Christmas in the works!

I've been sick. Yucko, sicko. But, am finally on the mend. Thanksgiving was a quiet, low-key, nap on the couch while the boys play video games all day kind of a day. . . . yup, I'm THAT mom! I did manage to get them out of the house on Friday afternoon and we hit the local sled-a-rama. . . . seriously, this is big-time hit the slopes fun. We went again Saturday afternoon. There are kids flying down hills and vales left and right. It looks like a war-zone, only with a lot of smiling and joyful screeching filling the air.

It was cold, and at one point we were innundated by freezing-rain, but it was so delightful to be out of the house and feeling pure enjoyment from the kids. They had a great time. We came home and followed both afternoons with hot cocoa and Thanksgiving pie. Lovely, lovely. PS - umm, yea, you know those 30 pounds I had already lost, umm, well, . . . the last four days of carbo-loading have put on about half of that again. Yeeaaah, tomorrow I've got to get serious again! (but, it was a delightful break)

I am in charge of the ward Christmas party and we are doing a "Christmas in Zarahemla" theme. It will be a big event. I've started decking out the kids in their attire. B is going to be a Nephite warrior (with an identically dressed friend) and they are going to guard the entrance to our marketplace.

We are going to have Sweet pork burritos w/lime rice & cilantro buttermilk dressing, a miriad of cut fruit (mangos, papaya, pineapple, oranges, pomegranate, bananas), nuts, bean salads, tortilla chips & salsa & chocolate brownies for dessert. We will have a marketplace where people can "buy" their meal & side dishes, make headbands and beaded necklaces, bracelets or arm bands, as well as Nephite coloring pages and paper plate snakes for kids to make. We will show "The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd" in one corner and a back drop for family pictures in another. There is also going to be a shadow-play production of Samuel on the wall & the resulting sign of & birth of the Savior. I am very excited for the experience. I think it will be a great night. I'll post some pictures of the event once it is over. It is taking a lot of my time and efforts right now but I think it will be well worth it.

This time I year I am constantly reminded of our Savior Jesus Christ and how blessed we are to have been given him as our gift of redemption. What a cold and miserable place this world would be if we didn't know of the gift of the atonement and the ability to return to our Father in Heaven after this life.

Life with the boys

For about 4 years, S has been missing his top front two teeth (after knocking them out during a Preschool field trip to the park). . . We have been patiently waiting for his permanent teeth to come in and fill in the gaps. The dentist had us wait and wait to see if they would come down on their own. He hasn't minded it too much, however he is over 7 yrs old now, and at that age, a steak-eatin' boy just needs his front teeth. After many years, and x-rays later, it was determined that there was too much scar tissue for the teeth to come in on their own. So, with a trip to the dentist and some good numbing agents, and some icky dental details that we won't go in to . . .

. . . that very night his teeth started coming down. They were sure ready, they just had a hard time breaking through. Yay, hooray, there are teeth there, and they are blazing their way through to take their final places as kings of the top jaw! Thank goodness!! Now this kid can eat his meat! He is a carnivor at heart.


B has been playing football, and he has been loving it! That is him there on the far right in the yellow and white. He loves to hit and is quite an effective lineman. He plays defensive tackle and digs the smack of shoulder-pads in mid-gut.

He is playing 8th grade this year and I cannot believe just how big the kids are. B has always been a big kid, but it is crazy to me to see how big the whole team is. This mom worries about her kid playing with all those buhemoth corn-fed brutes, but I guess another kids' mom is worrying the same about my B. It's all fun and games . . . .

He has one more game this week and then it will be over. He will be sad to see it end. It has been a good season!

Z has also been playing football. This has been his first season and he soaked it up. He played wide-receiver and the coach played him every-single play of every-single game, except one. It was incredible. The poor kid was exhausted but loved every minute of it. Now, practicing was another matter; we practically had to drag him there kicking and screaming. The games, . . . ah, the games. . . . he wishes he could spend every minute playing football games. The kid has skills!

He had a good season and made some good friends on the team. He was pretty torn up after the last game. But, next year is a new year, and he is already looking forward to it.

Yesterday was opening day for deer season. Big B and B got up at 3:30 am and went out for the first day.

B got his very first deer the first 3 minutes of open shooting at about 150 yards (on an open-site springfield model 1903-83 WWI 30.6, according to him). It was incredible. Big B is so proud he is close to bursting. . . .

B is so proud too, and well he should be. She was a big, beautiful white-tail doe. We put up the meat today and got 20 lbs of ground, a good 6 lbs of tenderloin and backstrap steaks, plus a 4lb roast and another 3-4 lbs for jerky. It has been a great thing for him to help put meat in the freezer. He had a great time with his dad and shared some very special memories!

Next was Z's turn. Big B and Z went out this morning at 4am, came back during lunchtime and for time for us to dress out B's deer, then headed back to the woods this afternoon.

They didn't get anything today, but they will head out later in the week to try and fill Z's tag. This has been Z's first year, and he has been so super excited to get out there with his dad. Even without a shot today, Z had a fantastic time. Stay tuned for more news if/when Z gets his doe.

So Z asks me this question . . .

Z: "Hey mom, when is the next time you go to the store?"
Me: "Umm, Z, actually I'm going tonight. Do you need something?"
Z: "Well, I was checking and we are out of gun powder. Do you think you could pick some up?"

Me: "Ummm, sure . . . . I'll grab that just as soon as I buy you a pet rabid wolverine and feed you rat poison for dinner. I'm on it!"
- best . . . mom . . . . ever!!!

30 lbs down!

Today I hit my 30 pounds loss mark!! Thought I'd share my fun news! :) L

You gotta watch this video below. Wow, powerful stuff! (ps - pause my music from my playlist down below so you can hear this song)

It's the Mooostt Wonderful Timmeeee of the Year!!!!

Yup, 'tis the first day of school again!

Mamma happy!!!! Boys, eehhh, not so much!!!

We celebrated with the boy's breakfast choice of Toaster Strudels and Milk. Heck, it was so easy I might do it every morning. (lol) :o)

They all had a great day. I'm soooo relieved. After last spring, and the trials we had with the move and the new classes, they all needed some good school experiences. B is in 8th grade!!!! I can't believe it. . . . Z is in 4th grade!!!!! I can't believe it . . . . S is in 2nd grade!!!!!!!. . . . . you guessed it, I can't believe it.

Aggghhhh, life moves sooo fast, but, oh, so, sweet when it is:

Happy first day to you all!!

- The mom

Good Things to Come

Good Things to Come

Catching you up!

I have been SOOOOO bad with blogging lately. I haven’t had the desire, the patience, nor the time. Soooo sorry to all two of you readers! I promise to be better about it (until I’m not). Well, life has certainly been busy. Let me try and get you caught up. We are mostly settled in our house. We love it and we like where we are. We are all trying to fit in to life here in CP on our little lane.

(I love this view of my front room)

(Balloon Stampeed - this is from our back window)

(this is from our front window) - awesome!
We have been enjoying life here and have been exploring our surroundings. There are some very beautiful places here and the boys are happy to explore and look for adventures.


B has finished baseball. He had a good beginner year. I think he'll go for it again next year.

Z is busy in Cub Scouts and counting down the days for school to get out.

S is busy being S and recovering from everything that comes with that.
Big B is working hard and constantly in classes, teaching classes, doing investigations, practicing with teams, on transports, more practicing with the team, etc. . . . The state is putting Specialists on furlough and so he is on a bit of a forced lay-off. It will be okay, but it is just an indicator of the times right now. A bit scary, but we are keeping a positive outlook.

I’m working my new job and really enjoying it. I work part-time so I am super blessed to be home for my kids when they need me. Summertime will be an interesting experiment in just how “responsible” and “mature” they can be on their own. Luckily it isn’t too long each day.
I’ve recently started a new non-diet. It is just a new way of looking at food and how my body processes it. I’m becoming educated and am learning a lot. I have even lost 9 lbs in the process. I’m anxious to continue on and see where this goes. This is my journey.

You have officially been caught up in life at Brown Town!