Christmas Card- Electronic Version

I wish I was able to send out christmas cards to everyone in the world, but I fear my hand falling off from addressing these envelopes! So here is the electronic version of the Brown Family Christmas Card

Considering my life seems to be consumed by social media these days I bring you our 2010 holiday letter…Excerpts from our 2010 via Twitter and Facebook!


January-

I love the way my daughter tells the dog food and the remote control NO. As if they were the problem in the equation that taught her the word No.

I am pretty sure if it snows one more time I am going to scream. (Editors note… There was a LOT of screaming last winter!)

February- Just registered my baby for Kindergarten, trying to determine if I am going to cry or Vomit. How can she be old enough for school already?

It is 7:00am in the last hour I have: Showered, Been pregnant, Gone into Labor, Ridden in an ambulance, Had a baby girl named Clarinda, gotten myself and 2 little girls ready for the day, made breakfast and packed lunches. No wonder I am always exhausted, between my real life and my 4 year old’s imagination, more happens than I could possibly do.

March- We’ve picked up Grandma Cookie and are now boarding a flight for Orlando, bring on that Disney Magic.

My baby has decided Disney is NO place for sleep.

Highlight of the day, Cassie’s face when she saw the scuba diver in the tank at EPCOT was her daddy.

April- One year ago today I was checking into the hospital, A very huge Happy First Birthday to my baby girl Camryn Paige.

Just got woken up by screaming - turns out it was Cassie, sitting on the couch calling for cartoons. Oh did I forget to mention it is 3:00AM.

May- I am pretty sure Camryn is not my daughter; based on the fit she threw to try on a pair of shoes. She is finally in them but refuses to walk!

Shall spend my Mother’s Day proving I am a mother, up all night with a croupy baby.

June- Shocked and sadden to hear my eldest step brother David lost his life in a river rafting accident today. Heading to NM to be with my family.

Dave’s service was the most beautiful I have ever seen. Filled with love, stories and a true showing of his spirit. He will be greatly missed.

5 years ago at this very time I was laying in a hospital bed crying because the nurse had just told me the pain was not labor and I’d be waiting out the next 6 weeks there. A few hours later she learned how wrong she was. Happy 5th Birthday to my once teeny tiny Cassie Bear!

July- Just received an email from the Kindergarten teacher; Cassie is having a great first day!

“BEST DAY EVER” - Cassie Brown- Kindergartener

August- Camryn has a new word “Hawkeye.”

There is a loose tooth in this house! (Editor’s note: She still hasn’t lost that tooth!)

September- Ready for our first parent Teacher conference tonight.

Conferences were good, our child is a talker. NO Idea where she gets that from.

October Just received this text from the Kindergarten Teacher... “Jorden decided to cut your daughters hair. It is a small part by her barrette” (Editor’s note: Don’t worry it is not even noticeable.)

Just picked up my baby, she got her first shiner today. 

November- Just read to a room full of Kindergarteners, I watched 3 pick their noses and one spit on his hand and rub his face, I kind of want to shower again.

Put Cami in the tub tonight, started washing her and realized she still had her socks on! (Editor’s note: I would love to blame this on dad but totally mom’s fault.)

The Trees are up, the Elf on the Shelf has returned, and the gifts are mostly all bought. Bring on the holidays!

December- ???

You never quite know what to expect next around here, but I can guarantee it will be loud, messy, strange, silly, funny or all of the above. Please come visit us sometime, I promise to only tweet the good things you do!



Peace and Love, the Brown Family, Anthony, Gina, Cassie (5) Camryn (1)

Favorite Christmas Gift

What was your favorite Christmas gift? I can remember mine so well. A turquoise and black ten speed bike.


Somewhere in my house is a picture of me on it. It wasn't so much that the gift was the coolest thing ever, but it is the story I know now about how that gift came to me on Christmas Day.
When I was 8 years old my family moved from Chariton, Iowa to Los Alamos, NM. The move happened in waves, we only had one car, so my mom and brother packed it up and moved in August, My dad and I stayed behind and got the house sold, movers packed etc... We flew out to NM in October. Our first winter in NM I expected little to no snow...HAHAHA that was a funny expectation.
So a bit of background information to help this make sense, My mom taught kindergarten that year at two different schools, one within about 5 minutes of our house and the other about 15-20 minutes away up on Barranca Mesa.

As Christmas came closer the car broke down, so on Christmas Eve my mom and I walked to town to do some last minute shopping.. The walk took a few hours, we shopped and then took a cab home due to the rapidly falling snow. I remember my mom whispering with the cab driver and looking surprised at whatever they had to tell her.
Years later I learned that my parents had planned to take a cab to the further school to get Santa's gifts that were stored there, the shocked look on my mom's face must have come from the bad driver telling her that they were closing early.
Are you still following, New to town, no car, lots of snow, closed cab company.. Santa gifts far far away up a HUGE HILL!
My dad set off on foot after we went to bed that night and walked all the way to the school in the snow, got our gifts and carried them on his back as he rode my bike home that night! I know it must have been freezing and very difficult to ride a kids bike on snow-covered sidewalks!
But being the amazing parents they were, all I knew was I went to bed that night and woke up to the Christmas Magic! To this day my favorite gift is the one that had the most heart behind it to get it to me!
So what’s your favorite Christmas gift, either received or given?

A new look

Notice anything different around here? I do it’s very quiet. oh wait that’s my house… (No I promise I didn’t lock anyone in a closet it just must be my lucky day!)



The blog is not quiet in fact it actually has something to say now. The best part is it says it with more than just my ramblings. My blog has a design and a dang pretty one if I do say so myself. For a long time I had seen people mention their blog designs, But I never really wanted to work with someone with a “vision” for my space who would really make it their own! I’ve tried out a few cookie cutter free templates and they were ok but when I was presented the change to work with Suzy from Blog sites by Suzy I jumped on it. The idea for this came up less than a week ago, we talked a few ideas, I shared what I liked and didn’t about blogs and decided to go with it!. Today Suzy sent me the completed design and I about fell out of my chair. I love it. The colors are great, the theme fits my family, and the process was super easy! Huge thanks to Suzy for the new look and contact Suzy to get yours done too! http://www.blogsitesbysuzy.com/

A non typical weekend

A weekend is my house is normally pretty typical, Friday evening we go out for dinner and run some kind of errands.  Saturday brings football in the season or Farmer Market and YMCA,  we end up running more errands, and Sundays looks about the same. With the theme being motion, we are always in motion. I long for a weekend just hanging at home, lounging in my pj's playing with the girls, not having to run here or there or get anything accomplished. Well two weekends ago I knew that wouldn't be my fate. I boarded a 6 am flight out of Des Moines and headed to Indiana for a few days.

Traveling by myself was strange, my hands felt so empty, but I knew I had alot to accomplish in a weekend and couldn't bring a companion with me. So what's in Indiana?  My step grandmother, Virginia. When I was about 10 years younger I decided to forgo the summer job and instead went to Indiana to help her move to an assisted living center. It was quite a trip, we took pictures of things in her house and wrote down the history of them. Packed her up and made the move. This time around my mom and step dad wanted to orient me with the situation there so I could step in if need be while they are out of the country for a few months next year. So while I was off traveling, having meetings, and visiting,  Anthony and the girls stayed home. By stayed home I don't just mean got left behind in Iowa, I mean stayed in the house, never once left it. From 5pm Friday untill I came back on Sunday evening they stayed inside our house and played, relaxed etc.. JEALOUS MUCH, yes yes I am not only did I miss out on a quiet weekend I also missed sweet moments of family time. Oh well maybe I'll put a quite weekend on my Christmas list, Santa is coming soon after all!

Four or Five Trees

I spent Saturday putting up the Christmas Trees around the house! That is quite an undertaking when you have 4 trees. Thank goodness I had a handful of helpers to assist

Cassie's Tree

This pink tree was given to Cassie by her Grandma Kathy a few years ago, it is filled with all kinds of pink ornaments and looks great in her room.

Camryn's Tree

This is the first year for Camryn's purple tree, a gift from Grandma Kathy last year. It is decorated with Purple lights and silver ornaments.

 Daddy's Tree

Daddy also go his own tree from G-ma Kathy last year, although this one could techincally be for us all! Behold the Iowa Hawkeye Tree!

Mommy's? Tree

Not sure this one is mine, but it is my favorite, decorated in white and red lights, with the white twinkling. The ornaments are a wonderful mixture of things from Anthony and I's childhood right up to our first ornament, Babies First Christmas and things we have collected as a family!

And last but not least the 5th tree in the house.

This amazing little gem was a gift from my mom when Cassie was just a baby. It is so perfect for letting the kids play, and re-decorate. Plus when they outgrow it it, I will have a cute button tree without any of the ornaments.

Thankful

Novemeber is upon us, the month of giving thanks! I am trying to teach Cassie more about being thankful and her November Homework assignment was to write out 6 things she is thankful for.
Her list included the Mall,  Zoo, Science Center, playing with her sister, etc. I then thought about 6 things I am thankful for. My list includes more things like a roof over our heads, our health, employment, insurance etc.


But I can never forget these people always top my list. Each in their very own way.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Halloween 2010- Instagram Style

Do you have an Iphone?

If you answered yes, do you have Instagram?

If you answered no.. what the heck are you waiting for?

here is our halloween, all done in Instagram!

The Pumpkin Patch

We took the girls out to the Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge this weekend, we had been there once two years ago and were excited to go back. The amount of things you can do here just amazes me and they have added a ton of fun in the last two years!

 

Camryn loved all the animals at the patch. Feeding the goats was her highlight of the day. 

We hit the Corn Pool next which proved to be huge fun for one and quite the issue for the other!

 

I guess we do not like things touching our toes!

The grounds here have a fun theme around nursery rhymes, the girls played in three famous little houses! 

and Cassie attended a nice tea party!

Then we tried to lose the kids in a Hay Bale Maze

 (It was not near as exciting as Taylor Doozie made it seem)

The kids took a train ride 

Daddy & Camryn raced Cassie down the giant slide. It was looking like a landslide victory for Cassie but she almost got caught in the end!

After all the fun and games we took a hay ride to find some pumpkins

 In the end we found the perfect pumpkins to grace our porch for the next three weeks!

Homecoming

As is tradition in our house we took the girls to Chariton Homecoming last weekend. 

We started out with a little parade action on the square!

 Cassie modeled her daddy's shirt from homecoming in the 1980's

 Old Betsy came around the corner and scared Camryn to death, that pretty much ended her enjoyment of the parade!

Then after dinner we hit the Chargers football game for a little fun!

Here's is Camryn, I and my Cousin Cristi, in hindsight we should have gotten a shot of Cassie, Cristi and I all the Kay's!

Although the Chargers lost, the girls slept in the car, transfered right to their beds and slept late the next morning, I consider that A WIN!

Playing with the Camera

I've been testing out the new camera some this summer!