Last week of school!

May 2010

The last month of school is a busy one.  Lots of fun going on.  One of the highlights is field day.   I volunteer my time to attend and help with the field day activities with each of the girls, so, it ends up being about 1.5 days of standing on my feet, giving repeated instructions to the kids (depending on the station I'm working in) and generally getting too much sun.  But, for some reason, the gals think it is very cool that I'm there, so, I go.

Bella gearing up for the water balloon activity.

Another activity my gals LOVE is when I'm able to come to lunch with them.  I don't bring my lunch, I just sit there and chit chat with the gals at the table while they eat their lunch.  I'm not sure why they like it (cause I'm a little on the boring side compared to the other kids), but, after I've come and go, they ask when  I can come again?  My answer is always, "we'll see".  :)

Last week of school.  McKinnon and her friends at lunch.  By the way, it is no longer "cool" to buy lunch, the cool thing to do is bring your lunch from home... When I was growing up, I ALWAYS wanted school lunch.

Gabby and her buddies at lunch.

For Chandlers "special" thing the last week of school, he DID NOT request that I attend his lunch, but instead that I bring pizza, root beer, and cookies for he and his buddies for lunch.  Apparently when you hit middle school, you no longer want your mom anywhere near you or your school

On the last day of school, McKinnon officially "graduated" from elementary school (it was actually kind of a big deal - I had no idea it would be).  She was certainly ready for this day.  She can't wait for middle school!  There was a program, a procession, and then a big lunch party at a neighboring park and then they all got to go home early.  NICE...

McKinnon and her diploma

McKinnon and her closest friends in 6th grade.  Mallory, Keely and Zoe.

McKinnon and her 6th grade teacher Mr. Cole

Chandler wanted to do something bold on the last day of school, so he and his buddy, shaved each others heads.  No moms allowed to touch the clippers.  I was pretty nervous watching these two unevenly shaving the others head, but, I kept my mouth shut, and let them do their work.

He went for the mo-hawk for a week or so, then shaved it off.  Chandlers not exactly the mo-hawk kind of guy.  Note: he kept the mo-hawk while he went on a week long scout camp out, and the leaders didn't quite know what to say (they kept asking him, did your mom let you do that?)

Happy last day of school Brown kids and have a great summer!

Concerts & Recitals

May 2010

As the weather is getting nicer and the school year is coming to an end, it seems time to have the concerts and recitals (Yikes, my calendar is getting pretty full).  I love to go to these events and see and hear all their hard work paying off.  Great work girls! 

Gabby and Bella at their Spring Piano Concert in front of the yummy piano cake!

McKinnon at her Spring Guitar Recital.  She played AND sang "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift

At our elementary school they have a choir program that ages 4-6th grade can participate in after school practice and perform at occasional concerts.  McKinnon and Bella decided to add their voices to the mix.  Great job gals.

Mallory, McKinnon and Keely after the copper mesa choir concert. These three gals made the 6th grade honor choir, way to go.

Alexa, Shay and Bella after the copper mesa choir concert.

School Projects

May 2010

As the end of the year approaches, special projects are happening. Gabby had a planet fair at her school and she selected to research and come up with a "realistic" model of Jupiter.  Gabby worked so hard on her project and loved every minute of it.  She was very particular about the detail and then would remind us both and say, "you know I'm only in 3rd grade so it doesn't really  need to be that good".  I agreed with her.  She spent a lot of time hand gluing each sequined "star" to the box and then hand painting in very accurate detail the planet Jupiter (with earth next to it as a comparison)  Good work Gabby.

Chandler took a cooking class this year and really enjoyed it. He loves to eat food, but now he feels confident enough to actually say, "mom, I'd like to bake some cookies." etc. I'm still not as confident as I should be since he still gets tablespoon and teaspoon measurements mixed up (YIKES that's a lot of salt), but, I will need to trust that this to will improve!

One day without warning, he came home with a homework assignment to make flour less chocolate cake in a spring loaded pan. (I've never even made a flour less chocolate cake). The recipe was something gourmet with many difficult steps and some strange ingredients that I usually don't have on hand (like whole vanilla beans - Yes, I know, I'm not a gourmet!)

He managed through the long list of processes and ingredients and placed it in the oven. I was a little nervous, please, please, turn out I kept thinking. I really wanted him to feel proud of his cake AND make the 2 hours we spent on it worth while!

YUM, it turned out great, very rich almost like I was eating a cooked chocolate bar. Although I would prefer a different chocolate cake, this was a good experience for him. He was so proud of his cake (he kept it in the fridge for days and didn't want it thrown out).   I asked him if he needed to take a piece to the teacher or what he needed to do to get his grade. He said, "no mom, I don't need to take it in, I just have to tell her I did it." Wow, if only more homework could be graded that way!

Good job Chan, you can make me a cake anytime!

Mothers Day

May 9, 2010

My mothers day was a little empty because one of my little gals was off in Ecuador, but, I still managed to squeeze out a good day!  Thanks kids and Steve for making my day such a great one.  My day included sleeping in, going for a walk, going to church, and have dinner prepared for me after church...Loved it!  Next week too please!

McKinnon = Braces

May 2010

FINALLY, the awaited day came! Steve got a job at the end of April which meant we now had ortho insurance (our current ins. didn't include anything ortho, so we decided to hold off on the braces until we could get some decent ins...jeez, I'm such a penny pincher!)  McKinnon asked me weekly, "Mom, when do you think I can get braces?" and I would reply, "As soon as dad gets a job."  and she would patiently wait.
  Ohhh, McKinnon you are so sweet!

We had the orthodontist all picked out (as of a year ago), so the first opportunity in May, we made the appointment.  Of course she was very excited to finally be on the road to getting straight teeth!

Before Braces

Same day, just got home.  Ouch, my mouth hurts!

Good luck McKinnon!

Bella turns 10!

April 29, 2010

Some birthdays come and go with a blink of an eye and some seem to last forever. Well, Bella's birthday this year was one of those that seemed to never end. The festivities just kept on happening.
Of course the birthday had to start out with an whole oven pancake and presents. 

Since it's a school day with lots of other activities going on, the birthday is kind of put on hold until the weekend, when real celebration can begin.  No birthday cake tonight, so we settled on a birthday root beer float! (With promises of a cake this weekend).

Usually our practice for birthdays is you can either pick a "big gift" or a party.  This year Bella put on her negotiating hat and said, "what if I have a small party and get 1/2 of a big gift?"  She negotiated this for a few weeks and we finally agreed upon the fact that she could invite a few friends to a party, and receive 1/2 of a "big gift" (she decided she wanted an itouch, so we would pay a portion and she would pay a portion).  I never realized Bella was such a consistent, unrelenting negotiator (I'm going to need to remember this in the future).

THE PARTY!  So Bella decided she would like a theme party, so after a variety of options were suggested, she settled on inviting a select group of friends for a 50s party.

Mom even got sucked into the theme!

Shay, Bella, Jamie and Alexa

We went to Gunthar Toody's (a 50s diner) for dinner that included lots of greasy yummy food and of course ice cream sundays and shakes.  The servers are all so cute at this place.  They sang and danced with Bella and her party and all had a great time.  We certainly rolled out of that place.

After dinner we headed for a little 50s bowling action.  We certainly got our share of stares, but had a great time.

After Bowling, we headed back home for the sleepover.  More cake and ice cream and fun to be had all night.

The next night after the party it was time to take Bella out for "date night" with mom and dad.  She selected Outback Steakhouse (ohh thank you bella - this is one of my favorite places of all time to eat).  She enjoyed the "thunder from down under" dessert (YUM) and we called it a successful birthday!
Happy Birthday to Bella.

Glenwood Springs

April 2010
We had a long weekend in April, so we thought we'd head to Glenwood Springs (about 3 hrs away) to enjoy the natural hot springs pools and the surrounding area.  Every time we drive to Utah, we pass through the town of Glenwood Springs and admire the large pools and think, "someday we will go there".  Well, it was time!
After much research on what to do and where to stay in the area, I decided to get a room at the Glenwood Springs Lodge (right next door to the pools) because it included your entrance fee to get into the pools ($18 per person usually, so with all of us, that could get expensive going each day). 

We had amazing weather.  The sun was shining and it was just a little cool, so the hot springs felt AMAZING!  First stop, Wal-mart to stock up on treats, munchies and of course, floating devices!  One of my favorite things to do is to sit by a pool, eat yummy snacks, and read a book or magazine!  And YES, the weather was good enough, we were able to do just that!

People use to drink this water.  It's stinky though, so we didn't dare drink the water.

A few facts about the pools:

• The big pool is always kept at a comfortable 90°-93° F 
• The therapy pool averages about 104° F, but can be much much hotter.  Supposedly this pool will treat your aggravated joints and dehydrated skin with all-natural, therapeutic minerals.  (YES!)
• The big pool spans over two city blocks (its a very big pool) and has diving boards and swimming lanes at one end.
• There are over 15 different minerals found in the chemical analysis, the four most abundant minerals in the pool are: Sodium Chloride, Potassium Sulfate, Calcium Sulfate, and Calcium Bicarbonate.
• World’s largest outdoor hot springs pool.

Steve in the HOTTEST pool (a hot guy in a hot pool? hee hee)!  My favorite.

On our last day in Glenwood Springs, we headed to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.  This is a mountain-top type park that has all sorts of things to do like: tour the Caverns & Historic Fairy Caves, ride the alpine coaster, see a 4D movie (diff between 3D and 4D? = sprays water in your face), and play a little laser tag (we played guys against girls - boo hoo, the guys absolutely killed us).

McKinnon and I on our way up to the resort in the tram.

All of us lined up and ready to go on the coaster ride.  BIG fun.  Sorry resort we monopolized this ride by riding it over and over and over and over again!  It wasn't that busy, so it worked out great for us.

Touring the caverns.  Lots of fun.
Family shot during the cave tour.  Since Ariel couldn't join us, her friend Trent came up for the day.

Bella finishing the ride!  Wow, the view!

Gabby all smiles!  With a big Dad on board you go extra fast!

After we were exhausted and needed a break, we headed to the quaint little restaurant up at the top of the mountain for a little lunch and a game of checkers (while waiting for lunch).

View from outside the restaurant.  Great Day and GREAT weekend!
We loved Glenwood Springs and I especially LOVED the hot pools. I love a quick weekend get-a-way, and Glenwood Springs is ideal.  See you soon Glenwood Springs.