ErQFMrvmsTL4j1Wi6UQW_DOmc6upMSXhavkfJsIlt3vnFAiJiqLg2rO_tbj-QoBPM-Z4Eq78KGS5_9AWZkCKwYc0AceWY3UkTcN1ftyENHAqFsLVuqTMrMMbcGnhQ/s1600-h/Cheerleadingetc090.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381744033817932194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LWVgdcWCqT9lr6ErQFMrvmsTL4j1Wi6UQW_DOmc6upMSXhavkfJsIlt3vnFAiJiqLg2rO_tbj-QoBPM-Z4Eq78KGS5_9AWZkCKwYc0AceWY3UkTcN1ftyENHAqFsLVuqTMrMMbcGnhQ/s320/Cheerleadingetc090.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Reilly participated in a Mini Cheer Clinic at Timpanogos High this week. Reilly had a blast with her friends learning some cheers to perform at the football game on Friday. We've really been struggling lately with what to do with her. She wants to do something, but has hated everything we've tried. Soccer was disastrous - by far the worst program for her! But she's been bored with ballet lately, too. She used to love it. It's super hard trying to get her there every week. :( So, we took a break from that to try cheering. She loved it, but it was only three days, so who knows if that would last either.<br /><br />In the picture are two of the young women in my ward, Britney and Alicia (I teach Alicia piano/violin). Also, Rachel (Brit's sis), Brooklyn (also a student of mine) and Elleah (our neighbor).<br /><br />Here's a video I put together of her pics and videos from the game:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az8K6U-z1G0</div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-32696992688065975342009-08-19T19:22:00.000-07:002009-08-19T19:40:59.977-07:00Two months already?!?I know it's been forever, but I've had a lot on my plate. After four classes and numerous papers, I have finished out my summer semester with ALL A's!! Hoorah! Things suffered - like the state of my house. It's never been as messy as it has been and that's saying a lot. I kept on top of dishes and trash, so it wasn't disgusting, but laundry and the basement got away from me. I don't think that this semester will be different, but we'll be on a better routine because everyone's in school. I hope that makes a difference. ... we shall soon see because SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!!<br /><br />It's crazy that the summer's already over. I'm excited that we won't have kids around all the time, though. It's quite wearing to have kids screaming, laughing and crying ALL DAY. So, my neighbors both go to this school (North Ridge) that's supposed to be the best school in the district. Plus, it has an orchestra... but they suck! I mentioned that school is tomorrow, right? Well, we tried to transfer Reilly to that school so that she could participate in the orchestra and I could carpool with the other moms next door, but they won't let her in! They have pushed me off all summer and yesterday told me that I should call back on Thursday (the first day of school) to see if they had a spot for her. Well, screw that! I need to know ahead of time where she's going. I hate them.<br /><br />Okay, one last thing - the backyard is DONE! We have grass and landscaping and a patio and FREEDOM FROM TRAFFIC! Finally! Here are the pics from before and after.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWv-3fmNz-hW_Vpcd177Wm3FZKibVM03217ax_78hMi0ylOQX2wNDQ8RT4iYHBVttXX2qjM4ugRxXJk9Jheu9MmyWwHm9V7NOk54BDTa4UGLNfjwmHPHc9SlCsAkoPqINHtnYSZ7BxSgc/s1600-h/Backyard.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWv-3fmNz-hW_Vpcd177Wm3FZKibVM03217ax_78hMi0ylOQX2wNDQ8RT4iYHBVttXX2qjM4ugRxXJk9Jheu9MmyWwHm9V7NOk54BDTa4UGLNfjwmHPHc9SlCsAkoPqINHtnYSZ7BxSgc/s320/Backyard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371869761897357106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BbVT0SGJSwUFNFTGstPEsQIk4pYMFeo1fdyhW3o9H7Xeon5EmCviQuZ0EaOC3Pd6tbrjfp3s9Bv4L-1h7MY_ANxXO-_ipXq-3ZveYgustOUTsyG0-NXw2wlEr3mZA5BP-09aT5b3knc/s1600-h/Summer09164.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BbVT0SGJSwUFNFTGstPEsQIk4pYMFeo1fdyhW3o9H7Xeon5EmCviQuZ0EaOC3Pd6tbrjfp3s9Bv4L-1h7MY_ANxXO-_ipXq-3ZveYgustOUTsyG0-NXw2wlEr3mZA5BP-09aT5b3knc/s320/Summer09164.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371869784222233714" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf77rZCLfvZj5L1YfHweWIsSHmYjKPVlv1CD6pW7HssKe57qeV6LnNh6JJ8dghHrFv3iPKaLK8r2Prb2onQAs2PtN1rcQSFGYGJfMW2TqwvldCAAJD_bFTEUapE8w7CWlEdMVhqqPnXao/s1600-h/Summer09162.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf77rZCLfvZj5L1YfHweWIsSHmYjKPVlv1CD6pW7HssKe57qeV6LnNh6JJ8dghHrFv3iPKaLK8r2Prb2onQAs2PtN1rcQSFGYGJfMW2TqwvldCAAJD_bFTEUapE8w7CWlEdMVhqqPnXao/s320/Summer09162.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371869772945523922" border="0" /></a>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-41714095765202991252009-06-23T14:24:00.000-07:002009-06-23T17:09:46.610-07:00OXYMORON!!!I do have some pictures and stories to blog about, but I haven't been prioritizing it lately. We moved a family into the duplex next door and she had next to NOTHING! It made me jealous because her house looks so polished, so I decided to tackle decluttering my house a little at a time. It's a lot harder than I anticipated it, though. So, it's taking a while to get through the junk. So far, I've done the hall closets, kid's room, basement and living room. I need to finish getting rid of crap in the basement (toys, shoes and camping stuff), but am having a hard time deciding what to keep and what to chuck... ANYHOO! While I'm up to my ears in homework, kids and chores, I still want something else to do in my down time... maybe something to help me fall asleep at night... I need a book! Preferably one that I can purchase on a CD or audiobook file, but I want it to be GOOD! So, if you have suggestions, please let me know soon. Thanx!Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-70955251456103720842009-05-25T10:57:00.000-07:002009-05-25T11:11:02.244-07:00More Family Pics!In March, our Young Women took a trip to the Draper Temple tour and while we were traveling, I noticed a bridge that was so cute! I thought it'd be a great place to take pictures; and, since we go up to Riverton (just west of Draper) every other week, it'd be an easy stop along the way. So, yesterday, we had planned to do it, but when we got out for church, it was raining. It rained all morning and into the early afternoon. I just about gave up when I noticed some blue peeking through the gray clouds. We got all dressed up, grabbed the camera and some allergy medicine, and left for Great Grandma's house. It was GREAT weather up there. Utah's crazy for weather changes! Not quite like Michigan-crazy, but just going up over a mountain, or through a canyon and you've got totally different weather. Just over the point of the mountain going into Salt Lake County, it was beautiful! We took some pictures in front of the bridge, but it wasn't as pretty up close. I thought it was brick, but it was stucco... yuck! We took a few pictures around it and then followed the path up and over the bridge to find an old railroad track. It was perfect! I didn't bring the tripod (I didn't plan on taking posed pictures of the whole family), so the ones of all of us aren't the best, but the pics of the kids wandering on the tracks were GREAT!!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnWQ2J1V97MuN5hBkGYWytyiUlRH5Q9vw0IMKvYg0BNOZsyLyZ9mH_q96_D1gHU01yrOhT8li9sx9JI9j4CEzFk6asKeTYabyE-OkId7FrLdyXhoKcqM05ak-NCBkAAnrXDO9oCW31vY/s1600-h/FamilyPicsETC246.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339825317102895010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnWQ2J1V97MuN5hBkGYWytyiUlRH5Q9vw0IMKvYg0BNOZsyLyZ9mH_q96_D1gHU01yrOhT8li9sx9JI9j4CEzFk6asKeTYabyE-OkId7FrLdyXhoKcqM05ak-NCBkAAnrXDO9oCW31vY/s320/FamilyPicsETC246.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTD5ePhJMxuH1a2-T8aFnOocBhbAj8RNRz5eeknU8YcXx56XPUalSbqYDCbglx8lwPt0yWrm838XAHios0SvKw2AvSwC7EREYG1XCh7d8oZXo9Fme7FSOYhVN1wFjLWw-KOeFPePCZ3-c/s1600-h/FamilyPicsETC214.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339825312209788834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 198px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTD5ePhJMxuH1a2-T8aFnOocBhbAj8RNRz5eeknU8YcXx56XPUalSbqYDCbglx8lwPt0yWrm838XAHios0SvKw2AvSwC7EREYG1XCh7d8oZXo9Fme7FSOYhVN1wFjLWw-KOeFPePCZ3-c/s320/FamilyPicsETC214.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSta3eH_JD0yFtp3ap-SHzz5TzafajUdaAO7eZ7c-mUlEbFvWLlI-xfKWheQ7WXETmuaRrBzFNQMwRKYZvNdqt-ozk0vD4knJbn8zw5PD9SmqrXOrwDykdEI8G-kKLdurG386Wl04jUg/s1600-h/FamilyPicsETC134.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339825306589634034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 210px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSta3eH_JD0yFtp3ap-SHzz5TzafajUdaAO7eZ7c-mUlEbFvWLlI-xfKWheQ7WXETmuaRrBzFNQMwRKYZvNdqt-ozk0vD4knJbn8zw5PD9SmqrXOrwDykdEI8G-kKLdurG386Wl04jUg/s320/FamilyPicsETC134.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAGEmuvIAbr4lcYLO5-3W2MQ3evzIS6HpSDv2OPhIfX0eWOEgOw0ZtYYfuYBVdIOmSrwV3ZZSHyDyahiLL1L8rtaump1JwHTFCfI1NGRzNoXxAXGsxt1rYmTkJWWpXPjbCjIcW2V68e0/s1600-h/FamilyPicsETC102.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339825303239200930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAGEmuvIAbr4lcYLO5-3W2MQ3evzIS6HpSDv2OPhIfX0eWOEgOw0ZtYYfuYBVdIOmSrwV3ZZSHyDyahiLL1L8rtaump1JwHTFCfI1NGRzNoXxAXGsxt1rYmTkJWWpXPjbCjIcW2V68e0/s320/FamilyPicsETC102.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-71388270164165628872009-05-19T13:38:00.001-07:002009-05-19T13:45:18.760-07:00Bad weather pool party<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixW3O2h6vp2A6dsFn-u2mHFMNrYK5guToxLIkgGLGAE_iJMGN4M5Nxpm4YKMz73qFo-PXnWoGUQ8ShxT7Jwmu-ggvDkTCVQ5JfvGBoM8lVzSPOpapOJ5UTiTaZ18Ga0_CZQvdm7WeeqbU/s1600-h/PoolParty002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337637411853152146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixW3O2h6vp2A6dsFn-u2mHFMNrYK5guToxLIkgGLGAE_iJMGN4M5Nxpm4YKMz73qFo-PXnWoGUQ8ShxT7Jwmu-ggvDkTCVQ5JfvGBoM8lVzSPOpapOJ5UTiTaZ18Ga0_CZQvdm7WeeqbU/s320/PoolParty002.jpg" border="0" /></a>Last week Sean's preschool class was supposed to celebrate the end of the school year by having an outdoor water day, but the weather was bad, so it was postponed for today. The weather <em>was</em> better, but still not ideal. It was 75, overcast and windy! His teacher said he spent most of the time wrapped in his towel, but he did make out once or twice for a picture. :) He will be attending his first preschool graduation this week (Thursday).<br /><br />Reilly's class has cramed in three month's worth of activities into the last two weeks of school. Today, she was supposed to bring a board/card game that could help the students work on math skills. Mrs. C. called it a Math-A-Thon. Reilly wanted to bring Monopoly, but I said no because it has too many pieces. After the longest and most pointless freak-out of her life, she agreed to bring Connect Four instead. I volunteer on Tuesdays so I got to see how it turned out. She plopped her game on the table and suddenly became the most popular kid in the class. All the other kids wanted to play her game. She turned bipolar and went from raging mad to deliriously happy in less than 10 seconds! She said it was so fun to play with all the kids she didn't know very well and was glad she brought that game afterall. Smart girl!<br /><div></div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-91193446530846032942009-05-17T11:29:00.000-07:002009-05-17T11:39:49.892-07:00It's DONE!!!<div><div>Last night we finished working on the duplex - FINALLY! We went into the project thinking that it'd take a month to do it, but between school, work and kids, it took three times that! We have someone moving in in two weeks and I'm so relieved it's over. :) Check out all of our hard work.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336864097560609490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7oMdZI8WUQgJwGyG4otSY_ff3fO-u65imHUdnL0XlaWsFYOIUSZyGmlXWbMazvlkDyuJcZ5nwSSpWRek4vM_dTnCTyaOayHI_vLRsyVHmnxSyymrz1sLsd5fPislQ9hKM2QvLfSBG-W4/s320/Duplex025-1.jpg" border="0" /></div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336864094542419186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaf6ayFXBrIQ8U5R0WMB1ccEEXtuYY74zC7x4vrYQZ1gaUTZIFVjOjXgEWVe4SBXpfgzFBdi0nPXLi8drxW-WrB00HXmjUzf2018TSsHqD6SBKVoPJLC0iVjLOwPp8gmYQiRYbyMxObVY/s320/Duplex015.jpg" border="0" /><br />Okay, so the kitchen one doesn't look like anything's changed, but I <em>did</em> spend two days cleaning, so it counts! :)Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-50407228298830166372009-05-05T21:24:00.000-07:002009-05-05T21:27:32.337-07:00Newest Pictures<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqE4CII-HhPZMnLNKdcAPDuMyNBEC8hPyIt-lObJRubi_f5DwqlhI8OSpMvqY_K3FJRpwPQ5d9Y47LTtA6Vx8Km75DL8fXpIbUlzyLa7HOmiZPQtmc0YGXUPycN16wHnWBbzt8lZ-yfnc/s1600-h/EasterandSuch037.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332562511849186066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqE4CII-HhPZMnLNKdcAPDuMyNBEC8hPyIt-lObJRubi_f5DwqlhI8OSpMvqY_K3FJRpwPQ5d9Y47LTtA6Vx8Km75DL8fXpIbUlzyLa7HOmiZPQtmc0YGXUPycN16wHnWBbzt8lZ-yfnc/s320/EasterandSuch037.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div>When I got the camera back, I decided to try to get some pics of the kids. They're so cute! And doesn't Sean look like a little man with hands in pockets? Actually, I swore he was going to catch up to Reilly by now and she's still a good head taller than him. Hmmm...<br /><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332562507602125810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2c3kyeUDAkg14M88atgzo-f1Z32D3G5i-_zfBcrfiCXMxoqAG4Z_k8i9ihET83R5zhHjc2HmOSHsPL9MncR5pDYNJQeqjLjEwev8GE9w_qIxWP5L7mdfS9D8-pQMW1AwPslwCJIlhcM/s320/EasterandSuch039.jpg" border="0" /></div></div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-30192768179745816742009-05-05T21:17:00.000-07:002009-05-05T21:23:00.637-07:00Sean's field-trips<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2TcwG06nMEZmQnf1z0n9CuJIJJCDqYxfmS8OjJPSUJls1VtIq78MwCFGHJcB0WQhzbyrJaWsgdNIANsDe1lMWJ96HGE-jdQk0EO6ejvH6QNSFv1IfnYNKMYK0GrihUfnRxkiNAiwAg0/s1600-h/EasterandSuch080.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332560607407225810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2TcwG06nMEZmQnf1z0n9CuJIJJCDqYxfmS8OjJPSUJls1VtIq78MwCFGHJcB0WQhzbyrJaWsgdNIANsDe1lMWJ96HGE-jdQk0EO6ejvH6QNSFv1IfnYNKMYK0GrihUfnRxkiNAiwAg0/s320/EasterandSuch080.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Last month we went to the firehouse for Sean's preschool field-trip. He was very reluctant to participate in the fireman's intro to fire safety... well, at first. Then, we got to see the fire truck with the lights on and sirens going and he was all kinds of excited! He even got a hat that he swore was going to protect him from the fires! What a boy!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQdizKO7kG953_-CcJgL9nxnOv3S41asjvyjTXwVNJ9a4A_CPVnaRmLPWLik6rnhctXfIA4yAzWQG2WPL__QnDx7KF1Y6JGRj99mt9g9yxt9Cv02H7ASu9BSgc5vKyxjWmV6k3nM3p8Q/s1600-h/EasterandSuch079.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332560609306223090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQdizKO7kG953_-CcJgL9nxnOv3S41asjvyjTXwVNJ9a4A_CPVnaRmLPWLik6rnhctXfIA4yAzWQG2WPL__QnDx7KF1Y6JGRj99mt9g9yxt9Cv02H7ASu9BSgc5vKyxjWmV6k3nM3p8Q/s320/EasterandSuch079.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A few months ago, we went to the dinosaur museum. We only stayed for part of the time because Reilly got sick on the way and Sean was working on getting sick. Actually, this was the sickness that I blogged about! It was horrific trying to drive home safe/fast enough to beat the puke! :) Hahahaha, it's funny now, but was totally NOT at the time.</div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoouQBnoaGbY0Nd10KtA1hA4d5dYpgbvPOFbsOLBOkvwfqtHWEWa1o5HYX6V7j9heE6cmd4kPUh8y5117P2rNSLSqhuDc7BI3K3xpSNV7DF2gLdqMmZz3vyp4HgJC81Cbk6PzsPmZ3brU/s1600-h/EasterandSuch015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332560604997762946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoouQBnoaGbY0Nd10KtA1hA4d5dYpgbvPOFbsOLBOkvwfqtHWEWa1o5HYX6V7j9heE6cmd4kPUh8y5117P2rNSLSqhuDc7BI3K3xpSNV7DF2gLdqMmZz3vyp4HgJC81Cbk6PzsPmZ3brU/s320/EasterandSuch015.jpg" border="0" /></a>PS - I did get pics of my kids, but this one was pretty cool. They're looking at a diarama of a bunch of dinosaurs. Sean's in there somewhere... I can just barely make out the back of his head.<br /><br /><br /><div> </div></div></div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-59801262076651451402009-05-05T20:30:00.000-07:002009-05-05T21:16:07.259-07:00Seems as though I'm puking out blogs lately, huh?!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXlvfUvbWSEc5Qc5s6IF90aSnI_R9YxMGyoZ_es_0qz0iNewStUqTXCyd7Au1SsYYXHnFG8LvfsztCeTAqJLvtueJH6j8Rnz-FIqpVq2xIF0soRGPur27cnxvQL5-6ONVexIyWTNnwIw/s1600-h/EasterandSuch127.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332559632809045474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXlvfUvbWSEc5Qc5s6IF90aSnI_R9YxMGyoZ_es_0qz0iNewStUqTXCyd7Au1SsYYXHnFG8LvfsztCeTAqJLvtueJH6j8Rnz-FIqpVq2xIF0soRGPur27cnxvQL5-6ONVexIyWTNnwIw/s320/EasterandSuch127.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>On Easter, we went up to Dustin's grandparents house for lunch/dinner and an egg-hunt. I took the camera so that I could take pictures of the kids and forgot to bring it home. Shortly after that, Phil and Judy came into town and visited them. They sent the camera with them, but it never made it out of the RV. Instead, it took a detour through Michigan. :) So, now that I have it back, I'm going to puke out a few more blogs. Hahhahah! I'm cracking me up!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So, this year was the first year that Sean didn't need help looking for eggs. We walked around behind him while he ran everywhere looking frantically like he had competition. Reilly did really well finding all the possible eggs, but I am afraid that she's not going to like it for very much longer... unless we get more challenging with hiding places.</div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-62717477651087835432009-04-28T18:54:00.000-07:002009-04-28T19:03:11.148-07:00I cannot become that woman!While Dustin and I were out this evening, I noticed a woman who didn't seem to be concerned how she looked. Is that a good way to put it? I'm not obsessed with my appearance, however, I am vain enough to care how others will perceive me. We caught her just as she was leaving the store. She may have been tired from shopping, but she breathed out of her mouth and I could hear her from a good 10 yards away. She wore a moo-moo, flip flops and a very messy pony-tail. Needless to say, she wasn't a very attractive woman. I always notice these women because, secretly, I fear that I will become on of those women that everyone points and laughs at. So, I turned to Dustin and said, "If I ever get that lazy, would you please shoot me in the face..." Without hesitating, he answered, "Yes." But I wasn't done. I continued, "If I don't die, then at least I'll have an excuse." Is that not the funniest thing I've ever said? Please say 'yes' because Dustin didn't even try to laugh to make me feel good. :-\ I'm still laughing at it!!!Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-62530009282965611892009-04-17T14:00:00.000-07:002009-04-17T14:03:50.659-07:00Okay, last one...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnSX6orVm6UUNTUP7UJV_9tR2LPYwyQOhrTIo7rzHt27SuzgYiFvxleORxm_KuntuwNnD8ko18pohGJvnzr-B-Fbs7AOcU98emJhn6qt0UDjMpI3eFOcbMWwqD2uxFWnDLPBHiqADoTU/s1600-h/IMG00069.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325768359327885378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnSX6orVm6UUNTUP7UJV_9tR2LPYwyQOhrTIo7rzHt27SuzgYiFvxleORxm_KuntuwNnD8ko18pohGJvnzr-B-Fbs7AOcU98emJhn6qt0UDjMpI3eFOcbMWwqD2uxFWnDLPBHiqADoTU/s320/IMG00069.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We've had a lot of visitors this year! Rebekah came (and brought the taxi), Mom came (and brought the red-race-car) and Phil and Judy are expected in any minute! We love seeing family; I just hope Sean doesn't get too used to getting toy cars at every trip! :) They are all his favorites, though. Thanks, guys!</div><div></div><div>PS - the other toy is a bus that Beth brought back from Malta for Sean. Anything with wheels - and he's a happy camper!</div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-117626372715069022009-04-17T13:59:00.000-07:002009-04-17T14:00:57.077-07:00Sean's Easter Program<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReLbWghAT9LydFcS7OTtT_Dhlf9qXShlV04-PRNsYVryu7pqTNdPzqTYnkUCCbXENETYcSBjxBI8Ob36T2heDLVeR7X7RxIvAXm3MC62HqHGtbhyphenhyphen2OxFNJhzXBZOr_TeZgVgTArGhOR0/s1600-h/IMG00063.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325767983777800514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReLbWghAT9LydFcS7OTtT_Dhlf9qXShlV04-PRNsYVryu7pqTNdPzqTYnkUCCbXENETYcSBjxBI8Ob36T2heDLVeR7X7RxIvAXm3MC62HqHGtbhyphenhyphen2OxFNJhzXBZOr_TeZgVgTArGhOR0/s320/IMG00063.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Sean's a pro at his preschool programs now! He participated the WHOLE time and didn't whine AT ALL!! :) I also have pictures of his trip to the Fire Station... he didn't do as well there...</div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-7028036926229908352009-04-17T13:58:00.000-07:002009-04-17T13:59:30.350-07:00Easter Sunday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH4cI-EgBBd537wgWJ1c18mwv2xxUnfvFBWB6WyXnq_2qYsgEM8hyphenhyphenEg2-uynRnm6wxKSJg2nfAGXtpGUoo4KVGdJuZMOc2l2a1fy6U39pveQXQYca3SZ3ZcZyYSSU671jjLU3_wNf_Nc/s1600-h/IMG00053.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325767700689711954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH4cI-EgBBd537wgWJ1c18mwv2xxUnfvFBWB6WyXnq_2qYsgEM8hyphenhyphenEg2-uynRnm6wxKSJg2nfAGXtpGUoo4KVGdJuZMOc2l2a1fy6U39pveQXQYca3SZ3ZcZyYSSU671jjLU3_wNf_Nc/s320/IMG00053.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Mom bought the kid's Easter outfits this year and they're wayyy cute! I love Sean in orange now! I have better pictures of them, but I left my camera at Great-Grandmas house. I'll upload those later. Cuties!</div>Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890259990089239956.post-50449492513720473662009-04-17T13:51:00.000-07:002009-04-17T13:58:19.066-07:00Teacher Appreciation Project<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHXk3JKja9ZJL5c4JtMDq406URLom0JAtX24rSc_60w8lRvJlj-9_svCDH1f5HbFetGiZXzGCbEGbw42cnaJLD391DiXm2TtNGZOIKp_SF68vBNpZ1NCJoMETqYCPTrZmzF3LOnCiimE/s1600-h/IMG00054.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325766013473019426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHXk3JKja9ZJL5c4JtMDq406URLom0JAtX24rSc_60w8lRvJlj-9_svCDH1f5HbFetGiZXzGCbEGbw42cnaJLD391DiXm2TtNGZOIKp_SF68vBNpZ1NCJoMETqYCPTrZmzF3LOnCiimE/s320/IMG00054.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br />Next blog - Teacher Appreciation Week! Reilly's class has a few moms that are not very motivated to help out in the classroom, but I'm so excited when I meet another mom like me! This mom has kids that are Reilly and Sean's same age and her oldest and Reilly are both of our firsts. (Maybe that's why were so involved??) She signed up to help with this project and the other moms bailed on the last minute, so she was looking for help. I didn't even know it was going on when she approached me about it. Our ideas for the door-decoration were off the wall, out of control! Neither of us had ever done it before... so we got some help and this is what we came up with. You can't tell from the pictures, but we had all the students come up with something they're thankful for and the 'speak'-bubbles have what everyone turned in. Our kids even helped with the clouds. I was very happy with how it turned out.Lauren Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12642577897587183612noreply@blogger.com0