Our New Babies!!

Next to a stuffed animal. (and not a very big one)
Emma holding all three of them.

The two tri-colored ones in the cage.

Yesterday we left our house mid morning and returned about 4:00pm. While we were gone my step-mom had come to paint our bathroom. When we got home she said, "Do you had three guinea pigs?"

I replied, "Oh, did I not tell you one of them died?".

She then asked, "Did you get another one?"

To which I answered, "NO!"

She said, "There are three pigs in there."

"No way", was my reply. So I went to look in the cage and no, there were not three of them, there were FIVE!! Apparently last month we bought a pregnant guinea pig. And now we are the proud parents of three baby guinea pigs. They are very cute and tiny, they fit in the palm of your hand. They are born with all their hair and their eyes opened. I have learned a lot about how long they are pregnant, how long they nurse, how to tell if it is a boy or girl and how long they have to be with their mom, fun. If anyone wants one they will be ready to go toward the end of January. The kids want to keep all of them, which in NOT happening. We may keep one but we have not decided yet. This is definitely an experience to remember.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Morning 2009

It has been over a month since I have posted anything. Life seems to be passing me by lately. With 5 birthdays between November 5th and January 6th, plus you throw in Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, I must say I have been in overload lately. I hope to get back on schedule in the next few weeks with our family blog.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. The kids are all happy and still playing with their new treasures. Jacob got a much wanted Wii Football game, Emma got a huge dollhouse, all Seth wanted was a dinosaur and Santa delivered and Lucy was happy with everything, even the wrapping paper. There were several other Wii games in the mix, a couple card games, some Barbie dolls and clothes, Thomas train tracks, Bakugan and nice new church outfits for everyone.

I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying time with family.

New Addition!!

A girl and her Guinea Pig.
Little Zoe.

Emma received some money for her birthday. We were going to head to Toys R Us tomorrow morning so she could spend it but...her big brother talked her into (which was not very hard) spending her money at the pet store. Emma got her very own Guinea Pig today. We already have two, Newman and Daisy. We have had them for almost 3 years. Emma loves her and has been holding her all night. I think she would sleep with her if we let her. She is very little and cute.

Happy 5th Birthday Emma!!

Emma's Blessing Day.

The Day she was born.

Today we celebrate Emma's 5th birthday. Her magic birthday, as my kids call it, she is 5 on the 5th. We had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and let her open her presents this morning. Sean works the swing shift (12:30pm - 10:30pm), so we are going to have a party for her on Sunday. I will post pictures of that later. Emma is in a pre-K program through the county this year and really loves it. We had a parent/teacher conference on Monday and her teacher had nothing but wonderful things to say. She is all girl. She loves dresses and dressing up, stuffed animals and baby dolls, polly pockets, Barbie's and Littlest Pet Shops. I love her very much and am proud of her for the wonderful young lady she is turning into.

Happy Halloween....a little late.

I can not figure this picture thing out. I had them in order, oldest to youngest, then the picture of them all together last and this is the order they show up in, oh well.

She's a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world.
Brown Kids

The ghostest with the mostest.

Pretty Scary!!

HHUULLKKKKKK!!

He loved his costume and was showing everyone his muscles.

My big Clone Commander Cody.

I am not a huge fan of Halloween. I like to dress the kids up, I like the decorations but I do not like all the candy and the sugar high it gives my kids. We have the philosophy on candy that for one week our kids are allowed to eat candy to their hearts content or their stomach hurts, whichever comes first. Jacob actually threw up from too much candy one year and is very cautious with the candy. Emma and Seth have not learned the same lesson. On Friday night our church had a Trunk or Treat. And then on Saturday our neighbors church has a Hallelujah Party. It is basically a very large, free, carnival with pony rides, hay rides, ferris wheels, moon bounces, games, puppet shows, etc. So, for the past three years we have done that. They get candy at each station so they are stocked by the time we leave. They all have fun and are very tired by the time we are finished. I must say they are all losing interest in the candy. Another benefit of letting them just eat and eat.

Happy Birthday Adam!!

8 years ago today Sean and I welcomed our first child into this world. Adam was born premature and only weighed 1lb 15.9oz. His little body was not strong enough to fight off a blood infection he developed 11 days after he was born. He returned to heaven 2 weeks after he arrived here. We know that his short life here on this earth was for Sean and I. He only needed to come here to get his body. He had other work to do. We look forward to the day when we get to see him again. He is a very important part of our family. We miss him everyday. FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

......And Carving!!

Monday night for Family Home Evening we carved and painted our pumpkins. Emma and Seth painted and put glitter on theirs while Jacob and Daddy carved their pumpkins. And Mommy was on Lucy patrol! Lucy was into everything. We had some sugar cookies with frosting that she helped herself to. She also got into the paint. And she got a mouth full of pumpkin guts. Jacob and Seth will not touch the pumpkin guts but the girls do not mind, is that a little backwards?!?

Pumpkin Fun.
Lucy finding the pumpkin guts.

Seth's disgusted face when Lucy put a handful of pumpkin guts in her mouth. I love the look of "eewww" on his face.

We also roasted the pumpkin seeds. They were okay but did not have much flavor so I am opened to any suggestions anyone may have.

Pumpkin Patch......

The Brown Kids at Ridgefield Farm
The Hay Ride

Seth in the Corn Maze

Lucy's first Hayride

Emma's pumpkin

On Monday our Joy School (preschool) class went to the pumpkin patch. Emma does not have school on Monday's so she got to come along also. We decided to take Jacob out of school early to come with us since we did not see another time when our family would be able to go. All the kids enjoyed it. We got to go on a hay ride, go through a corn maze, go to pumpkin school and pick a pumpkin. Seth was excited to get to go on his first field trip and that his brother and sisters got to come with him.

Long Cold, Rainy, Busy Week

A whole lot of Brown's.

Last Monday started our busy week this week. Monday Sean and I headed to Massanutten, VA to listen to a sales presentation for a time share. We had not intention of buying but could not resist all of the free things they were going to give us. Nana and Grandpa came and stayed with our kids. We were tempted but did not buy. It was nice to spend a day with Sean.

Tuesday is always a busy day for me. Emma is in a preschool with two other friends from church are in also. We all carpool and Tuesday is my day. After getting Emma and Jacob to school I had to get home to prepare for Joy School. This week was my week to teach. We talked about camping and being outdoors. We actually had circle time in our tent. We made backpacks, went fishing, went on a hike and for a snack we made smores. Yes, I roasted marshmallows over an open fire with 3 year olds (Sean was here to help, he is off on Tuesdays). They are did a great job and we had a lot of fun. We kept the fire going all day and roasted hot dogs for dinner. Then our kids had smores after dinner. Tuesday afternoon and evening was getting ready for our weekly Relief Society meeting (formerly Enrichment). It was my first one with my new calling in the Relief Society presidency. I am way out of my comfort zone. I have been in primary all of my life, with the exception of about a year right after Sean and I got married. We had a class on budgeting. It was well attended and I think everyone had a good time. We had all apple things to eat. I must say I was glad when Tuesday was over. And to add to the mix Jacob has football practice on Tuesdays. Sean got to take all of the kids himself.


Wednesday was the day of school things. Emma had a field trip to Lowe's where they built faces for a cardboard pumpkin. She wanted Sean to go since they were building and that "is what dad's do". As he headed home he stopped a Jacob's school for National School Lunch week to have lunch with Jacob.


Thursday was Joy School again at our house. It rained all day so we were not able to do the outside things I wanted to but it was still fun.


Friday was my rotation for the preschool run again. Friday evening Jacob went to the first on many upcoming Fall Festivals/Halloween parties. He had fun.


Saturday the cold rainy weather continued. Jacob did not have his football game because of that. I must admit I was not sad to have a day to stay at home. I did a lot of much needed cleaning and general straightening up.


Sunday was church this morning and relaxing in the afternoon. Above is a picture of our family we took today. Emma is supposed to bring in a picture of her family and we did not have any family pictures with Lucy. Jacob is taking piano lessons and was practicing today. As you can tell Lucy loves to watch him.





I love this picture!!

Families Are Forever

Tonight we had Family Home Evening. We rotate assignments in our family. Seth had the lesson, with help from daddy. He talked about temples. We sang "I love to see the Temple". Our activity was playing freeze tag. I know that sometimes our neighbors must laugh as we are running around in our yard on a Monday evening. Then we headed to Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins for a treat. It was a wonderful evening. As we were all in the van and heading home I had, as Sean refers to it, a "mommy moment". One of those moments when everything seems to be perfect and just they way that I have always wanted my family to be. As Elder David A. Bednar stated in his General Conference talk, (you can find it on http://www.lds.org/) our children may not remember a specific lesson, scripture or prayer but will remember that as a family we were consistent. Our children really enjoy Family Home Evening and I hope that they will remember that we did it as they grow older.

Another Busy Saturday

Jacob in action.
Jacob was the QB today. He did a great job.

Lucy having a great time at the football game.

Seth not having a good time at the football game because I did not have any money for a donut.

Our Saturdays these days are filled with football. Sean is working every Saturday from 6:30am - 4:30pm, which means I get to pack up all four kids and head to the field. They all do very well. Luckily the games only last an hour. I pack my bag with drinks, snacks and a couple toys and we are good to go. Jacob is enjoying football. Today Seth was not happy with me because I did not bring money for donuts. I pack enough snacks that we should not need a donut but when they announce over the loud speaker that there are donuts what 3 year old would not want one. This was our first 9am game so the donuts are usually gone when we get there. I was not a prepared mommy. He survived!!

This is what happens when the snack cabinet gets left opened.

This afternoon I was watching General Conference. Twice a year we have conference that is broadcast from Salt Lake City, UT. We have BYU-TV on our satellite so we are able to watch it from home. The kids were having a snack so everything was quiet. Lucy is mobile now and I do not always know where she is every second. She took advantage that one of the bigger kids left the cabinet opened. Yesterday Seth had some pringle sticks and did not finish them so he put them back in the cabinet. As Lucy was exploring she somehow discovered that the pringle sticks were opened and helped herself. She was very excited about her find.

Busy Saturday

We had a busy day today. And despite the rain we did it all. Our neighborhood had a yard sale, so we participated. I am a HUGE fan of going to yard sales but not so much of having one. We had a good friend join us with some things. It was nice to chat with her all morning. We got rid of most of our stuff. It feels great to purge and get rid of things.

Jacob had a flag football game today. I did not go because of the sale but Sean, Emma and Seth went. He came home and said to me, "there is good news and bad news, which do you want first?" I asked for the bad news, he got kicked in the head as he was diving for a flag, which left a bruise and some scratches but he is fine. The good news, he made a game saving play at the end of the game by getting a flag and stopping a touch down. It was a good football day for him.

We all headed to Chick-fil-A so that Sean did not have to cook dinner. :-) After Chick-fil-A I headed to the General RS Broadcast at church and Sean headed home with the kids.

It was a fun day.

9 months already

Lucy was 9 months old on the 19th. Yesterday she went to the doctor for her checkup. She weighed in at 16lb 10oz. She is only in the 14%. The doctor is not too concerned that it dropped because she is very mobile now and the doctor says she is just burning it off because she is moving around so much. She got one shot yesterday but it is not bothering her at all today, thank goodness. She is a happy little girl. She crawls around everywhere. She just started pulling herself up on everything. I do not think it will be too long before she is walking.

I have a house full of kids today. Jacob had really crusty eyes this morning so I did not want to send him in. He is on eye drops. The bad thing is he feels fine so he is bored. It is easier when they are home sick and just want to lay around all day. Emma said her head hurt and she had a low fever so she stayed home also. Seth and Lucy spend there days with me anyway. Seth did have preschool yesterday. He had a lot of fun and did not want to come home when I went to pick him up.

Where does the time go?

I am sitting at my computer this morning listening to silence. Jacob is at school, first grade. Emma is at preschool, Pre-K. Seth is at Joy School, preschool. Lucy is taking a nap. It seems like just yesterday I had a houseful of preschoolers. It is amazing how time goes by. We spent the morning in the car but it is worth it. Each one gave me a big hug and kiss as I dropped them off. I love my children. I am grateful for the wonderful blessing they are in my life. They keep me busy but I would not trade if for anything.

The new Emma

The NEW Do!!
The old ponytail.

Emma has been telling me for a couple weeks that she wants to get her hair cut. I did not rush right out and do it because I wanted to make sure she really did. On one hand I was sad that she wanted to cut her long hair but on the other hand it is just hair and it will grow back and sometimes trying to brush it is a fight. We have a good friend who cuts hair and was happy to help when we asked if she would cut Emma's hair (THANKS AMY)!! I was a little nervous she was not going to like it but she LOVES it. I loved her long, blonde hair but her new do is very cute.

Joy School

On Tuesday we started our co op preschool group, which we call Joy School. I was able to teach the first week. We have some young kids in our group so we are meeting only Tuesdays in September. We talked about "All about Me". We did hand prints, measured how tall we are with string, looked at ourselves in the mirror (and made funny faces) and drew chalk outlines of ourselves on the driveway. There are five kids in our group, which I think is the perfect number. Seth loved "going to school" and is already talking about next week.

First Day of Preschool

She is so grown up.
My goofy kids.

This morning is Emma's first day of preschool. She is in a Pre-K program through the county. And for those of you who have seen the movie "Bedtime Stories", "for freeee, Sounds good to meeee." She has to be there at 8am. So we all got ready and loaded into the van bright and early. Then we rushed back home so that Jacob could get on his bus. We made it with a little time to spare. She is very independent and did not have any problems. She said, "Bye mom, see you later" and off she went. I am really going to miss her but it will be very good for her. She will go Tuesday - Friday every week. It is strange to just have two at home again. I am very excited for all the new things Emma will learn this year.

First day of First Grade

My BIG first grade boy!

The Brown kids.
Getting on the bus.

Jacob is starting first grade today. Last night and today went much better than last year. And, I allowed him to ride the bus to school. I have been asking Jacob for the last week if he wants me to take him or if he wants to ride the bus. He told me several times that he wanted to ride the bus but he knows that I would miss him if he rode the bus. I informed him that I will miss him anyways. So, I am letting go of some of those apron strings and letting him ride the bus to school. I have not cried at all. I did feel the emotions welling up as I waved good-bye to the bus. Jacob is such a great kid. I know that he will do well in first grade and make many new friends.

We will be taking Emma to preschool next Thursday. We will see if I cry for that one. :-)

I know that I have not yet posted weeks 8-11 of summer vacation. I will try to get that posted this week.

Summer Vacation Week 7 - late again

Monday - In the morning the kids did their jobs, which makes Mommy very happy because she has a clean house and she does not have to clean it all by herself. Sean and I also moved Lucy's crib into Emma's room. Emma has wanted Lucy in the room with her since she was born but since we have an extra room we wanted to wait until Lucy was sleeping through the night. Emma was so excited about having Lucy in her room that when Lucy went to bed at 7pm, Emma wanted to go also. It is going well having them in the same room. In the afternoon we went to a dairy farm that is about 30 minutes from us. If you are there at 4pm you can help feed the calves. We were able to do that. Seth was not too excited about the cows. Lucy loved the calves and one was trying to eat her hand. After feeding the cows we had ice cream at the little store and bought a half gallon of the best chocolate milk I have ever tasted.

Tuesday - We will call Tuesday movie day. The local movie theater has free movies on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Sean took Jacob, Emma and Seth to see "Star Wars - The Clone Wars". I got to stay home with Lucy who took a nap for part of the time. I always think about all the things I would get done if my kids were out of the house for just a couple hours. Well I had that and what do you think I got done?!?!?! NOTHING, I took a nap. :-) That night Sean and Jacob went to see "Harry Potter". Jacob liked it but was just a little scared of, I think, the death eaters. He came in our bed and said, "I think I should have watched that movie during the day". Sean loves the movies and me not so much. So, he usually either goes to a matinee by himself or takes Jacob. I am glad that Jacob shares Sean's love for the movies so that I do not have to go.

Wednesday & Thursday - We just hung out at home and played and cleaned and got ready for the weekend.

Friday & Saturday - We headed to Kirtland, OH to see some church historic sites. We met Sean's brother Adam and his family there. We camped on Friday and went to Kirtland on Saturday. It was fun. Our kids always enjoy seeing their cousins. There was a playground right by our site so the kids spent the majority of their time there. We made smores in the evening and the kids were all up late. Our kids love sleeping in a tent. It was Lucy's first time in a tent. I was a little nervous but she did well. Saturday was a full day. We did not get home until 11:30pm but it was well worth it.




It was another fun week of the summer. All to soon Jacob will be in 1st grade, Emma will be in preschool and Seth will be doing Joy School and life will get very busy. We are going to fully enjoy the last month of our summer vacation.

Summer Vacation Week 6

Wow, the summer is half way over. This week we were able to spend some time with family.

Monday - We went to a small water, more like spray, park not too far from our house. There is one big water slide. Jacob loved it. Emma was tall enough to go on it but once she climbed the stairs and looked at it she changed her mind, so she made the trip back down the stairs. There was a small duck slide where Seth spent most of his time. It was a good time.

Tuesday - In school last year Jacob was able to see Bill Wellington, who is a folk singer. He really liked him and we even bought a couple of his CD's. Well, he was at the Library on Tuesday so we decided to go. He is great, the kids had a wonderful time listening to and singing with him. We came home with two more of his CD's. I was glad because I get tired of listening to the same thing every time we get in the van. After the show we headed over to our friends pool. There were not very many people there so there was a lot of room for swimming. Jacob is becoming quite the swimmer. Emma is much more confident in the water. And Seth, he is too confident.

Wednesday - In the morning the kids and I loaded into the van to head to Hollywood, MD, in southern Maryland, to visit my oldest sister Jennifer and her family. She had a baby in April. The kids played in the sprinkler. My kids loved following around their older cousins, Jocey and Nate, and Emma could not get enough of baby Lily. It was cute to lay Lucy and Lily and see the difference in them. My sister and her husband also took some great pictures of my kids. I am having a hard time deciding which ones I want to print.

Thursday - We headed back home around lunchtime. We just had a quiet evening at home.

Friday - It was rainy on Friday so we spent most of the day inside playing games and watching movies.

Saturday - Jacob headed to Baltimore with his friend and his friends family. It was strange having him gone all day. They went to the aquarium and walked around the inner Harbour. He had wonderful day. Emma, Seth, Lucy and I headed to Fairfax, VA to my sister Gretchen's house. My mom and Al were there with their new puppy. The kids were able to go swimming for several hours. After we went back to their house and had a cookout. I love a good grilled cheeseburger, YUM!! The kids were all tired and fell asleep on the way home, that is always fun.

Sunday - We continue to go to church from 3-6pm. It is hard time for the kids. We are praying that we are able to get back in our building here in Harpers Ferry very soon.

We have having a fun summer. I love having Jacob home with us all day.

Brown Kids

We went to visit my sister Jennifer and her family in Southern Maryland on Wednesday and Thursday. She and her husband are wonderful photographers. They took a ton of pictures of my kids. They turned out so good I am having a hard time deciding which ones are the best. Here is just a sample of a couple.

Summer Vacation Week 5

Seth has a teacher who spends a lot of time on things to send home with the kids each Sunday. These are his "Scripture Specs". Last Sunday as we were leaving church I turned around and this is what I saw. I had to take a picture, too cute. I love that kid.

Well, this week has been the week of swimming and sickness. Jacob and Emma had swim lessons this week. On Monday I took both of them up together. Emma was first, then there was a class between and Jacob was next. So, I had this GREAT plan all devised. I would get Emma ready and while she was in her class I would help Jacob do schoolwork (yes, we are mean parents and having our kids do a little work each day). Between their classes they would have a snack. Then while Jacob was in the pool Emma and I would do her schoolwork. Well, don't you know kids do not allow plans to go off as they should. Emma would not get in the pool at all on Monday. Not only would she not get in she screamed and cried for the entire 1 hour and 30 minutes we were at the INDOOR pool. I am not sure what was wrong with her. She has been swimming this summer and gotten in the pool. The rest of the week went a little better but not until Friday did she do everything that her teachers asked her to do. Therefore, plans were changed and Emma and either Sean or I would head to the pool first so that we could leave if need be and the other would bring up the rear with Jacob and the other two. We would meet in the middle and trade kids, cars or whatever we needed. Jacob did really well in his class.

Wednesday I gave the boys haircuts. Jacob prefers his shaved, which is fine with me because it is much easier and quicker, so I did him first. Then came Seth. He told me that he wanted hair like Jacob. I was not sure that I wanted to shave his head but he is so wiggly when I try to cut his hair that I decided to do it. It looks cute and he loves it.

Loves his new hair.

Ready to get all the hair off of him.

Thursday we packed a lunch and on the way home from swim lessons we stopped at the park, had lunch and played. It is a playground that we have only been to one time so it was fun for the kids. Thursday was also a day of rest. Jacob and Emma were both invited over to friends houses to play. Seth and Lucy both took good long afternoon naps so mommy also got a much needed nap.

As for sickness this week, Sean was sick on Sunday - Tuesday. Wednesday morning Seth, Lucy and I all woke up sick. Seth and I are still coughing a little and tired but feeling better. Lucy is feeling better as far as the sickness goes but is teething and not enjoying it. Thank goodness for medicine. Jacob woke up Friday morning not wanting to eat, which is very unusual for him, so we figured something was up. Yes, he is now sick. He missed his last day of swim lessons and pretty much laid on the couch. He is still feeling sick today but not as bad as yesterday. Emma woke up today with a nasty nose. Tonight is going to be early bedtimes and medicine. :-) We are staying home from church tomorrow so that we do not share our sickness with anyone. Well, Sean is going because he is feeling better and he has to teach.