the bown blog

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T15:35:00.001-07:00

Another successful Halloween, this year we had a Cowgirl, Supergirl and Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. She made sure I knew from Wizard of Oz and not the Wiggles, "Dorothy the Dinosaur." And Lynlee is the only one I made, Halloween just crept up on me, I was going to make McKenna a bee costume but we had a scary week right before Halloween, my doctor sent me to the hospital with pre-term labor at 28 weeks!! Everything is totally fine and they put me on "light" bed rest (not sure that sentence means anything to a mom of three small kids) but I've had to take it easy, so it was store bought this year!

Such cute girls, and a big thanks to my wonderful neighbors that helped take the girls around!! They are angels and helped carry McKenna when she started to lag, only because her bucket got so full and she was to preoccupied with all the candy and not running to keep up with all the other kids. No picture of her by herself, the were all blurry, she never stops moving.

Elders

2011-11-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

Billy has been serving as the Ward Mission Leader for about a year now and has loved it, he loves working with the Elders. We have some great missionaries serve in our ward. This past weekend Elder Simons was transferred and Elder Shultz went home to cold ole Utah. Lynlee and Regan actually cried and so did Elder Simons, they will be missed!!

Elder Beeman was serving in our ward over the summer, him and Billy mastered the art of Skittle throwing and catching them in your mouth, it seemed like every time they were over it turned into a competition, we miss him too, we went on to serve in College Station.

Elder Esplin and Elder Nelson, by far two of my favorites, they are both still out and I think every time they have Zone Conference, Elder Esplin finds the missionaries serving in our ward and we get a note from him. Our family has been so blessed and I love seeing and helping with the Lord's work!!

Halloween Yumminess

2011-11-01T15:23:00.001-07:00

In a effort to once again not carve pumpkins I distracted them them making sugar cookies, WORKED LIKE A CHARM!! Fun was had by all.

Until I decided to run upstairs, start the bath water and came back down to this child frosting her head, at least she used the plastic butter knife and kept her hands clean.

Can we camp outside Mom?

2011-11-01T15:21:00.001-07:00

They actually never asked, just brought down their pillows and set up camp. They know they have free rein of the house when mom is returning e-mails!!

Brownie Ceremony?!?!

2011-10-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

I actually have no idea what this was, but the leaders handed out awards and the girls sang songs. The other parents were all taking pictures and video so I just went along with it.

I love this picture of McKenna, I can tell exactly what she is thinking, "Why yes mom I am up to no good. As soon as you turn around to watch Lynlee I'm going to go back to playing with the bathroom door, or maybe I'll go play in the drinking fountain again." But I love her, and she is too cute.

"The Big Camp-Out!"

2011-10-17T19:21:00.001-07:00

The end of September we went camping with 4 of the funniest families. My friend Mary quoted it as "the big campout" and it was. We headed out Thursday afternoon, and arrived at Brazos Bend National Park in a downpour. Lucky one of the families had a super new gigantic trailer, we all ate dinner and waited out the rain. We finally set up our tent by headlamp light at around 11. Some families had bailed and slept at home, which luckily was only 45 minutes away. After a night battling raccoons trying to get in our cooler, and tent, we set up all the comforts of home we could cram in 2 cars. Another family set up the hammock and we needed a parent manning it the entire time, and lots of "okay your time is up, get out and let the next kid swing in it."

We headed out to the lake for a bike ride and stopped at the nature center first, to see all the stuffed animals and pet some baby alligators.

DO NOT BE ALARMED, NOT A REAL RACCOON!!

Of course I didn't get my big butt on a bike, I only rode to the bathroom and back, so Billy took Lynlee and Regan around and they said they saw about 12 alligators, later on the night it seemed the number grew every time they talked about it so your guess is as good as mine. He only took a picture of this one!

The kids had a great time and we had great weather!! Texas is still dealing with this awful drought so we couldn't have any fires, which was a big bummer. We had to be creative at night, the campsites had power and water, so we strung up a bunch of Christmas lights, and about a million glowsticks. All the kids loved it, when I was putting the girls to bed, Regan asked me if Santa Claus was coming.:)

All the kids climbing this enormous oak tree, I love Texas trees!! We had a blast, I did here talk one night about a campout in November, just not sure these pregnancy hips can handle sleeping on an air mattress again, but we'll see. Thanks Glauser's, Long's and Archibald's for the fun!

Reactions

2011-09-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

So if you haven't heard you must be living under a rock, but we are having another GIRL!! All pink party all the time at our house, and we are excited!! But some family members had some pretty funny reactions:

Billy was out of town for work and couldn't go to the ultrasound, but was excited and said, "I need a bigger gun and way MORE AMMO"

Regan-A enthusiastic "Cool"

And Lynlee, oh this girl really, really want a brother. She came running off the bus and I said "you are going to have another little sister!"
Lynlee-"WHAT, mom I really wanted a brother! (Then totally losing it) I always have to play the prince, Regan always makes me be Eugene, I HATE Eugene!"
Me-"Who is Eugene?!?!"
Lynlee-"From Tangled, Regan always wants to be Rapunzel and makes me be Eugene, gosh mom."
Me-"Oh okay, but are you excited about another baby sister, all we care about is that the baby is heathly."
Lynlee-"Yes mom a healthy baby. I'm excited, can we name her Teresa?"

I really love 7 year old life problems and thoughts.

But we are all totally excited, now for the name, Billy says he still can name a girl William, Lynlee of course wants Teresa and Regan really likes Dema?? Not on the list we just humor her by talking about it.

Downward Facing Dog

2011-09-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

This pregnancy has been pretty normal, well not normal but pretty much the same as my other ones. Except, I am carrying really low, I am 23 almost 24 weeks along and not big at all, I am in most of my same clothes and have just a little baby bump, sorry there will be no picture. But with how great I am looking, my tailbone and lower back have been killing me!! By the end of the night, I am limping and can barely pick up McKenna. I did some research and there must just be a lot of pressure on my tailbone. The recommend exercise, "downward facing dog" yoga pose. Awesome, I tried it last night and I could tell a difference in pressure, UNTIL Regan came in and asked if I was giving pony rides, and her and McKenna started climbing up my legs to get on my back. Guess it will just have to wait until after bedtime!!

Hair Today

2011-09-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know where all these fads come from but they are crazy!! Lynlee had been begging me for a feather in her hair, since school had started. I called around and they were $25.00 buck at a salon, NO WAY!! Then one of my friends said they did them at a place at the mall for $8, so I caved and let her get one. She had it for about 2 weeks, and I told her once it falls out, we aren't getting another one.

I realized last week she took her school picture with it in, what a great memory! And not to miss out on anything, Regan wanted one too, I didn't go with the feather just a snap in pink hair extension we can take out, I have to admit they do look cute.

Will you sign my cast?

2011-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here is finally a picture of the pink cast. She has had it off for about two weeks and is back to her old busy self. When she had the cast on we let a few people sign it, the Elders serving in our ward, her sisters and then one day in nursery some guy let the other kids scribble on it, I wasn't real happy about that but oh well. Anyways, Billy's family had there annual reunion the weekend before school started, and since they all couldn't sign her cast they broke this poor stuffed animals arm, put a cast on it and signed it for McKenna. I love all the BOWN'S!! We laughed so hard when we got it in the mail.

Back to School Shhhhtuff

2011-09-14T20:33:00.001-07:00

Well we have survived the first few weeks of school, and I sit here looking at these pictures thinking when did they get so big, I miss my babies!! But i love these girls, and they are loving school and their teachers, 2nd grade for Lynlee and Preschool for Regan.

Summer Highlights

2011-08-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

I have pretty much sucked at blogging this summer, we are expecting baby #4 in January and of course was struck down with a nasty case of morning sickness in the evening. But with that over, here are just a few highlights of summer vacation.

I hate Back t School, I know some parents just love it because there kids fight and are bored at home, and yes mine are like that too, but I like them home with me. When at school somedays I just watch the clock waiting for them to come home and hear about their day and all they did. I like staying up late, and sleeping in, ruining dinner with a bunch of cookies at 5:00 and just hanging out. We have done so much fun stuff this summer, swimming, hitting the movies and fun little outings.

But we are looking forward to dance, girl scouts, and Regan starting preschool. Lynlee had here meet the teacher tonight and I can tell its going to be a great year, but also lonely for mom for a little while. Good thing I'll have a brand new baby to love and cuddle and McKenna to keep me on my toes. I love being a busy mom!!

Bye-Bye Jeep

2011-08-17T16:43:00.001-07:00

A few months ago we bought a new used car, Billy found some old man Lincoln and that's a whole other blog post on what I think of that car! He needed something that gets better gas mileage for commuting to work. So that meant he had to sell his beloved Jeep. We have had this car forever!! He bought it when he was first home from his mission 12 years ago, and we brought our first baby home in it, I was sad to see it go but no where near Billy.

We will miss you old friend!!

First Broken Bone

2011-08-17T16:37:00.001-07:00

McKenna broke her elbow at the beginning of the month, the very first in our family. This is the only picture I seem to have on the camera, I have a bunch on my phone but can't figure out how to put those pictures in the computer (I'm getting old!) But she had to had surgery and few pins to make sure the bones healed properly, this pic is after surgery but you can't even see her pink cast. The cast has put a damper on all our summer swimming but I'm grateful to all my friends that have taken the older girls for a dip in this ridiculous August heat. The cast should come off in another few weeks, it's really starting to smell.

South Padre Island

2011-08-17T16:03:00.001-07:00

At the end of July we went to South Padre Island with some great friends the Gleason's we rented a condo and had an amazing time. Great family photo, baby not looking, hair in the face, and weird look on dad's face, but at least Lynlee and I look good.
(All these photos went way out of order but we should just be happy there's a new blog post!)

We visited the turtle refuge, never got to see a live release but the girls still loved seeing all the turtles they are rehabilitating. South Padre is at the very south tip of Texas before you hit Mexico, it was a super cute little beach town with lots of fun surf shops.

The condo had its own pool, we swam and swam and swam!

When we weren't at the pool we were at the beach!! Lost McKenna a few times chasing the seagulls, such a wanderer.

We went on a sunset dolphin watch cruise, it was fun but McKenna was over the dolphin watching after about 10 minutes then I spent the rest of the time making sure she didn't fall overboard.

All the Girlies, I loved that everywhere we went people would stare or say things like, "that's a lot of girls!!"

The condo had three bedrooms and all the girls shared a room and got to stay up way late and watch movies with popcorn in bed. But not to miss a moment of the vacation they went to bed at midnight and were up with the sun at six!! SO RELAXING

The VIEW, love the ocean.

To Make You Smile

2011-07-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

I love these weridos!!

Surfside, U.S.A

2011-07-13T14:13:00.001-07:00

Billy's little bro was visiting from Utah the middle of June, we had a lot of fun things planned but everyone was struck down by a nasty 24 stomach bug, even poor Jake. So after all the throw up had been cleaned up we took a little trip to Surfside beach. It was a beautiful day, the waves were huge and Billy and Jake were able to do some "body surfing" it looked more to me like almost drowning but they had fun.

All my cute beach babes!!

Brotherly Love

June Birthdays

2011-07-13T14:05:00.001-07:00

We celebrated both Regan and Lynlee's birthday in June, nothing to major just a couple of family parties. Regan opening all her loot.

Yay, for 4 year olds!

Lynlee got a American Girl Doll, from my mom and dad, and she is in love, she takes it every where.

Lynlee wanted some cupcakes from Oh LaLa Desserts so we started with donuts in the morning and finished off the day with her cupcakes, they are getting so big it makes me sad, but they are both such good girls, and I'm so happy they are mine.

Uggg Again

2011-07-13T13:49:00.001-07:00

Wow, summer is almost half way over and I have totally lacked on blogging. Here's a few highlights of all the year end stuff the girls had, June always seems like one of the craziest months of the year.

Regan had her dance rectal, it was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen, she loved dance so much and Lynlee was way jealous she wants to do dance again next year too, yay!! I love all those tutus and glitter!!

Her tap was a mouse costume, so adorable!!

Sassy, Thumblina ballet number!

Lynlee finished all her Daisy requirements and is moving on to be a Brownie next year.

We had a little picnic graduation for Regan's Joy School, next year she will be ready for Pre-School.

Lynlee's last day of 1st grade, I can't believe she going to be a 2nd grader! And she is going to miss Mrs. Brock so much, she was a great teacher.

Fluff Cycle

2011-05-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

18 months and BUSY!!

Sisters

2011-05-13T14:38:00.001-07:00

This pictrue melts my heart, I'm pretty sure I have the cutest girls on the planet!

Mother's Day and Teacher Appreication

2011-05-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last week being Mother's Day and Teacher Appreciation, we were on craft overload!! I'm Lynlee's homeroom parent and we got here teacher a little something everyday of the week.

A picture frame with a cute little note!

A basket of apples, there were 6 other students that brought apples too.

A little flower pot for the Grandma's from Lynlee, it was a pop-up card so it could be laid flat in an envelop.

My friend Melissa taught me how to make earrings, and I had a ton of beads left over from some watches I made last year. I made our mom's both a scarf and some earrings to match. I loved the fabric and earrings so much I made some for myself, so springy!

Lynlee modeling the scarf, I have been in a scarf making frenzy I love them!! If any of my friends have had a birthday in the last six months, I have made them a scarf.

Te archer Appreciation ideas: here

Mother's day card: here

Scarf pattern: here

My Top Ten Mommy Lessons

2011-05-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Mother's Day is next Sunday, its one of my favorite days, and not because its a day to pamper your mom, but because it always reminds me how grateful I am to be a mom, it is absolutely one of the greatest blessing in life. So here is my top ten list of mommy life lessons:

1: I've learned that stepping out in the fresh air not only sooths a fussy baby, but is also good for a frazzled mommy

2: Always hold the door open for a mom with a stroller, I've been there it's always nice

3: I've totally become some kind of "Bottom Feeder" finishing off their leftovers from lunch(Someone please help me!!)

4: It does not matter how many years apart in age your children are, because they will still play, fight and love each other just the same.

5: Their childhood is going by way too fast and there is no better day than today to stop, sit down and play Barbie's

6: I've learned its important to be in the pictures rather than just the one taking the picture

7: Its okay to say no to things like calling friends or sleepovers

8: Its okay to say yes to one more cookie, coloring your entire hand with markers, or staying up late to read.

9:With child that is having a bad day, its always better to listen than talk.

10: I've learned that being a mom is one of the most important calling I can ever do in my life.

Happy Mother's Day

First name McKenna....

2011-04-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

Middle Name DANGER!!

As I put the camera down she climbed the rest of the way up, and I had to pry her off, she had a death grip on the rails, so not kid proof or safe!!

Easter Dresses

2011-04-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Grandma came through for us again this year and bought all the girls Easter dresses they all looked cute and springy. Man is it hard to get a picture of three young children and the youngest one only having the desire to run away from you- a lot of picture like this.
And then we have the three year old to contend with that has the attention span of a tiny fish and gets totally distracted by the bow on her dress, at least we got 2 of 3 kids in each picture.

Maybe we'll just stick to single picture for a few years. My cute Lynlee.

Not sure about the pose or the smile but we'll take it!

The only picture I got of McKenna by herself were of her back as she was running away from me. But a cute family picture, hope everyone had a very Happy Easter.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-29T15:38:00.001-07:00

We started are weekend by adding two extra kiddos to the mix. our good friends the Gleason's had to go to the Stake Youth Conference and they needed a babysitter. The girls all had a great time. We did a little Easter egg hunt in the morning, decorated Easter eggs and then running through the sprinklers for about 4 hours. I can't believe its already after Easter!!
They ended up breaking half the eggs while dying them and we were scrubbing little blue and pink dyed hands.

The baskets the Easter Bunny left, the girls got Tangled and Beauty and the Beast, some of the best Disney movies ever. Regan got a butterfly catcher, bad idea Easter bunny, it does not fit over Mom's head and really hurts when she slams it down and says "I caught you mom!!"

Awww, my little sewers!!

2011-04-13T19:48:00.001-07:00

I normally don't care if they are looking at my sewing machine and projects but a few weeks ago I got a brand new sewing machine and I am in LOVE!! Its not my dream sewing machine but that one was $2000 and Billy said NO, but this one is great. It has so many more options than my old one, and now I have a list of a bunch of new projects I want to make. I love when the girls come in and watch me, it reminds me of when I was a little girl watching my Grandma Taylor in amazement; my skill level is no where near hers but I know some things I've made would have made her proud. I hope I can teach my girls how much fun it is to make things with your own and hands and how much everyone loves getting a home-made gift. I think it really is a fading art form. But it is such a stress release for me, and I can totally tell when I just need to sit down and sew something!! Right after I took this picture they went crazy and start unraveling bobbins, and were banished from my sewing room, forever!!

Feature and Giveaway!!

2011-04-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

Yay, my Etsy store was feature on a website and in a magzine! I'm doing a giveaway through the website so go check it and enter to win. I know I don't make a ton of money but I just love making all these baby things, I remember when I was pregnant with Lynlee and having baby showers, all the cute things I got and I how I couldn't wait to use them and meet my new baby!! And when I sewing these things, I think of some other new mom opening the mail and getting my things I've made and even though I have no idea who they are I can't help but smile and feel so excited for them.

www.growingyourbaby.com

A case of Animal Cruelty?

2011-04-04T15:50:00.001-07:00

The Crime:

The Victim: The Culprit:

I rest my case-Guilty!

Spring Break Camping

2011-03-25T14:20:00.001-07:00

Over Spring Break last week our ward had a little campout up at Lake Livingston. There were about 19 families and it was a total blast. The kids played, rode bikes, fished and got totally dirty. After the kids got to sleep the adults stayed up talking and laughing around the campfire. It was such a fun family trip, we are planning another campout at the end of April.

Ladybugs

2011-03-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

The girls have been obsessed with catching ladybugs, as soon as Lynlee gets home from school they are in the back yard collecting them. They made a little "ladybug playground" for them and then decided they wanted them as pets (is it just me or do they look really grown up in this picture?)

All the bugs enjoying their playground outside!

We got a Tupperware out to keep them in and Regan put the lid on without making sure all the ladybugs were in. We had some causalities, sorry ladybugs, you need to find a new yard to live in!

Say It Isn't So

2011-03-25T14:05:00.001-07:00

It actually pains me to say this but, my little McKenna is not a baby anymore, she is in full on toddle mode. Her she is climbing up the slide and back down all on her own!! So sad, guess it's almost time for another baby.............kidding!!

Rodeo Time

2011-03-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

Its the kick-off to rodeo season in Texas!! We saddled up our horses, grabbed our boots and cowboy hats and headed to the Katy rodeo. Family favorites, mutton bustin', calf scramble, and of course the bulls, and boy were they grumpy. I feel horrible every time one of those young cowboys gets hurt but I'm secretly just waiting to see one of them get trampled.

The girls did the stick horse race, with their home-made an hour before stick horses(There is a million uses for old socks). Showing off their ribbons.

The amazing race, Lynlee wants to try the mutton bustin' next year, so we'll have to get so practice riding the dog or something.

Lamp Shade Up-cycle

2011-02-21T15:43:00.000-08:00

Loved the red but it had to go, it just didn't match or go with the yellow.

I saw this on another blog, but I can't remeber which on, or I'd put a link because the girl always has great ideas but it was pretty simple. I just sewed some ruffles out of white fabric, strips of 2 inches x three times the width of your lamp shade. Then I pined the ruffle on and hot glued, make sure to hot glue where sticthing is so you don't see the glue. I totally love the way it turned out, I want to do this to every single lamp shade in my house!

Total cost .99 cents!

i {heart} you

2011-02-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

A little behind on the posts but better late the never (Right?) Valentine's Day is not my favorite holiday but I still like to make it special for the girly's. Lynlee's party at school, they played BINGO and decorated cupcakes.

There finished edible masterpieces. Regan decorated hers with goldfish and then ATE IT!! YUCK!

SWEETHEARTS-AWWWWW

McKenna playing with her heart balloon from Mom & Dad!!

Snowed In

2011-02-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday it was COLD and they were predicting snow, so the schools actually called a snow day for Friday. The girls were so excited to play in the snow and build a snowman. We woke up Friday morning to just more cold weather and absolutely not one drop of snow. Houston did get a really bad ice storm and it was really cold so we stayed in all day, and we needed a project. We worked on the girls Valentine's boxes for their parties this week. Turned out cute and entertained them for about 15 minutes, they were crazy the rest of the day.

I saw this idea for Valentine's Day cards on some other blog and thought they were adorable. I just took a picture of the girls and had them developed at Walgreen's, it only cost me about $3.00. Bought some suckers at Target and Wah-la, so cute.

2011-02-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

Bedtime is just not my finest hour as a mom, I'm exhausted and the kids seem to never run out of energy. I found this quote this morning and realized how true it is, and how I need to take a deep breath and just snuggle with my babies while I can.

Daredevil

2011-01-31T20:50:00.000-08:00

I find this baby like this or some other crazy place she should not be about 10 times a day. She is fearless! My prediction is she will be our first kid to either need stitches, a broken limb, or a visit to the ER. This is by far her favorite thing to climb up and she can now climb on top of the coffee table so that's fun.

A smile after I rescued her.

Pinewood Derby

2011-01-31T20:41:00.001-08:00

My Cub scout Pack had the Pinewood Derby, the Pack is huge with so many boys and it was totally crazy!! I love watching the dad's because I know most of them made the car. I asked Billy to take some picture so here are the two he took.

I put myself in charge of weight check. I really do love my calling, and working the scouts, they are a lot of fun.

Christmas in Utah

2011-01-11T10:02:00.001-08:00

We headed up to frigid Utah for Christmas, and boy did we have fun. Came home completely exhausted but had a great time. After having a NIGHTMARE of a time getting there, missing our flight, we started are fun with the Gateway and Build-A-Bear.

The lights at Temple Square, always beautiful!

We partied with family eating, opening presents and then eating some more.

Gardner Village's elf scavenger hunt with all the cousins.

Billy had to fly home for work a few days before Christmas so it was just me and the girls. Christmas eve we went out to eat at a really fun Japanese restaurant where they cook the food in front of you. Regan got a little scared and told me she was going to hide under the table. But it was fun and oh so delicious. Then headed over to the Christmas village in downtown Ogden.

Thawed out with some hot chocolate and watched Elf with grandma and grandpa.

Finally Christmas morning, the kids woke up so early, we all needed a nap by 10. But everyone seemed to like everything. I was the year of the Pillow Pet, each kid got one.

Playing with glitter glue and pixio's.

The girls and I flew home a few days after Christmas, we had so much fun

we all were able to relax:

and let loose!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year!

Ghost of Christmas PAST

2010-12-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

I was looking at some old pictures the other day and found this one and just started laughing, when we lived in Idaho our neighbor somehow got a Santa suit. Haley, my neighbor came over with her kids and her hubby Ty dressed up and came around the back in the snow with bells. Lynlee and her little boy were only 3 and scared to death of him!! So Billy decided to show them how it's done and sat on Santa's lap and told him everything he wanted.

Traditions

2010-12-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

We are headed up to Utah on Friday so it seems like we have been try to cram a bunch of Christmas thing in before we leave, last weekend we decorated our Gingerbread house. I love when it's Christmas time and its 80 degrees outside so all the frosting is running down the sides of the house. The girls had fun and it turned out cute!

McKenna's Birthday

2010-12-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

I have no idea how a year has gone by since this little one was born, but it did and we had to celebrate. Just a few friends and family for cake and ice cream. McKenna is such a sweet heart, always happy and so fun to have in our family.

Enjoyed the cake!! Happy Birthday baby girl!

Saying Goodbye

2010-11-20T20:27:00.001-08:00

Best Friends from the beginning!

We had a really rough week dealing with the lice and then our dog Max passed away. He was just one of those great dogs people talk about. He was great with the kids, always very loyal and just loved to be with us. He got sick over the weekend, last week and just never got better, the vet wasn't really sure what he had, but thought he had a major GI infection or a tumor/blockage. He just went downhill so fast, that we had no choice but to put him to sleep, which was heartbreaking for are whole family, I cried, Billy cried, Lynlee cried, and Regan cried.

The worst has also been are other dog Gus, has lost his best friend and older brother, and just doesn't know what to do. He's never been alone before and just roams around the house and the backyard looking for Max. So SAD!! Billy and I got Max, right after we got married so he has been with us through everything, all the kids being born and moving a bunch of times. He was a great friend and we will miss him in our family.

Swimming at the lake.

Making a Lynlee Sandwich.

Camping at Fish Lake

Nit-Wits

2010-11-20T20:16:00.001-08:00

Horrible, Awful, the worst thing ever....We all got LICE!!! My head itches just thinking about it. We've been dealing with it for about a week now, and I think with one more treatment and head checks for months, we will be rid of it. Lynlee's school has had a major outbreak of it so I'm sure she got it there. But it is awful, washing everything, stuffed animals in quarantine for three weeks, using that shampoo, and picking out all those eggs.

I had a friend ask, "what can I do?"
My response, "Nothing, STAY AWAY, and pray for US!!!"

Are battle weapons: The shampoo dried my scalp out so bad it made it itch worse than the bugs. I had to treat the baby too, and there was no way I was putting that stuff on her head, so I found a natural oil to use and it worked great.

Heather & Scott's Wedding

2010-11-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend Billy's oldest brother got married to a friend of mine down here in Texas. We had 10 people from Billy's family staying here, it was a FULL house!! We all had a great time laughing a eating way too much food.

Heather looked beautiful at it was a gorgeous day at the Temple. So happy for them!!

Andrew and Megan's baby Aubrey, she is so cute.

And my own three rug-rats and the matching dresses I made, props to me!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

We had another fun Halloween this year, Friday we did the Trunk-or-Treat at the church, where Billy ran around scaring all the little kids and the missionaries used the baby to get candy for themselves. Then on Halloween night we went around the neighborhood with some friends.

Lynlee saving the day as SUPERGIRL!!

Regan-the Princess
McKenna-the Frog

Happy Halloween!!

Regan's Halloween Party

2010-11-10T09:48:00.001-08:00

So I'm a little behind on blogging, here's some catch up. Regan had a Halloween party at dance, they ate lunch and did a dance to the Monster Mash, she is so cute!!

Happenings This Week

2010-10-22T14:38:00.001-07:00

It seems like are weeks go by so fast because we are so busy, and the weekends go by even faster. But this week I was able to capture a few Kodak moments. This baby loves to eat!! After most meals she has enjoyed, a simple wet paper towel is useless, so we have to strip her down and hose her off.

All clean and huggable again!!

Lynlee falls for peer pressure all the time, which is good sometimes, not so good others. But she saw a couple of her friends riding their bikes home from school with no training wheels. We came home took hers off, and away she went. She probably could have done it months ago. Now she thinks we are going to let her ride her bike everywhere, and by herself.

Not-so Extreme Door Makeover

2010-10-09T15:06:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

We want to buy a new front door, maybe something with glass but doors are expensive, well really everything is expensive!! But a quart of chocolate brown paint and some vinyl lettering, and it turned out pretty good. Now all we need is so serious color, almost time for some fall flower planting!

How far can $20 Go

2010-10-09T14:48:00.001-07:00

This morning I went garage saleing with my neighbor, I don't claim to be a pro but I do have some skills, this is all the stuff I scored today:
Bike seat for the baby-$5
Hello Kitty Scooter-$2
DVDs-2 for $1
Pink Cowgirl Boots-$2
Reusable Bag-$1
Fall Tablecloth-$4

Grand Total-$15 there were a few things I wish I had bought but I was pooped by 9:00 so we just decided to head home. One of my favorite things is the prices people put on things, like this house where I bought the cute reusable bag had these really nice Pottery Barn selves for sale $30 each!! Are you crazy, I understand you have lots of money and can shop at Pottery Barn, but I just rolled up in my 1997 Jeep in my PJ's with a wade of one dollar bills, this is a garage sale lady!!

Race for the Cure 2010

2010-10-03T19:36:00.001-07:00

Saturday we did the Race for the Cure in downtown Houston, it was crazy. There were over 30,000 people there. We cheated and only walked about a mile, we had to hurry home to catch Conference and about a block after the start the kids started complaining they were already tired.

Breast Cancer is a horrible disease that has affected many people including our family, we miss Billy's mom, Dianne so much and even though we never got a chance to meet her, we love her and love hearing stories about her, from Billy.

The post-race picture after a fierce finish, Billy and Lynlee ran and she fell and skinned her knee, and did not want to be in the picture. It was another awesome experience and we hope and pray they find a cure soon!!

Mid Autumn Festival

2010-09-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood is very diverse, and there are lots of different cultures we have learned about. Some Mandarin families put together a party for the Mid Autumn Festival, it is the beginning of Fall and the day when you can see the Moon the clearest, I think? But they did have a bounce house, and food, which we are all about celebrating. They had Chinese Lanterns and all the kids did a light parade around the lake with a dragons head at the front. And we tired some Moon Cake which was strange but still good, Regan spit it out in my hand which I think offended a few people.

The Moon in all it's glory, it really did look amazing, but my awesome camera just didn't do it justice.

Regan Ballerina

2010-09-28T19:45:00.001-07:00

Regan started tap/ballet a few weeks ago, Lynlee is doing gymnastics this year, but Regs told me she wanted to be a ballerina. Here she is the first day, and check out those adorable leg-warmers, made by me!! So far she loves it and I love watching her in class.

Cute Family

2010-09-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

Oh some many years ago when I was in Young Women's we used to sit around gabbing about the "cute families," in the ward. You know the families you say, "their kids are so cute." Well obviously I'm totally bias and think my kids are the cutest, funniest, smartest things every to walk the planet, but the other day a lady at church and I were talking and she told me, my daughter and some of the other girls think your family is the cutest!! Yes, what an awesome full circle moment. In all my vain-ness I want to get some sort of trophy made to put on the mantle, this is a victory.

A Few Projects

2010-09-10T09:46:00.001-07:00

Billy was on vacation for 3 WEEKS!! He had a honey-do list with about 100 things on it and I think he crossed off 3 maybe 4. But oh well 3 is better than nothing, and we had a great time just hanging out and doing nothing.

This little rocking chair I found next to a dumpster when I was out running errands, when I got it out of the car Billy said, "what did you bring home now." I caught a picture just as he started painting it, but it was just some beat up old wood, and with a 3 dollar can of purple spray paint (I let Regan pick the color).

WAH-LA: I just wish we had three, they are always fighting over who gets to sit in it while watching TV. But they love it!! McKenna's not so sure about it in this picture.

Next was the hallway in between the girl's room, so boring and bare. I thought about some pictures of the family but we have so many family picture walls, then I saw this idea on another blog and I loved it.

Some moulding and painted close-pins, the girls think it is the greatest thing, a whole wall of their artwork. And it frees up my fridge, they love to change the pictures and thankfully no more "Why did you throw that picture in the garbage mom?" (Riped my heart and they were catching on that I always blamed dad, even when he wasn't home)

I think it needs a saying above it, probably in vinyl. I was thinking IMAGINE & CREATE, what do you think? Now back to that TO DO List that keeps getting longer.

Good-bye Summer

2010-09-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

I know everyone up North is so sad to say goodbye to summer by not me, I'm so ready for some nice 80 degree weather so we can actually go play outside without dying of heat stroke. Labor Day this past weekend we did have to say goodbye to the pool, that I am sad about, because we still have another month of the heat and humidity left. I love our pool, so kid friendly and just around the corner. Here are some shots of our last visit this summer.
They swim for a 2 minutes and then the "daddy throw me," starts and they never get tired of it.
Lynlee became a pretty good swimmer this year and can swim across the entire pool by herself, Regan is independent with her water muscles on and McKenna was happy to sit in her little water chair. Good Times.

Preschool

2010-09-03T14:48:00.001-07:00

I was already in mourning from Lynlee starting school, then this little girl had the nerve to start preschool. Well not offically just a Joy School type thing with some other ladies in the ward. But she was so excited with her giant backpack and her pencil box already to go. Its every Thursday and she went yesterday for the first time and had a great time.

Back to School

2010-08-27T14:22:00.001-07:00

Well we survived the first week of school, barely. Lynlee is loving the 1st grade, she loves her teacher, Mrs. Brock and tells me how beautiful she is all the time. She was so excited the first day and really didn't want me to even take her, when did she get this big, but I told her I needed a picture. She had this outfit picked out for weeks.
Over the summer Lynlee was in the summer reading program through the library, she had to read 20 books by herself, she finished her 20 books probably in July, but we just barely remembered to go to the library to get her trophy. She is a really good reader and I can't believe she learned in Kindergarten, when I was in school, Kindergarten was finger-painting and dress-up.

Of course Regan needed her picture taken too, she will be starting a rotating preschool with some other kids in the ward next week, she is so excited, we got her backpack, pencil box, and crayons all ready to go. Regan also starts tap/ballet and Lynlee gymnastics next week, once Girl Scouts starts up again, I think we have something going on every night of the week. CRAZY!!

The Snake Bite

2010-08-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

Our poor big, dumb, curious dogs both messed with a snake and got bit. The snake got caught in the net over the garden, we think Max got bit first because he is much worse than Gus. When I got home this morning from running errands, both the dogs faces were swollen, we rushed them to the vet and they should both be fine. We need to watch them for 72 hours, Gus is totally himself again but Max's face is so droopy and I can tell he is in a lot of pain. Poor puppy's, next time run away!!

The bit marks, ouch.

The snake was all tangled in the net and the dogs must have killed but not before he got them. It was definitely a copperhead, very poisonous!! Yikes, the kids play back there. We live right behind a bayou and it has been so hot they are coming here to look for water and prey.

The brave snake hunter, we all looked pretty awesome with are cowboy boots and shorts.

Lil' Sis

2010-08-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

MCKenna is so tolerant to do whatever the girls make her do, I'm sure as soon as she can walk she will be running for her life away from Regan.

Speed Demon: We start them young at our house.

Bedhead!!

Feature!!

2010-08-08T20:58:00.001-07:00

My carseat canopies are being featured on my friend Carrie's blog this Tuesday. Billy and Carrie's hubby Joel have been friends forever. So check out her blog, its all about motherhood and it is hilarious! Don't forget to enter to win the giveaway, even if your not having a babe of your own they make a great shower gift!!

The 5th Girl

We Reap What We Sow

2010-08-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Basically we SUCK at sowing. We have had other gardens at houses in Utah and Idaho, but gardening here is a challenge. We tilled, we planted, we prayed. In Utah/Idaho you plant after Mother's Day and pretty much your only worry is, what the crap am I going to do with all these tomatoes in August, when they are all ripe at once!!

Not here in Texas, we had to deal with bugs, birds, bunnies, dogs, weeds, heat, and grass, oh the CRABGRASS!! It grows like a vine and creeps everywhere, I swear you pull it out and the very next day its back. About half through July we threw in the towel and let weeds take over!!
A stupid bunny hole, we probably feed the whole family all summer. The dogs have never really bothered the other gardens we've had but with these bunnies they would run through it every time we let them out trying to catch one. Then they would knock down the net we put up to keep the birds out.

Well, look what I found hidden in all the weeds.

Success, two red bell peppers. We've talked to some native Texans and they have given advice on birds and bugs. Like hanging fake snakes and red Christmas tree ornaments around, so we'll try that next year. I give us at least a C+ for effort.

The Triple Threat

2010-08-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

These girls love to beat up on old dad, he lays on the floor and they pounce!!

This little one is already in the mix, and she is fully mobile. She started crawling a couple weeks ago and then a few days after that she started pulling herself up to things. She gotten in lots of trouble, and we got out our gates and they are too small for any of the hallways we want to put them, so for now she has free rein of the house. I have rigged up some totes to block the stairs that we all have to jump over, but it her from tumbling down to the tile.

Back to School Do

2010-08-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

Heres a little bit of catch-up over the last couple weeks, Lynlee got a cut haircut for back to school, I was going to get it cut at the being of summer for a summer do but better late than never. She loves it, it looks a little stragely in this pic after a jump on the trampoline but still a cutie.

Lynlee's Cottage Party

2010-07-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

We finally got around to having Lynlee's 6th birthday party, and now I'm finally posting the pics from it. She had it at the Story Book Cottage, it was really cute they dressed up in any princess dress they wanted, and accessorized to the max, crowns, shoes, rings, the works. They painted their nails, and finished their look with some "Fairy Princess Dust." It was awesome I didn't have to do a thing, there were some cute high school girls in charge, they did a fashion show, decorated cupcakes, opened her presents and read a story. An hour and half later we were done, no mess to clean up just a goody bag to pass out. Well worth the money!!

All her cute friends some from school, some from church and some neighbors.

He is a good dad, they accessorized him too. They all wanted to paint his nails but he drew the line at the nails!

Happy 4th

2010-07-05T14:56:00.001-07:00

We had a rockin party yesterday for the 4th, there were tons of people, food and fireworks!! Billy made his famous Root Beer, he told everyone it was famous even though it was his first time every making it, but it turned out great. And to make the party extra exciting for everyone he got double the dry ice he needed and made a bunch of dry ice bombs.
After dinner we played good ole' kick ball with a giant exercise ball, we tried soccer but a couple of the little kids got taken out, so we played all the kids against a few adults. The grownups dominated, we showed them no misery.

I told them no sparklers but caved and luckily there was no burnings this year.

There were about 6 families that came and everyone brought fireworks, so it was a good show and surprisingly no one was injured, all the kids and husbands loved it. We ended the night watching this Statue of Awesomeness!! Happy 4th everyone, God Bless America.

Happy Birthday Lynlee

2010-07-02T15:41:00.001-07:00

Lynlee turned 6 on Tuesday!! She is having a b-day party in a couple weeks so on her actually birthday we just had cake and ice cream and some family friends over.

Newborn Lynlee, so cute!!

Here she is probably 6 months old, her and McKenna look a lot alike as babies.

Two years old and full of SASS

The birthday girl, showing off her new cowgirl boots, she also got some clothes, new games for her Leapster, and some craft projects. Happy Birthday Lynners!! We love you!

Hotel Bown

2010-07-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, we had a whole week of visitors last week. First Billy's brother Scott came down, Billy had to go to Utah for work and he totally missed his brother. Scott was luckily preoccupied with his new girlfriend, my friend Heather that lives down here. I'm taking full credit for setting them up and if they get married the first born needs to be named Rene. We hardly saw him the entire time he was here and I never even got a picture of the man.

Scott left Wednesday and my Mom and Dad arrived just as Scott was leaving. I miss them so much and the girls were so happy they were here. My parents took the girls shopping for there b-day presents, we spent hours in Toys R Us. We saw Toy Story 3 and I almost cried at the end, it was a great show. Billy finally made it home Thursday and then we went to Brazos Bend State Park. It was awesome, super hot and humid, but awesome!! We saw lot of birds, turtles, and a few alligators, and had a picnic lunch.

The funnest part for the girls was getting water poured on their heads to keep them cool, and remind me to never wear hats I look weird!

This is the nature center and a outline of the largest alligator they have in the preserve, the girls fit perfectly inside, maybe his lunch!!

I love my mom and dad so much and miss them all the time, we had a great visit and I was sad to see them leave, we are hopefully going up to Utah for Christmas this year.

6 Month Photo Shoot

2010-06-21T20:56:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure I can pick just one to put up on the wall, this baby is adorable, Thanks Kate the pictures turned out great!!

The Luckiest Girls in the World

2010-06-20T21:09:00.001-07:00

Because they have this guy for a dad, and he really is the best!! He loves us more than anything and works hard to give us a great life. The girls go nuts when the garage doors open when he gets home from work. He spends time with each of the girls playing and listening to their stories. Happy Father's Day Billy we love you!!
The girls also love their Grandpa Fuentes, who always puts up with there jumping on him and lets them beat him at thumb wrestling. You are a great dad and I have learned so much from you. And Pop-Pop Bown, with his exciting Pony Rides and stories about Cobs and Eyeball monsters. I couldn't ask for a better father-in-law. Happy Fathers Day to you too!

Happy Birthday Regan

2010-06-20T21:01:00.001-07:00

This little kiddo turned 3!! She is so fun and crazy, we are just doing a family party for her and asked her where she wanted to go to dinner; with some help from big-sis she said Chuck E Cheese so tomorrow is her day. But wanted to put some old pics and see how much she has changed and grown. I do have actual proof she is growing a little. We love you Regan.

Regan at 1

Newborn, it goes by so fast!

Dance Dance

2010-06-12T17:34:00.001-07:00

Lots of pictures because she looked so cute, Lynlee had her final dance recital today, she was in tap/ballet class and did two dances. She loves to dance and loves the stage, no nerves at all and I'm so sad that she wants to try gymnastics next year. This is her ballet outfit, and we got her some flowers and she got a trophy.

Her tap costume, I'm pretty sure she is going to be wearing these costumes all summer.

And her friend Faith, she made some great friends in her class.

She is all over getting dolled up and I'm just too happy to let her do it.

Her teachers, Miss Danielle and Miss Emma, Lynlee loved both but especially Miss Emma who is a student teacher from the Dance Company.

The whole show lasted about 2 hours, Regan and Kenna were both really good, Regan liked watching all the other dances, and Kenna fell asleep, I love seeing all of Lynlees hard work and it makes it all worth losing every tuesday night to dance.

Six Months Old

2010-06-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, where did half a year go?!?! But my little McKenna is growing and growing, she is so sweet and shy, if you dare raise your voice around her, she bursts into the most heartbreaking cry ever. She has been enjoying baby food and loves to spit it everywhere. She weighed in at 17lbs 13 oz, and the doctor even called her a healthy chub. She is 23 in long. She totally sits up on her own and has started the whole rocking back and forth thing so crawling is not to far off. She still loves her sisters, but has started that whole, I only like mom to hold me thing. I love this babe!!

Summer Plans

2010-06-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

Lynlee's last day of school was yesterday, I can't believe she is going to be in the 1st grade, but amongst all the hundreds of papers they sent home the kids made a list of their plans over the summer break. Lynlee's list made my laugh, and I'm not sure where she plans on traveling to, but we can probably do everything else on the list. (And her #8 is my #1)

gRiN

2010-06-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

I like to take lots of pictures of the girls, mostly because they are all so vain and are always saying take a picture mom and then immediately want to see the picture and laugh at how funny they think they are. Taking individual pictures is pretty easy and I can usually get a good one of two girls but ALL three, forget it!! It's always the same, Regan smiling but looking away, McKenna distracted by something, and Lynlee striking a perfect pose. As I was scrolling through this round of pics I was taking Saturday, I found this little gem and it just makes me smile. This is definitely one for the screen saver.

Hidden Potential

2010-05-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Our new favorite thing is finding trash furniture, painting it and furnishing our house with it, basically turning trash to treasure (not really treasure but let's pretend). It all started with the awesomeness that is our dining room table and then we stole/took an old table our neighbors set out in the trash. Every place we have lived has had those big garbage cans provided by the city, if it didn't fit in the can they didn't take it!! Not here in Texas, you put it by the side of the road they take it. They being the garbage men, or anyone else how wants it. Back to the story, we took a table the neighbor had out in the garbage, Billy painted and stained it and it is now our desk in our study.

This next one has a really really good story. I was at the park in old Katy with my neighbor (not the table neighbor) and we were driving home and this little yellow number was calling my name. So I had to ask my neighbor I'm just kind of getting to know if we can pull over and if she would help me load this piece of crap in my car, to my surprise she said YES!! So he hopped out and trying to be fast, because it was the middle of the day we tried to make it fit in the car on top of the giant double stroller, about twenty minutes later, and after some guys stopped to ask us we needed help, we got it. We brought it home to a not so excited husband, but after some brainstorming he totally had a vision. I just wanted to use it as a dresser for the guest bedroom but Billy had other plans:
He chopped it in half and added a top to the bottom drawers, the side with the three drawers: he attached two drawers together and cut the bottom out of one. A little sanding, primer, a coat of black paint, some new handles and WAHLA!!

Some filing drawers for the office, and now the only thing we have ever bought for the office is a bookcase, the desk and these were out of the trash.

Here's how the two bottom drawers look attached, it works great, and I'm glad Billy has a little creativity in him, we make a great team and are for hire!!! This one is missing a handle because we just grabbed the number of handles we needed but one was a different kind. And no these are not ALL bills, we are not in that much debt. Now I am on a mission to find two more dressers and some nightstands, forget garage sales or craigslist, trash day is Monday!!

Kindergarten Graduation

2010-05-27T12:27:00.001-07:00

Lynlee had her Kindergarten graduation on Tuesday, they don't get out of school until next week but they do a Celebration of Learning for each grade, so there's was this week. It was really cute they stood up on stage and their teacher read what there favorite thing about kindergarten was. Lynlee said making new friends. She has had a blast in Kindergarten and is super excited about being in 1st grade next year.

Her class and a picture of her awesome teacher Mrs. O'Neil, I think I love her just as much as Lynlee does, she is great!!

Grandma and Grandpa Fuentes sent her a congratulation balloon bouquet and a stuff animal, she loved it.

All the kids sang a song at the end of the celebration, it was a cute song with lots of action and Lynlee got way into it, this video is long and I was in the back of hundreds of other parents taking video too. I'm just mostly posting it for grandma.

I Love A Good Fad

2010-05-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

Lynlee bought this two things called Silly Bands, or shaped rubber bands, from her school store the other day and wears them as bracelets. She broke one and I just cannot deal with a heartbroken 5 year old. I was telling her it was no big deal and she looked at me and asked me if I would go buy her some more.(With big tear filled eyes) I had to run to Hobby Lobby so I said I would look for some there. I asked the checkout lady if they had them, and she told me they sold them at Walgreen's. Fate was working on my side because I had a movie to take back to the Red Box at Walgreen's. So I ran in and the lady there told me they got a shipment in a couple hours before and they were already sold-out. What the heck, over stupid SHAPED RUBBER BANDS. When Lynlee got home from school, I had to break the news to her that I couldn't find any, more heartbreak. I went to recipe group last night on the other side of town and there was a Walgreen on the corner kind of where I was going, well I think there is a Walgreen's on most corners in Katy. But I thought, just run in a see, and success!! They had a couple boxes and people were grabbing them left and right, I got a couple different ones, and seriously paid $2.99 per box of 12, I'm crazy, YES!! When I got home Lynlee was oh so excited to see what I had scored, she tried to grab them, but I told her she has to earn them. I am such a good parent, BRIBERY but she has earned a few and I am enjoying the good behavior.

I guess they are kind of neat, better than pogs I collected as a kid or Pokeman cards which were just lame, but I'm sure next week "it" will be something totally different. But what can I say I'm a follower!!

"I'm a Superhero MOM!"

2010-05-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

This little girl just makes me smile, she put on about 5 of Mckenna's bibs backwards and then ran around say, "I'm a SUPERHERO!"

Seriously?!?!

2010-05-19T20:50:00.001-07:00

This is just me venting, and I'm not really sure who the culrpit is. I'm not going to name names, but I think it starts with, BILLY!! But I have known Lynlee to leave it this way too, a couple weeks ago I just decided to leave it like this to see if anyone else would put it on but the whole roll got used and then someone put another roll on top!! UGGHH WHY???

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T11:15:00.001-07:00

Friday afternoon I headed over to the school and enjoying going to the O'Neil's Day Spa & Salon. I had a appointment with Lynlee and she styled my hair, did my make-up and painted my fingernails. The blue and pink eyeshadow I had on matched well with that bright pink lipstick, that would NOT come off.

Lynlee also made a "magazine" for me to read with pictures she had drawn. There were little question about me that she answered, here are a few that made me laugh:

My mom is 89 years old.
My mom's favorite colors are black & purple
My mom likes to cook food
My mom is prettiest when she is at church
For Mother's Day Billy and the girls got me some chocolate covered strawberries that were packaged like a box of roses, they were so cute and tasted great. Well the three I finally got to eat, as soon as I opened the box the girls were freaking out, "can I have one, MOM!!" Lynlee also made me a necklace at school and they each made me a card. Nothing makes me smile like home-made gifts from the kiddos.

Family Resemblance

2010-05-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

It's heatin' up here in Texas, we enjoyed a beautiful spring for about two weeks and now summer is here for the next four months. So Billy is sporting his summer "do." I never notice they have the same hair lines!!

Almost sitting up, about two seconds after I go this shot she face planted. But she is rolling all over the place and the DREADED crawling phase is right around the corner!!

Mommy's Education

2010-05-04T07:47:00.001-07:00

As Mother's Day is coming up this weekend, it has had me thinking how grateful I am to be a mother and all the things I've learned about life and myself since becoming one. My greatest teachers our my children and I have learned so many things from each of them. My first born Lynlee, my favorite for sure, she was the one who taught me how to feed a baby, bathe and hold a baby, and that I was the only one that could comfort her. She is my social butterfly that loves to smile, laugh and loves life. She changed my name to mommy, and how much I love this name!!
My second daughter, Regan, without a doubt my favorite. We wanted her here so bad and we were so excited when she arrived. She made us feel like a real family. She made Lynlee a Big Sister, and it is so fun to see how much they love each other. She is Lynlees's shadow and always looking for her approval. She is busy, funny, silly and adventurous. She taught me how I have two hands, one for each girl and how I can do much more than I thought I could.

The newest edition, McKenna, my favorite hands down. She has charmed us all, and what a joy she is. She is tenderhearted, shy, content, happy baby. She loves to watch her sisters, and I know all to soon she will be right there with them, playing and laughing. She has taught me, how to treasure their childhood, because it seems be moving by so fast.

The greatest thing I have learned is how love works, I didn't realize how the heart can expand, how time can be divided but love multiplies. I have been very blessed by my Heavenly Father with these special spirits to raise, most days I feel very inadequate for the job, but I know he is right there with me guiding me in what I should do. They have all taught me that everyday I want to be a better person and a better mommy for them. To strive to have more patience, more understanding.

I am so glad to have such wonderful Mother's in my life, my own Mom who is a great example of unconditional love and support to me. Billy's mom and step-mom, who raised a wondeful man that is all to willing to get his hands dirty, and be huge help with the kids. All my friends that help me survive day-to-day motherhood, with their encouragement and love!! I hope all Mommy's out there have a wonderful Mother's Day.

BLUEBONNETS

2010-04-29T09:07:00.001-07:00

The Sunday after Easter we got invited by our friends the Zollinger's to go take pictures in all the Bluebonnets. For those that don't know, Bluebonnets our Texas state flower and they are illegal to pick, so please just ignore that fistful Regan has and don't turn us in. We also had to hop a fence to get into this field , so it was just one big law-breaking sabbath afternoon. My mom bought the girls these matching dresses for Easter and they all looked so cute. Thanks for in the pics Kate!

I still can't believe we have three kids, we are so blessed to have them in our lives.

She is growing up so fast!!

I love her!!

Close Encounters

2010-04-20T19:53:00.001-07:00

The girls got these blow-up aliens when we stopped in Roswell, NM on are road trip to Utah last summer. They hadn't played with them forever, but Regan found it the other morning and this is what I saw when I walked up the stairs to check on her. Billy told me he had seen her kissing it earlier, and then later in the afternonn they had a tea party. She cracks me up!!

Extreme Makeover: Table Edition

2010-04-20T19:51:00.001-07:00

From an earlier post we just got a new kitchen table and put our old table in the "Formal" dining room. I really liked this table it has just be beaten up a little from several moves and several kiddos, so we decided to re-stain and paint. I saw another table I wanted to buy but thought "we can do that to this table." Billy was skeptical as always when it comes to my ideas, but I told him with or without you I'm going to do this. So he helped because he is a good husband. First we painted the chairs with primer and spray painted them, Heirloom White.

Billy sanded the table top down to the naked wood and stained it dark to match the banisters and the entry area table. Side Note: when he was staining he pulled out this jumpsuit thing, he came in to ask me something and I was cleaning so I just saw him out of the corner of my eye and thought the "Jumpsuit Murder" had come to kill me!! Scared me to death.

AFTER

I love the way it turned out! It's better than I imagined it in my head, now this room is no where near finished, it needs some serious paint and curtains, but its coming along. I was going to re-cover the chair but I really like the brown vinyl and they are always kid-friendly. I went ahead and distressed all the chairs and the table legs, that way I wouldn't get so upset when the kids do something to which is inevitably going to happen anyways.

Disney on Ice

2010-04-19T09:24:00.001-07:00

Saturday, Disney on Ice was at Reliant Stadium and we went with our friends the Gleason's. The girls absolutely loved it and Lynlee asked me if we could go every year. NOOO!!

This was Regan's face the entire show, she didn't move a muscle!!

King's Orchard

2010-04-19T09:17:00.001-07:00

We heard about this orchard up in Magnolia that you could go and pick you own strawberries, Lynlee had another Friday off and Billy is still on vacation so we headed up. We took a picnic lunch, picked a ton of strawberries and they taste great. They have lots of other things you can pick but most things were not in season except the strawberries.

Family Night JAM

2010-04-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ha did I fool you with the title, I bet you thought it was another one of Billy's awesome music videos, sorry to disappoint!! Monday we actually made strawberry jam for family night. The girls did most of the work, they mashed the strawberries, added the sugar and pectin. I made sure no one got burned during the boiling and then we filled the jars.

We ended up with 9 jars, the jam is really yummy we've been eating toast in the morning, PB&J's for lunch and I need to make some rolls for dinner just to have some jam on it.

I'm a Big Kid Now-(Kind Of)

2010-04-14T09:39:00.001-07:00

We have been potty training this kid forever it seems, but she is making progress. She has filled two potty charts and earned this Barbie she picked out. She was very proud of herself. She does pretty good telling us she needs to go most days, and then there are some days she couldn't be bothered to sit on a toilet at all. But we are proud of her and can't believe she is growing up so fast.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T12:38:00.001-07:00

We started out the weekend with Lynlee having Good Friday off school, so we planned a play date/potluck Easter egg hunt. The girlies had fun playing with all their friends and as always I love getting together with my friends. You gals are the best and help me survive motherhood!

Little Miss McKenna started eating "real food" (I guess) with some rice cereal. Doesn't she look like she's enjoying it.

We dyed Easter eggs Friday night, it was so humid the dye was just running off and they took forever to dry. But turned out cute.

Yet again Billy had to work over the weekend, but the Easter bunny did remember our house and Regan, Lynlee, and McKenna loved their baskets. They got The Princess and the Frog, new PJs, sunglasses, lots of candy. There was a big chocolate bunny in each girls basket that Regan ate while I got McKenna dressed. We spent the rest of Sunday watching General Conference, there were some great uplifting talks, and they always say things I need to hear. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

Let's go fly a kite!

2010-04-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am loving this Texas Spring!! It has been so beautiful, we have been trying to fly our kites but have been unsuccessful. Luckily yesterday kite-master Billy was home to help us, we got the thing so high in the air the kids thought it was awesome. We definitely scored so major best parent points.

Total Denial

2010-04-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

Somewhere along this crazy life this huge baby ate my newborn McKenna, I can't believe she is 4 months old already!! She is getting her own little personality, laughing, trying desperately to roll over, and is lots of fun.

This is a scary pre-shower and make-up picture, but she seems to love me no matter what I look like. Here are her four month stats:

Weight-15lbs 13 oz

Height-25 1/2 inches

Ticklish all over

Loves to take baths but does not like Regan to splash her in the face

Soon to start rice cereal

Thinks both her sisters are VERY entertaining

Music Video

2010-03-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

All I can say is, ENJOY!!

EGGravaganza

2010-03-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

We braved the Katy Easter Egg Hunt again this year minus dad, because he had to work. He told me when we left, "Please don't lose one of the children." I wanted to slap him but didn't. The girls had a fun time and I was able to keep track of everyone. The girls saw the Easter Bunny, Regan thought he was a little sketchy, so no smile from her.

They wanted to go into the petty zoo, so bad but the line was super long and my allergies were going crazy. I'm such a mean mom and they just had to stand at the gate and look in.

There were 10,000 eggs in each age group area, they had pretty crappy toys and a few candy, in the eggs, but some had tickets that you could turn in for prizes. Lynlee scored 3 tickets and they got some sidewalk chalk, a bubble wand and a kite. All in all we had a fun time.

Zoo Day

2010-03-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Lynlee went to the Zoo on friday with her class, Billy was one of the chaparones, and they had a great daddy/daughter day together. Billy took about a million pictures, so these are just some of the highlights.

Hammin' it up as usual!!

These are a few of her little girl friends, they are all sweethearts.

Out with the Old

2010-03-28T13:18:00.001-07:00

We finally got a our new kitchen table, and it looks awesome, we love it! Next we need to tackle all the painting, the kitchen is going to be a light gold color, and I found this delish fabric that will match pretty good. I made curtains the other day, we are also going to put a beadboard and chair rail in the kitchen. Our old kitchen table is now in the formal dining room, and it is awaiting a much needed makeover, sanding and painting. That room also needs some paint, blue & chocolate brown!! I'm going for a french country look with cream furniture, we'll see how it turns out. Billy has some MAJOR projects coming up in the back yard, 12 yards of concrete so the inside will have to wait a little bit longer.

Daisy Awards

2010-03-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Lynlee had her Daisy Investiture, fancy word for awards, and she earned her daisy petal. Each petal represents a different value Lynlee has demonstrated. She worked really hard on all of them, and is loving Daisy's.

Lynlee's troop and there is Regan trying to be in the middle of it all.

Her friend Isabel.

Fashion Statement

2010-03-20T15:43:00.001-07:00

Not really sure what kind of statement she is trying to make but its a cute one!

the bown blog

Happy Halloween

Elders

Halloween Yumminess

Can we camp outside Mom?

Brownie Ceremony?!?!

"The Big Camp-Out!"

Reactions

Downward Facing Dog

Hair Today

Will you sign my cast?

Back to School Shhhhtuff

Summer Highlights

Bye-Bye Jeep

First Broken Bone

South Padre Island

To Make You Smile

Surfside, U.S.A

June Birthdays

Uggg Again

Fluff Cycle

Sisters

Mother's Day and Teacher Appreication

My Top Ten Mommy Lessons

First name McKenna....

Easter Dresses

Easter Weekend

Awww, my little sewers!!

Feature and Giveaway!!

A case of Animal Cruelty?

Spring Break Camping

Ladybugs

Say It Isn't So

Rodeo Time

Lamp Shade Up-cycle

i {heart} you

Snowed In

Daredevil

Pinewood Derby

Christmas in Utah

Ghost of Christmas PAST

Traditions

McKenna's Birthday

Saying Goodbye

Nit-Wits

Heather & Scott's Wedding

Halloween 2010

Regan's Halloween Party

Happenings This Week

Not-so Extreme Door Makeover

How far can $20 Go

Race for the Cure 2010

Mid Autumn Festival

Regan Ballerina

Cute Family

A Few Projects

Good-bye Summer

Preschool

Back to School

The Snake Bite

Lil' Sis

Feature!!

We Reap What We Sow

The Triple Threat

Back to School Do

Lynlee's Cottage Party

Happy 4th

Happy Birthday Lynlee

Hotel Bown

6 Month Photo Shoot

The Luckiest Girls in the World

Happy Birthday Regan

Dance Dance

Six Months Old

Summer Plans

**gRiN**

Hidden Potential

Kindergarten Graduation

I Love A Good Fad

"I'm a Superhero MOM!"

gRiN