the Johnson 5

Disneyland Thanksgiving

2011-12-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

We have got Thanksgiving mastered. Instead of spending the day making a huge turkey dinner only to turn around and clean up a huge turkey mess while feeling like you ate the whole turkey yourself we get to spend the day with Mikey Mouse at the most magical place on earth. Although I do miss getting together at Grandma Homey's house for dinner I love our family tradition and don't even mind the crowds. This year was especially good because we got to spend it with most of my family. It was so nice having Jori feeling good enough to join us on most of the rides. Even though moving that large of a group (18 people) through the huge thanksgiving crowd is not easy we had A LOT to be thankful for.

Asher especially loved Disney Land this year. He called it Mikey Mouse's club house. He was such a happy guy the whole trip.

"Goof"

As always Rex & Jett had a blast. I think they especially liked hanging out with their cousins and Ryan and I hardly ever rode a ride with either of them. I guess we can't compete with the Goughs.

Here are more of our favorite pics of our Thanksgiving.....

More pics....

The Beach

The water was way to cold to play in but that did not stop the kids from going all the way in (or Tip). I think we enjoy the beach just as much as Disney Land. We love finding a good spot with lots of Tide Pools that we can explore. My Dad always finds the best creatures, including a really ugly sea slug that he removed (from Idaho:)) and got a nice long lecture about not misplacing the animals from were they want to be from a "volunteer". She was a special person with a very important job.

Hollywood

Before the rest of the family got to CA we got to go explore Hollywood with Gramma & Papa. It was something we had always wanted to do and now we can say we did it. The boys thought we lost our minds wanting to look at stars on a side walk instead of going straight to dland but once they found Michael Jackson's star they were sold.

The fam in front of the Chinese Theater

Jett & Jamie Foxx

Good Times were had by all! Until next time.....

Rex

2011-12-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that I could have an eight year old.....so I choose not to believe it. I am pretty sure only old people can have old kids, that could not be me. Rex is pretty sure he is 8 and he feels so old. He really enjoys the three weeks he has of being a number older than Jett. He rubs it in whenever possible. This year he got to have a birthday party with friends. He saw a commercial about a place called Jambo and has been trying to convince us it would be the perfect spot for a party. Other than being a tad bit ghetto he was right. The boys had a blast they ran from ride to ride and didn't slow down all night. Because it was a bit ghetto it was not busy and the boys got free reign of the place.
Here are some of our favorite pics.......

We sure love you Rex! We think you are pretty cool & we are so glad that you are our 8 year old!!

Some fun facts about Rex's year...

Rex's favorite thing to do is play the wii or the computer

He decided he doesn't believe in the tooth fairy.

He honestly believes he knows more than his Mom.

He started cub scouts this month.

He still thinks girls are yucky.

He gets baptized on the 28th of January.

He loves to read.
He LOVES hot food. (he can eat hotter food than his Mom)
He still loves writing books.

It is so fun watching your kids grow and getting to know the person they are becoming. I am proud of our Rex, he is such a good boy. He knows what it takes to be a good person and he is determined to make sure he is choosing the right. We love you Rexy Poo!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

This year Halloween was quite the event. We partied until I couldn't stand to put costumes on my kids even one more time. When all was said and done we had dressed up 4 times. By the time Halloween night came around the boys were just barely dressed up because their Mom was all Halloweened OUT. Luckily I had taken so many pictures at all other events that it didn't even matter (it is all about the pictures still....right?).
We do LOVE Halloween though. Especially in the valley were it was 75 degrees when the sun went down. Our neighbor hood is the best trick-or-treating spot, it is mostly retired couples who like to party. So they open up their garages and have open bars and chilli. They give out fantastic candy & love to watch the little ones. The boys got a Haul this year (especially Rex who is a bit of a candy hoarder) and had a blast!

Here are some pics to prove it.....

Ninja

Young Jedi

Indiana Jones

These handsome boys make their Mama happy!

The boys costumes this year were all homemade. Asher's costume was a hand-me-down from the boys, our favorite NE friend Taneil made it for them. Jett wanted to be Indiana Jones, not because he loves the movies or has even seen the movies but because of his new infatuation of whips. Rex wanted to be a Ninja and thought he looked great even though he was just wearing all black (I agree). Gotta love a cheap solution to Halloween.

Brown Halloween Party 2011

This years party theme was "Dead Hollywood". We were all to come as dead celebrities & all the food went along with the theme.

Some of the desserts were Anna Nicole's pink coffins, Heath Ledger's chocolate od cookies, Patrick Swaze's Ghosts, Mata Hara's Kisses, & Rock Hudson's rocks.

Here are some of the famous faces...

Cleopatra & Bob Ross

The night was a bit much for me, thank heavens for Michael's "juice".

The boy's school parade

This will be their last year to be in the parade apparently next year they grow up:(

Pumpkin carving

Every year we carve pumpkins as a family. Ryan is in charge of helping the boys and I am in charge of pictures and clean up. The last two years however Ryan was so into carving his pumpkin that I end up helping the boys. His pumpkins are pretty fabulous I have to say. The boys did most of their own carving this year. I was pretty impressed. And in the tradition of Halloween Jett ate some of the pumpkin guts (Rex even tried them out this year).

Rex eating the pumpkin guts

good stuff!

Rex is not as fond of them

Jett Rex Ryan

Day 2 of CGL...India

2011-09-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Bright colors, lots of sparkles & the BEST food in the world....who wouldn't want to go to India on their world cruise?!

When we got to India we were greeted by some lovely individuals who told us all about India and some of their festivities. We learned to Bolly wood dance (So you think you can dance has got NOTHING on us), made sparkly elephant decorations, ate some fantastic curry dishes, & celebrated Raksha Bandhan (a celebration of brothers & sisters).

Our favorite friends from Eagar came over to learn the Bollywood dance so they could all perform it for their families on the night of our party.

for Raksha Bandhan the kids all made their brothers or sisters a card and gave them a bracelet

I think that if Grandma Luvlee could she would decorate her home like she did for India every day (that or Mexico). It was such a fun day full of happy colors. One of our highlights was watching pieces of the movie "Jodha Akbar". It is our favorite Bollywood movie. Jett is still singing the songs from it.(Only he doesn't know the words-it is quite lovely). Watch the video here if you want it stuck in your head to, trust me you won't regret it:)

Dev boren koru

the Brown's shindig

2011-09-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite times of year...the Brown family reunion. This year was nothing short of fabulous as we camped on Nanette and Wade's ranch near Pine. It was great weather, great food (gourmet hot dogs, chipotle style burritos & butter with a side of French toast), and great company. Here is what our weekend looked like....

Jett worked hard all weekend on becoming a cowboy. Thanks to "uncle" Dallas he learned to lasso and to crack a whip. The rest of the time was spent perfecting these things. As you can tell it was pretty serious work. He probably would have spent all his time shooting his BB gun that he talked his Dad into letting him bring, but it was confiscated with in the first 10 minutes for shooting towards camp.

Asher's days consisted mostly of playing in the dirt! He was in heaven because he could get so dirty & no one cleaned his face every few minutes.The rest of his days were spent eating candy & cookies, throwing dirt on himself & any one who stood still next to him. Believe it or not he was NOT the dirtiest kid at camp-not even CLOSE!

We were lucky we got any pictures of Rex. We were lucky if we saw him 3 times a day, breakfast, lunch & dinner. He was up in the mountains the rest of the time. He was building forts and looking for treasures. I would literally go hours with out seeing the kid. We figured he would come down when he got hungry and that is what he did. He always had at least two other kids with him (his posse). He was loving life.

the Pinata

and the dirtiest kid award goes to......

It is to close to call. But if I had to make a decision I would give it to SHEA!Congratulation Shea.

The thing I enjoyed most about camp had to be the sitting around and relaxing part. I can always use more of that in my life.

A great time was had by all. Until next year....

Happy Adoption Day!

2011-09-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

As always I love celebrating adoption day, it gives me a chance to really look at some of my favorite blessings (Rex & Jett) and be grateful that they are a part of our family. It gives me a chance to think of their unselfish birth mothers and remember the sacrifice that she made in order for my family to be together. I LOVE adoption, I LOVE my sweet boys, and I am grateful to start the process again so we can hopefully make our family a family of 6 (and add another girl to the equation).

7 years after we adopted Rex & Jett (Mikhail & Timur)

Their silly shot!

The boys helped build the cake. We had to use our imaginations and pretend that the pink was red and the baby blue was really Russian flag blue. I think it turned out great.

2nd grade....here we come!

2011-08-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

Good Bye to SUMMER with it's lazy days, swimming pools & flip flops. Hello to SCHOOL days! The boys were excited to get back to school this year. I would have to say I was right there excited with them. Not that we didn't have a fantastic summer (we DID) it was just time.

Cassie gave us a good idea for coming up with summer activities that she found on a blog. We wrote down 50 things we wanted to do over summer break & then tried to get them all done. We did not succeed but we sure had fun trying. Here are some of our favorites....

Going to a Diamondbacks game

going to the zoo

Running in the sprinklers

Going on a picnic-Ryan found this great spot near the river. Rex never passes up a chance to climb something.

Going to the summer movies

the air force museum

Things we also enjoyed but didn't get pictures of.....
-Ryan took the boys to Sun Splash
-getting snow cones
-making ice cream
-building a fort
-making puppets
-summer reading program

Goodbye summer see you next year!

The luck of the Irish

2011-08-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

The highlight of being in Ireland had to be the leprachan that we caught! The bummer is that when you catch a leprachan they shrivel up and die. This was explained to all the kids before we set the trap but they figured they would take their chances & try and trap one anyway.

BLIMEY!

While in Ireland we also had the chance to kiss the Blarney stone (at least we think it was the Blarney Stone-we all kissed it any way). We learned that the proper way to kiss the stone was to lean over backwards.

Jett kissin the Blarney stone for luck

Some enjoyed this more than others

Cassie had some instruction for the older cousins & friends on how to river dance. (she was very excited)

But the younger boys were natural Michael Flatley's and needed no instruction. Lord of the Dance look out!

Lucky for us there had been a rainbow that very day and we were able to find a treasure left at the end of it. I got the pleasure of hiding the treasures and decided to hide the older kids really well. They were not all that impressed with my skill.

After a fine meal of cabbage, potatoes & stew we left jolly ol' Ireland

and all her jolly ol' jolly people

& set sail for India.

Best Friends

2011-07-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

We have made some really good friends while living here in AZ. They all touch our lives in some way. Last week we lost some of our favorites who fished school and headed back to Washington. Here are some of our favorite memories with the Smarts....

Our pool play dates

We started swimming in April and swam through October and sometimes every day of the week.

Date Night

Every weekend that we were in town we would switch off date nights with the Smarts. On Friday we would get the kids while they went out and on Saturday's Ryan & I would go out while they watched the kidos. I think the kids enjoyed date night at least as much as we did.

Halloween

we loved Lore's Halloween party that she had for the kids.

Easter

We loved having Easter egg hunts at our home

our Adventures

Diamond backs game

Phoenix zoo

zoo splash pad

Summer movies


Mesa Air-force museum

We sure have loved all the fun times we got to have with our friends. Rex & Jett won't know what to do with out their favorite buddy Dalan. We will sure miss you guys!

China

2011-07-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Although we all enjoyed our stay in Russia we were anxious to get to our next destination.... CHINA (of course)!
Before we embarked the group needed to make sure that all their immunizations were up to date and get their luggage checked for stashed Russian things...

Leave it to Merrill to try and get a knife on board, but a cooking knife, come on Merrill!

Then we were welcomed back on board by an enthusiastic Julie.

China was beautiful this time of year. The plum trees were in full bloom (thanks to a little hot glue and tissue paper). The tour group even got some good luck coins and money to help bring in their new year with luck and prosperity (we hope it works).

The group also learned how to fish for Koi,

the boys learned the dragon dance,

the girls learned the Chinese ribbon dance,

and we all feasted on Chinese food (Rex's favorite).

Over all a great day in China.

Xie xie Grandma!

Let freedom ring!

2011-07-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

We LOVE the 4th of July. It is by far one of my favorite holidays. Between parades, barbeques and fireworks what is there not to love.

the Parade

Papa's truck is the best seat in the house.

Papa parks his truck at the church a week before the parade to insure a good seat come the 4th. Then at 5 in the morning he and some of the boys go to the spot to protect it from spot thieves.

love this shirt!

BBQ

After the parade we had a bbq at the "shop" with Ryan's family. The boys LOVE being around their Johnson cousins & getting dirty playing at the shop. This year I even let them ride a dirt bike for the first time. It scared me to death to watch them wobble on that thing. Somehow they came out of it alive.

Jett

Rex

Ryan reminiscing

Asher was in heaven around all the trucks! He has got Johnson blood for sure. Good thing he has uncles to show him the ropes:)

Let's go for a ride on the Love Boat

2011-07-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

It's Camp Gramma Luvlee time again and who wouldn't want to travel aboard the Love Boat, complete with Julie, Isaac the bartender, Captain Stubbing & Doc?

We were all ready for the adventure and enjoyed every moment. Of course who wouldn't want to travel to Russia, China, Ireland, India, Antarctica, England, Mexico, Paris France, & Australia on the love boat? It was only a five day cruise so we were lucky to get to see all these countries. First stop.....Russia!

In Russia we were greeted by a beautiful Russian man who told us some of the things Russia was famous for, among these things, St. Basil's cathedral and Rex & Jett's birthplace. Rex & Jett then taught the others a few Russian words like homo which means hello in Russian (not really but that is what they told their preschool class when they were 3). We also learned that Russia was famous for their space program, the kids decided to become cosmonauts in the Russian space program. They had to fight a space alien...

rescue martians, return them to their ships and send them back into orbit

Then those who were brave enough entered a black hole to experience weightlessness.

those who succeeded at cosmonaut training were rewarded with a badge, a certificate & lunch.

Before we reboarded the ship bound for China we tried our hand at a solar tube.

Spasiba Grandma Luvlee!

Asher's 2

2011-07-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

We have reached the two's (we won't call them terrible just yet). Asher is still a sweet boy he just is a bit of a yeller. In fact you can't touch him or sit in or around the area he is playing without him screaming at you. We think it is funny now but I wonder how long until it becomes something not so funny. It is good that he is cute. He is still quick to give kisses and is always wearing a smile. Some of his favorite things are: Cars, trucks, Handy Manny, Nursery, his friends, swimming, our turtle bob, playing blocks with Rex, wrestling with Jett, birds, helping mom sort laundry, chewing gum, his trucker wave, Jo Jo, turning off lights, playing on the bed with Dad, candy and waffles.
Asher doesn't say alot but here are a few of the fun things he says;
speed, I am speed
ye haw cowboy
I want movie cars
the prayer
when he walks into any room he says "hi guys"
one, two, three go

We celebrated Asher's birthday with a trip to watch Cars 2. Asher loves the first movie so we figured it would be a hit, it wasn't. He was amused for the first few scenes and then lost interest. Ryan spent the rest of the movie watching him run in the hallway of the theater. Then we came home for cake and ice cream with Granny & Grandpa and some of our friends and cousins.

We sure do love our sweet boy. He is such a funny kid, always trying to make us laugh. Every time we sit down to eat he breaks out some of his funny faces to get us to laugh. He makes our home full of joy. Happy Birthday to our Asher Lev.

Cheap thrills

2011-05-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house two years ago we did it with the intention of putting in a pool. Well this summer after finally getting grass put in the back yard we did just that. It has been so nice having an escape from the heat.

We were surprised at how cheap you could get a pool now days.

Maybe when we grow up we can get the real thing but in the meantime we are really enjoying our "cheap thrills"! We enjoyed the pool so much we also "put in" a slip-n-slide.

The boys have got mad skill.

Asher hasn't enjoyed the pool as much as we have. He thinks his brothers are too wild in it. But here he is enjoying a cheap thrill of his own. Macey loves kissen on Asher.

My "sun bathing beauties".

The world through rose colored glasses

2011-04-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

I love when I go to upload my pictures to my computer and I find some hidden "treasures" mixed in with the pictures that I have taken. Jett loves to sneak my camera and go on treasure hunts. The pictures always make me laugh, and even though I have to erase a lot of them (like Rex going to the bathroom or Asher's bum) I love to see what he finds picture worthy.
These are a few of the latest...

Oh to have the perspective of a child. Not only does life get a lot more exciting (who doesn't find giving your brother bunny ears behind his back exciting) but it is a lot more optimistic. Jett truly enjoys life to the fullest. He finds good in everyone. Maybe if I could be more Jett like I too would get so excited to go to the zoo that I would turn cartwheels while bystanders look on.

The loves of Asher's life...

2011-03-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

In no particular order,
1. Cars
Asher has a car in his hand at most times. He loves to line them up, drive them up your arms, or just watch them drive on the floor. He takes them to the store, in the bath, to the beach, & to church. No wonder car was one of Asher's first words.

2. Shoes
Asher loves putting his shoes on. As soon as he gets up he makes you put some on him. When he finds a pair of shoes he wants you to put them on him right then, even if he already has a pair on. The tricky part is he doesn't want you to take off the shoes he has on. Good luck with that Asher.

3. Books

Asher loves for you to read him a book. He especially likes his truck books.

4. His Daddy
Ryan & Asher are good buddies. He chooses Ryan over me any day. All day long if Asher hears a noise he will go to the door to check to see if Daddy is home. He talks on his play phone all day with Daddy. He always has a big hug & a kiss for Daddy.

I am sure there are more loves but those are probably his top 4 right now.
What a fun kid he is. We love him to pieces!

You'll shoot your eye out!

2011-01-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

Happy 7th birthday Jett!

This year all of Jett's dreams came true! He got a bb gun. Not because we think it is a great idea (we don't), but because he just wants one so stinking bad. Jett is our "outdoors man". He loves anything to do with guns, knives, or any other dangerous object he can use as a weapon. We think he must have gotten this from his Papa or Merrill because it certainly didn't come from his Mom who is a little anti anything that kills other things (much to my Father's dismay). He also did not get it from his Dad who loves to hunt and go shooting but up until last year had never owned a gun. He is so excited about his gun that he hopes people will come over to our house so he can get it out to show them. I had a client here last week and when he got ready to leave Jett convinced him to take a look. My client mentioned that he could use a bb gun around his home for stray cats and birds (thanks a lot Joel). He told Jett how you only pump the gun once to "stun" the cats. Well Jett really feels like he needs to get over there to help him out. He told Ryan last night "I just keep thinking about stunning those cats".

Here are some things Jett has been up to this last year:
He grew a whole inch taller than his older brother...
He is mastering the skate board..
He is in tumbling (he thinks he is training for American Ninja Warrior)
He started basketball (he is in his second season)
Learned to read
graduated kindergarten (although he did not want to)
He loves listening to his "ipod touch" (aka cheap mp3 player)
He loves Michael Jackson and Tom Petty
He likes school
He dosn't like homework!
He is learning his articles of Faith (he has three memorized)
He finally lost two teeth (one was not even loose)
He is such a sweet boy. He is a lover of life. He brings so much joy into our home. We love watching him put on his ear phones and rock out to "I won't back down". Jett gets so excited over everything. We will be walking home from the bus stop and he will say "I just love this day so much." One night after we got home from a baptism preview for the boys, Jett came into the room and said "I just love this gospel so much". He is a funny kid he starts most sentences with "I really don't want to tell you this but...or "I can't say this, but..."It usually ends with something like..." I can see that man's bottom, or I don't really like this food". I hope that he will always keep the passion he has for life. We love you Jett. We hope your year is full of awesomeness.

tea party mad hatter style

making a wooden gun in the shop with Papa

We love you Jetty Poo!

I'm dreaming of a Brown Christmas

2010-12-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Christmas this year. We always alternate were we stay either with the Johnson's or with my family. This year was a Brown Christmas not only because we did not get any snow but we stayed with my family. It is a bit cozy with all of us in my parents home (Cassie's family and Trevor's family were both there) but we love it.
I have always loved Christmas and my Mom has always made them very magical. As with everything that my Mom does this Christmas was done perfectly. We started out the festivities with an adults only Ginger Bread making contest. It was done food network style and even had guest judges. Ryan and I are not proud of our final product but we did not loose (although there might have been a bribe involved).

We enjoyed great food with a fancy Christmas Eve dinner that was amazing followed by a talent show (that was not as amazing-but entertaining). The night was concluded with our little "angels" singing silent night and a nativity.

Feliz navidad

Rudolf the red nosed reindeer


I'm getting nothing for Christmas

The kiddos all slept in the family room on Christmas eve which made us all a little nervous since in order to get to the bathroom they would have to walk through the footprints that Santa made when he forgot to wipe the soot from his boots after exciting the fire place. We only had one close call when Pace woke up at 2 to use the facilities and then tried waking the rest of the bunch up to share his find. Thankfully Papa was up and stayed in the front room to guard the loot.

trouble!

da loot

Santa footprints

Asher "lovin" Christmas

For Christmas my Mom asked Santa to bring Jori to her home. She has not gotten to come to Eagar in 2 years and has not seen most of the family in that time. Adam was a rockstar and got her there in time for the Christmas party. What a great ending to a great holiday! Until next year....

Your Mama Rocks!

2010-12-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

When we got to Eagar for Christmas the first thing the boys said was "Mom there is no snow"! Being the rock star mom that I am, I made it snow in Mesa. Your Welcome!

Asher did not get to enjoy the snow because he was napping (oh and it only lasted for 30 seconds.) Sorry buddy.

The Polar express (AZ style)

2010-12-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

When Cassie & Tip came to Mesa before Christmas we decided to take the kids to McCormick ranch to ride the train. It was supposed to be pretty magical and awesome! There was a 20% chance of rain but because we live in Mesa and 20% usually means no chance in heck we chanced it. After standing in a line that would put Disney Land's wait to shame we were able to ride the train for half price (we discovered it was half price when we got to the end of the line-after we had already bought all of our tickets). It was marked down because they were having some technical difficulties with there lights (they were not lighting). We were soaked (did I mention that we forgot a jacket for Asher) and unimpressed but the kids didn't seem to mind or even notice and I think we could say it was a success (as far as a great photo op and story goes).

Trim the tree

2010-12-30T14:02:00.000-08:00

I had great help this year!

Rex's production of the Nativity

2010-12-30T13:58:00.000-08:00

For Family Home Evening Rex wanted to be in charge of doing a nativity. Mostly because he likes to be the boss I think but he did a great job. He told every one who they would be and what they should wear. There were only a few tears shed (by Rex) when things were not going his way. Our final product was recorded but will not be shared here as to not offend anyone by our lack of reverence (not my fault).

Staring Rex as a wise man, Jett as a shepherd & Asher as Baby Jesus

our swaddled baby Jesus

our lack of reverence (aka Rex)

The end

My 7 year old

2010-12-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

Well we decided to let Rex turn 7. We were not going to let him since the older your kids get the older you are but he did it anyway. Here is a peak at Rex's year.....

He had his first and last season of basketball

He started tumbling (he does a mean cart wheel)

Learned to read

Learned to ramp his bike and his scooter

Lost 7 teeth (one of them when he was sleeping or eating, not sure but we never found it. He told me one day, my tooth is gone but I don't know where.)
Grew tall enough to go on Indiana Jones ride
He is the best tree climber ever!

He loves math

He loves to draw and color

He likes to write books

He loves eating anything with red devil on it

He learned to whistle (all the missing teeth help)

He loves to play Plants verses Zombies on the computer
He now thinks that the Backyardigans and Diego are baby shows (he didn't think so last year)
He has turned into such a neat kid. He is always surprising me. He is so smart and he likes you to know about it. He is always saying things like "what is more important mom (insert whatever I am currently doing) or your son?" He got in a lot of trouble this week and I decided that I was going to spank him. After I did he said "How would you like it if I whacked you?" He cracks us up. Most of the time he is not trying to. We love you to pieces Rexy Poo! Today in the car he told us "I would be so sad if I still lived in the orphanage and didn't have a mom and dad", well Rex I know exactly how you feel. We would not be complete with out our sweet boy in our home. We would have a hole that we could not fill. We are thankful every day that our Heavenly Father chose us to be your family. Happy birthday Roger. Enjoy it because we are not going to let you get any older!

Another Disney Thanks Giving

2010-12-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

We love our new family tradition of going 2 DisneyLand on Thanks Giving. What a great place to be with the ones you are most grateful for.
We were especially grateful that Granny & Grandpa got to go with us. The boys loved being there with them and they got quite spoiled. Jett couldn't leave Granny's side.
This year the boys were tall enough to ride any ride they wanted which was great for Jett but not so great for Rex. Rex got a bit braver this year and now enjoys the Thunder Mountain roller coaster, but could do without most others and he just really hated Space Mountain and Tower of Terror. He is real brave until we get for enough into the line that there is no backing out and then he will tell us he changed his mind he wants to leave. He was quite the trooper though. Jett never met a ride he didn't love and especially loved California Screaming (Ryan loved that he finally has someone to join him since it is also his favorite ride). Asher was sick for both days at Disneyland but was a trooper anyway. He liked to look at the people and Rex thinks he liked the Winnie the Pooh ride.

We spent the 3rd day at the beach. We have gone to the same beach both years and we love it. The weather was so nice the boys played in the water & didn't freeze.
We can't wait for next Thanks Giving!

Giving THANKS!

2010-11-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanks Giving I was given a gift that my family and I have been waiting for for a long time. On Friday the 19th my oldest sister Jori had surgery to relieve pressure that is on her brain from a disease that she has battled for the last 8 years.

Jori is the most faithful person that I know. Instead of complaining that she was bound to her bed she took that time to study her scriptures. When her vision started to get worse and she was unable to concentrate on things because of the pressure on her brain, she began studying the Ensign. She would mark were she had read and the things that meant something to her or something that she thought someone in her family might need to hear. She always knew she was going to get better because she had been given many beautiful blessings by her husband and others who held the priesthood. She has been a huge strength to me and her entire family. When her kids would be worried about her she would put on a smile and tell them that she felt fine and that she would be better soon.

Because of her testimony and her true faith I have been blessed. I am grateful for an older sister who has helped my testimony grow stronger by being around her during her trial.

I love you Jori Pori!

playing catchup

2010-11-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

How do you squeeze two full months in one blog? Well it is going to look a bit like this.....

BROWN FAMILY REUNION-Sponge Bob style

My Dad is so funny!

Jett on the obstacle course

The family rocking "Love Shack"

The music moved Jett-he danced every song

Rex was less moved

This is one of my favorite things. Who wouldn't love it, 3 fun filled days of camping, good food, fun, & great family. Who wouldn't love it?!

Crazy hair day at school.

the funny thing was that the day before the boys thought it was crazy hair day and we made Rex's hair into an afro. When we got to school no one else had crazy hair. Rex was so embarrassed that he dropped to the floor of the car and smoothed it all down. The back was still sticking straight up but what you can't see won't hurt you (or embarrass you).

Basketball

The boys started basketball on a team that has been playing together for 3 years. Needless to say they don't get a lot of "play time". They love it though and have no idea that they are not the best on the team. Jett will get so excited that he will randomly turn cartwheels.

Fall!?

It finally got cool enough to take the gang out of the house. We went with some of our favorite friends to the zoo. We had a great time even though we lost Rex for about 15 minutes (he was playing hide and seek).

Now I am ready!

It took him 15 months to come around but Asher has decided to try out walking! He started walking at the beginning of September but it wasn't quite what he was hoping for so he stopped. It wasn't until the beginning of October that he decided to stick with it. We are so proud!

Real Fall

For fall break we got to go to the mountains and see what Fall is supposed to look like. We miss our Nebraska season changes this time of year.

Wherever Asher goes he has got at least one car in his hand and he is usually making a car sound to go with it.

my little monkey

Halloween

(pumpkin carving)

Every year we tell Jett he has to taste the pumpkin "guts" so far he has always done it. It is our only Halloween tradition.


Ryan was pretty proud of his Suns pumpkin

(The school's costume parade)

Halloween parties

party # 3 at our friend Lore's house. Always so fun!

Kids eating donuts off a string.

Asher the Garden Gnome

Party #4 this is my first attempt at a Halloween party.

This was our Halloween party with my Mom. Everyone had to dress like a monster and then their place setting was decorated like their monster. It turned out so cool.

Danii as the Bride of Frankenstein & Jett as the Phantom of the Opera

Korbi as the Mummy, Merrill is a werewolf and Rex is Frankenstein.

Jett and Korbi watching Thriller (Jett loves it)

We also had a fun party at Granny's house this year but this Mama forgot to bring her camera.

There you have it two months in one blog!

Happy Adoption Day!

2010-08-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

The hotel Ukraina

Great things come in twos....ears, eyes, nutter butters.....and 8 years ago when we started the adoption process our social worker asked Ryan and I "do you want one or two babies?" we of course answered two!
Six years ago today in the town of Samara Russia, Ryan and I stood before a Russian judge so that we could adopt our two little babies. I love to look back and think of that time we were so young and excited about our new family. The judge could not understand why in the world these two young American's would want TWO babies. We did our best to explain but even then I did not realize what an important part of our world these two babies would become. We are so blessed to have them in our life and they are so blessed that they have each other. Here is a look back at our journey.

view from our room

When we got to Russia we stayed in Moscow for a few days. It was an awesome place and they actually had people who swept the streets at night. It was beautiful, not what I had expected at all.

After we left Moscow we flew to Samara. We spent the first day in Togliatti with Jett. He was a beautiful baby but he was not so sure about us. In fact he cried for the first hour. Ryan and I did not know what the heck to do with a crying baby so we fed him a cookie, which seemed to help. Even threw all the tears this little baby stole our heart. The first impression of Jett was not a very accurate one. Jett is now an easy going kid. He loves people and is such a happy guy.
His orphanage was huge. They had 300 babies.


this is Ryan walking Jett around the orphanage

They would put cribs outside so the babies would not just lay indoor all day. It was very green and lush.

Our first family picture with Timur.

The cookie that won Jett over.

We got to spend two days in Syzran were Rex's orphanage was. There were only 7 other babies there and he got a lot of attention. He was the favorite and they called him "Misha". He was such a happy baby. We loved spending time with him in Syzran. We fell in love with little Misha right away.

Entrance to Rex's orphanage

Our smiley Misha

family waiting room

stroller ride

Nurses that took care of Rex

Leaving Rex's orphanage

landing in New York. Welcome to the US baby boys!

spending our time in the hotel

Our second trip to Russia was the first time the boys got to meet each other. It was so fun, except for the part were we had to live in a hotel with no cribs or air conditioning for 3 days while we waited for the babies visas. They have been together ever since.
We love you two like crazy! Happy adoption day!

Working on our Knight moves

2010-08-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

The 4th day at CGL was the boys favorite. Maybe because they got to be knights and fight with swords and look for dragons.....oh & also their Mom was a beautiful princess (who said the kids got to have all the fun?).

Our brave knights in shinning armor (they got to make their own coat of arms).

playing the Princess & the pea game & Shea's bottom

Our "royal" family minus our King (Ryan) & Asher's pants....oops.

You just can't get Merrill down

trouble makers punishment

the results of Rex's dance moves

Merrill dancing with his princess-sweet boy!

Are you surprised!?

Jett getting knighted

our castle

Jett's "knight" moves

Rex's interpretive dance.

Here's to another "luvlee" day at camp! Can't wait for tomorrow & the 50's!

Back to School Blues....

2010-08-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

It is here! Summer is over and 1st grade begins and boy do my boys have the back to school blues! Not because we had the most fantastic summer. Just because they love spending time with me and Asher....okay not that either. They have no reason to be so not ready for school to start but it does not help that their Dad reminds them the night before that they only have 11 years of school left after this one (we won't even bring up what happens after high school).

Here are some of the funny things that were said on the first day back....
How many more years until I retire? -Rex
Ms. Hunt is going to be so happy to see me. -Jett
You are going to be the only first grader who does not know how to tie shoes. -Rex to Jett
Ms. Hunt is always angry. -Jett
Please don't make my hair look stupid on my first day, make it like a surfer. -Jett

Love you bunches Rex & Jett!

CGL goes prehistoric

2010-08-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of camp we all went Dinosaur hunting. Lucky for us we had some pretty fierce warriors along.


We laugh in the face of danger. HA

When we weren't fighting we were playing games, like "who can pick up the most dino eggs (or whoppers) with their dino-head.


or Dino-races....

We learned the lost art of spear throwing...

& spear retrieving...


we excavated....

& painted...

napped...

we dinned on crickets,


& dogs...

In the end we never did capture the dinosaur but we sure did look good trying!

Good Bye to the Land Before Time, we are off to....

WORK ON OUR KNIGHT MOVES?!

Walk like an Egyption

2010-08-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of CGL...we are off to Egypt come along, if you dare.....

Gramma Luvlee has a dark side to her. She likes to scare little children! Well she likes to scare anyone but she'll take what she can get. Every CGL has a scary day this year it was in Egypt because what isn't scary about a dead Cleopatra, a mummy looking for his stolen heart and the Faro?! We started the day off with a treasure hunt looking for the mummies stolen heart. It was supposed to be only a mild scare used to scare the little kids enough that they would not want to come to the night treasure hunt that would scare your Mama! This worked for most kids but not Jett, he braved both treasure hunts. Only 4 of the ten campers did not make it through the first "haunted house" hunt (two of those did not even make it through the first door). Jett using the map to show us were to go. After the treasure hunt we put on some Egyptian garb & Merrill taught us about mummies.

The hunt that night was for "adults" only (kids over 8ish & Jett). There are no pictures because it was at night. It made Merrill scream like a girl and Jett was so scared he had to go sit in the car with Papa (I won't tell you how I behaved but it wasn't pretty!). We'll Gramma you accomplished what you set out to do....
We enjoyed our stay in the land of pyramids but we must be off tomorrow we go back in time to the land of Dinosaurs!

the 60's part II

2010-07-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

more fun pictures from day one of camp for your viewing pleasure..... All the older kids were in charge of one younger kid. Rex is feeling great about this. These are our peaceful protesters. Rex made my favorite sign, it says "heck no we won't I am not going I am good."and the bad guys, we'll call them "the man". Some trippy pictures of our hippies! the babies didn't get to participate much but they made for a great photo opp. Kamryn and Korbi proving that Brown blood runs deep. You guys sure rocked those boots! Nancy Sinatra would be jealous. We LOVED the 60's but can't wait to see what our crazy professor has in store for us tomorrow.

You've come a long way baby!

2010-07-16T20:03:00.001-07:00

Happy 1st birthday Asher! It does not seem possible yet Asher was born a year ago! He is not ready to act like a one year old yet as he does not have any interest in walking (thankfully) or saying any words, he prefers to be hand fed and still loves to be carried. He is such a happy little boy. He loves cruisin around the house looking for his brothers and hoping that they will play with him. He especially enjoys the stairs even though he has fallen down them more than I would care to admit. He loves Rex's blocks, grocery stores, dogs, Winnie the pooh, dancing to music, his blankie, playing in water, he loves to splash but does not want you to splash him, his stuffed dog, watermelon, other babies, his brothers and he is definitely a daddy's boy. Whenever Ryan gets home he shrieks with joy (literally). We are so happy that he is our little boy, he brings sunshine into our home and we could not imagine our lives without our little Asher Lev! Asher 1 month. He was in the 0 percentile (now the 90th)My first try at fondant. Thank heavens for a brother with some talent in the artistic department. Thanks Trevor! I love all the funny faces Asher makes. This is his excited face! Lot's of help opening presents! Enjoying some cake. Asher's first trampoline experience with Grandpa. He was not in love with the idea of it. He would cry when any one would move. Fun right! This is his yelling face. When he doesn't agree with something you are doing (especially tickling him) he will yell at you.

4th of July

2010-07-13T19:18:00.001-07:00

The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday! When I was growing up the last week of June in Eagar all of the stores would start putting flags out front. Then the town would put up all of their banners and flags. My Mom used to tell me it was because it was my birthday. I loved that the whole town celebrated with me. I still do! If you have ever been to Round Valley for the 4th you will know why it is still my favorite holiday. Plus it is like a mini Brown reunion. Enjoy the pics! Every year my mom takes these cute pictures with the flag. It is fun to see the boys change every year. They are still pretty stinking cute. Sorry that your nap time is during pictures Asher.This is the boys first 4th.Rex & da boys (Pace, Bridger & Tuff). Scary bunch especially with Rex in the lead. Waiting for the parade with some cousins.This is the horse they had in memory of Uncle Steven. When a sheriff has passed they put his boots backwards on his saddle.

Asher "enjoying" the parade. & the sirens. The best "float". Papa's 40th class reunion. He is the cute one under the umbrella with the hat on.

It's about Time!

2010-07-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Camp Gramma Luvlee 6 "It's about time". This year we will explore time travel with our fearless leader Gramma Luvlee and her handsome side kick the Professor. Here are some pictures of our first day were we fearlessly went wear no man has been before, (at least not this decade) to the 60's.

Jett enjoying a tye died cupcake.

Asher sporting a fro and looking fabulous.

Cher (Merrill) serenading one of his screaming fans. Sorry Katie!

Sonny & Cher one of our hot bands to join us at our very own Woodstock. Jori you might want to talk to Merrill about crossdressing it seems like I have seen this before with him. I don't think Sonny ever looked so good though.

Doo I diddy diddy dum diddy do!

A little Beatle action for your enjoyment. Rex and Jett doing Yellow Submarine (very well I might add).

Our opening act. No one does Hendrix like Uncle Ryan.

Our little hippie boys! When we arrived in the 60's the boys were too "square" our tour guide made them change their cloths and their names.

Jett-Jewel Stone, Pace-Sunny Fire, Merrill-Crimson Frost, Tuff-Eternal Sand, and Rex-Tranquil Karma. What a proud mamma moment:)

Crimson Haze our tour guide through the 60's

These pictures are backwards but it it all the kids about to depart in the time machine, them arriving in the 60's and their greater "Crimson Haze".

This year we were greeted at camp by none other than....papa. Only he was dressed as the absent minded professor who had just finished his time travel machine and was willing to take us on a trial run but only after we agreed to sign his waver.

There is more of our first day to come (if you know Gramma Luvlee this will not surprise you) but my computer is telling me that I need to give it a break for a bit).

We sure miss having Aunt Jo Jo here. You would have made a great hippie Jor! Love you to pieces (and I am missing the extra dish washer:)).

Aloha!

2010-06-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Much to our boys dismay, Ryan and I left them with his family and went to Maui at the end of May. Rex in an effort to talk us into taking him with us told us that he liked to go to the beach and he liked to snorkel so he should get to go to Hawaii too. Try explaining to your 6 year old why Mom would have more fun without him. Not easy! But we did leave him and Jett and Asher and enjoyed our adult time very much. Since our 10 year anniversary was coming up we didn't feel to bad splurging on the trip and since my cousin LeeAnne and her husband Rhett's anniversary just past we made them come along. They came in super handy when Ryan and I didn't agree on just how long was too long to go snorkeling. Rhett was a great "buddy" for Ryan because they both like to play. Plus they make a cute couple.

So I was in charge of booking the hotel for the trip (Not a good idea as I have a terrible track record with Orbits-just ask Trevor and Elizabeth who stood outside of there hotel for a couple hours on there honeymoon night while we explained to the hotel that I had booked the hotel for the night before...funny now, not funny then. Well in my effort to be cheap I booked the second cheapest hotel (the first being the resort with Gay in the title) and was reminded that the saying "you pay for what you get" should be taken seriously. In my defense there was defiantly some false advertising going on. So if you find yourself wondering if the Aston Maui Lu is a good idea for you please see the following pictures instead of the ones on their web sight. After one night at the Lu we decided it was worth bunking up with the Udall's for a night in order to get into a better place. Everyone was much happier after that.

On our first day of adventure we went on the road to Hana. This is my favorite part of Maui. The road is a 4 hour drive down some crazy ravine that leads to a small town called Hana. It takes so long because you stop along the way at different beaches and waterfalls plus the road is often one lane around turns that you have zero visibility. Here are some of the things we got to see...

cool trees... more cool trees... Ryan swinging from the vines that grew up cool trees... lots of picture ops... this is LeeAnne dreaming of being home were she rules.... super awesome beaches... crazy waves... me proclaiming my love for my Ryan in the black sand... Ryan and Rhett jumping off cliffs... feet on black sand beaches.. my hottie and me ...

A local told us that instead of turning around in Hana and heading back along the same road we should just keep going. She said the road was bad but no biggie. We had a jeep so we went for it! Boy were we sorry! Instead of taking us the 6 hours to make the round trip it took us over 9. This was the same local that gave us 150 dollars to listen to her time share spill. I think she was trying to get even. Her wasted time for ours. Mahalo.

Some pictures from our snorkeling. I will spare you the under water ones we took. We had a 7 hour layover on the big island so we rented a car for the day and headed out to see the sites. Our flight came into Kona which is not the swankiest part of the island. This is us on a beach in Kona. We could not find much to do but it was better than sitting in the airport for the 7 hours. We ended up shopping at a Target to pass time. We were so ready by this point to get back home to see the kids! This is the temple in Kona (who knew there were two temples in Hawaii?). It was so pretty but all locked up for the memorial day holiday. A blast was had by all. I will leave you with this sweet picture of our hubbies showing up the Hula Hunk from our luau. Boy was he surprised!

Barnyard Moosical!

2010-05-17T19:50:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago Rex and Jett had the lead role in their kindergarten classes production of "Barnyard Moosical". Ryan and I were able to secure seats for opening night and we were not disappointed! They stole the show!! I think they might have Broadway in their future. Rex is on the bottom left and Jett on top right

Jett had the important role of cow #8. He said his one line without a hitch and smiled and waved into the audience just like a good little cow should! His Mama was so proud!!and Rex was the one and only flying pig! At first Rex insisted that he would not accept any role beyond just singing with the group but after much coaxing he finally agreed that he would make a fine flying swine....and boy did he. Only he flew so fast I am not sure if most of the audience even knew he was on the stage. My first clue was when I looked at Jett who had his ears plugged (he does this whenever he expects a loud noise or surprise-I don't know who he gets it from :)). I guess when they did the show earlier for the rest of the school Rex's flying pig act caused quite an uproar and Jett didn't want to hear it again. He sure was fast, and cute!!Rex did not want to be seen and tried to hide on the second row until his teacher noticed and made him stand in front where he tried to disappear into the boy next to him. Rex the fast flying pig.

So maybe they are not quite ready for the big stage but we sure thought they were the best!

Easter boys

2010-04-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Since we didn't get to go to church on Easter because of conference I thought I should post how cute my kids Easter outfits were, so I can get my moneys worth:)

Because we were out in nature and in our dress cloths that we had never worn I turned into that scary Walmart mom on my boys during the "shoot". Don't touch that, quit moving, quit talking, don't make me.... you get the idea. It wasn't pretty. I think we made up since after words we went out for dinner (gotta love McDonald's happy meals, they make everything better).

Thanks to our favorite friends for making our picture date a success & thanks to Whitney for taking the only picture that turned out of all three boys.

When I grow up I want to be...

2010-04-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

In March Jori's kids got to come spend a week with us over their Spring Break.

Rex and Jett think that their cousins are the best (and I agree). They are all so special to us and we wanted to tell you why....Merrill

Merrill is the oldest cousin in the Brown family. Even though he is 13 he still treats my boys like friends! Whenever Rex and Jett are with Merrill they are wrestling, playing light sabers, shooting guns or going on adventures. The boys can't wait to be as old as Merrill so that they can be just like him. I am so glad that he is such a good example to us. He is such a nice kid. He is always willing to help his Mom, still kisses his Aunt Mandy, and gives up boy scout camp to come and visit us! We love you Merrill, don't ever change!

Danii

We are all so glad when Danii comes around. She is like having a second mom around for your kids. She is the best babysitter I have ever seen because she plans out the entire night and makes sure the kids have fun! Danii is so much like her Mom, smart, very organized, and loves helping people. The boys love to play with her and I never worry about them when she is with them. She is going to be a great mom someday! We sure love our Danii Girl!

Kamryn

No one can feel sad with Kamryn around. She is the most loving person I have ever met. You can not be in the same room as her without her showing you affection. My boys (who do not like to much affection from most people) can not get enough from her. She is very sincere with everything she does from her sweet letters to her hug and kiss goodnight. She makes you feel loved and I hope she knows just how much we all love her! What would we do without our sweet girl. You are one of a kind Kamryn and I wish I could be more like you. We love you a ton!

Korbi

Anyone who knows Korbi knows what a special person she is. She is so full of life you just smile when you think of her. She can make anyone laugh with just her smile. Everyone needs a Korbi in their family. She completes us! Her and Rex can play make believe for hours and never get sick of each other (if you know Rex, this is quite an accomplishment). Korbi is a joy to be around and I am so grateful for her for bringing such joy into our lives. We love you Korbi Rae!

So Merrill, Danii, Kamryn & Korbi thank you for being such good examples and friends to us. We think you are the best! We love you!

We love AZ winters!

2010-01-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

Having lived in Nebraska for the last three winters we have found a lot of reasons to love Arizona winters. And since I am so far behind on blogging I thought I would sum up our entire winter with a few pics and few of the reasons we love being home!

In January we took the boys on a hike to Usery Pass. It was a short 2 mile hike but the boys loved it. The weather was perfect and Ryan loved playing with our new camera. We have loved being near mountains again and loved it even more when we saw Nebraska's weather report. Sorry Nebraska friends but this is one of the reasons we LOVE Arizona winters!

We made it!

Asher was loving his "hike". Thanks Dad.

In February we went to Saguaro lake on a picnic. We watched birds went on a hike and climbed trees. Our new home is only about 15 minutes from the lake. The second reason we love AZ winters..... we love having picnics in February.

Ryan's Grandparents are some of our favorite people. They are huge card game players and have been known to stay up past midnight if the game is right. They have taught us a lot of our favorite card games like Gitchimigoo and Mormon bridge. They live in Eastland Utah but come to Mesa in the winters. This is our favorite thing about AZ winters!

Rex and Jett think it is so much fun when Grandma and Grandpa come over for games. We were so glad to get to be in Arizona so they could get a chance to get to know them better. They fight over who gets to be on their "team".

Jett loves the dice game 10 thousand. He beat us all. Rex is on Grandma's "team"
Rex practicing being a good looser. You've almost got it buddy!

#4

We have gotten a lot of "park time" in this winter. In fact at least 2 days a week after school the boys and I head to the park to play with some of our favorite friends. Being at the park and our new friends are another reason to love AZ!

Jett making his Daddy proud.Rex and Jett's friend Dallin. Rex and Dallin can dig in the sand for hours.
#5 reason that we love AZ is we love that we are closer to family.
Ryan, Rex and Jett got to go to the drag races with their cousin Luke and his dad.

Even though we have loved our winter this year we all still miss our great Nebraska friends! We won't ever forget all of you and all of our great Nebraska winters. We love you all.

Jett is 6

2010-01-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

It was 6 years ago this week that our sweet Jett was born. He was born in Togliatti Russia which is a small town in Samara. He lived there in an orphanage for 7 months while he waited for his forever family to come. Jett is such a joy in our home. He is the best little boy a mom could ask for. He is so willing to share with his brothers and always has a smile on his face. It is hard to believe that he is already 6 years old. It seems like just barely that Ryan and I got to go and meet him for the first time. I am sure Ryan and I will never forget that first meeting. Not because it went so well but because as soon as Jett saw us he started to bawl and it wasn't until almost an hour (and many cookies) later that he finally calmed down. Boy were we worried! The next month when we went back to get him he was a completely different baby. He was so happy and content. He has been that way ever since (well except for when he was three but that doesn't count). Mom & Dad in Togliatti July 2004 Jett age 1 Jett age 2 Jett age 3 Jett age 4 Jett age 5We love you Jett boy! We are grateful that you are a part of our family. We are thankful to our Heavenly Father for blessing our family with such a good boy. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Rexy Poo!

2009-12-11T09:18:00.001-08:00

Six years ago this week Rex was born in a small town in Russia. He was only 3 pounds 7 ounces but was a true fighter (he still is). Because of the unselfish acts of a young girl we were able to adopt him and make him a part of our eternal family. I often think of that young girl and I have a great love for her and I am grateful for the choice that she made. What would we do without our sweet boy?
From the first time we saw you Dad and I have been in love. You were so happy and smiley, how could we not. We knew from the first time we met you that you were meant to be in our family. What a joy you have been ever since. We love you so much Rex. We love all of the special letters you make us, we love how much you take care of and love Asher, we love that you are a good example of reverence for your younger brothers. You put a smile on our face every day. Thank you for being our little "Roger".

1st birthday 2nd Birthday3rd Birthday4th Birthday5th Birthday6 years old

Thanksgiving with the Brown’s

2009-12-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we thought we would start a new family tradition. It turns out we are not the only ones with this tradition! We had quite the turn out. Funny I thought it would be an intimate little gathering:) I guess Walt's house was the place to be. We were glad we could make it. There were a few things missing....we missed you Jori, Adam, Trevor, Elizabeth, Tuff, Lauren & Katie!

The Johnson's before and after

2009-11-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

I was looking at pictures of Asher when he was born and could not believe what a change he has made, so I thought I would share all of my families "growth".

Asher at 3 weeks when we got to take him home.

Asher today.

Jett In the Togliotti orphanage in Russia.

Rex in Sizran Orphanage in Russia.

This is the first time we met Them. (6 months).....and this is them now. Hard to believe they are the same boys. They sure are handsome.

And so we don't leave any one out and you can all get a good laugh...... this is Ryan and me when we got married.I know we haven't changed much:)

Asher's blessing day

2009-11-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

We finally got to bless Asher last Sunday. It took us so long because every fast Sunday we had something going on. We were so glad that so many of our family and friends got to come down and be with us for Asher's special day.

Julie was nice enough to let us use the outfit that Ryan wore when he was blessed. I think he looked so cute in it.

Ryan got Asher ready and when he got to church his out fit was backwards and inside out. It added personality!

My Mom took these pictures, I think they turned out so good. Thank heavens for our traveling photographer. We think she is kind of neat:).

David Johnson, Chis Hill, Grandpa Johnson, Ryan, Asher, Papa Brown & Trevor. Thanks guys!

This is Asher's 3 generation picture.
We are so grateful for our sweet boy. We are so glad that he is a part of our family. He is such a joy. We love you baby Asher!

Because mullets are no longer in style....

2009-11-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

Not that having a mullet made Asher less adorable, but as the hair person in the family I felt it my responsibility to make sure no male in my home had long flowing hair around his neck. Especially if the said person was bald except for around the neck. And so at 4 months old Asher gets his first hair cut. He was quite a champ about it too, until I started cutting:)

Asher sporting his first mullet.

Before after

Happy Birthday Gramma Luvlee

2009-09-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Gramma! We wish we were with you. Here are some things we love about you.
Rex- "I love when you do nice things for me like letting me get snacks in your drawer I like when you read me books. I like your pirate ship and your bikes."
Jett- "I love when you have camp Gramma Luvlee and take me fishing. I like when she plays with me, I wish she could take me to the store and I wish she could come to our house so we could feed the ducks. I love the letter book she made me."
Mom, I love the good example you are to me of service and charity. When I grow up I want to be just like you. You make my kids feel special and loved. Thank you for all you do for us. We love you and hope you have a happy birthday.

This is Asher's present for you! He loves you too!!

With a little determination, dental floss and Grandpa Johnson...

2009-09-08T16:04:00.001-07:00

When Rex sets his mind to something he is pretty persistent. One of his bottom teeth was a bit wiggly so him and Grandpa Johnson worked on that thing until it came out. I thought using dental floss was just for movies or books but apparently the Johnson's have been doing it this way for years! Works pretty good. Rex is now short one tooth. He looks great.

Jett tried to compete with the excitement and since he couldn't get any of his teeth to budge this was the best he could come up with!

Hi Jori!

2009-08-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Adam bought Jori a sassy new laptop so that she can keep in touch with the fam through the blogging world. Welcome Jor! Love you!

Ready or not.....

2009-08-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Just when you think you have some control over things you always get a reminder that your not the boss. In our case Asher was the boss and our well planned summer was not so smooth, but it was great! Even though it took me 7 weeks to post I do have a good excuse.

Our summer started out right on track. Ryan began studying for the bar and I began the count down for baby. We made a couple trips to the Valley and put an offer in on a house in the Red Mountain area. After many, many phone calls and working numbers over and over we finally were able to get financing figured out and our offer was accepted. We were supposed to close on the 21st of July which would work out perfect for us to move in after Ryan took the bar. I was bummed that I would be 8 months pregnant and not able to help much. Long story shortish, I got flown out of Show Low to the Valley with PIH and was on bed rest for three weeks. Thankfully our families stepped up and helped with the boys (I don't know what we would do without Cassie and Granny-Ryan's mom)Thanks to good friends and family coming to visit the time did not go too slow and I was able to get three more weeks of growing baby in. Asher was born on the 5th of July at 2:57 in the morning. He weighed 4lbs. 2oz. and was 17 inches long. After three weeks in the NICU we got to bring him home (one day before Ryan took the bar). He is doing great and at 7 weeks old weighs 7 pounds and is 20 inches long. We are all in love with him!

Asher chillin in the NICU. His pacifier is bigger than him.

Rex is so in love with his new brother. He was concerned that he looked like an old man when he was born. He loves holding the baby and asks to touch him every few minutes. He is the best big brother.
Jett is glad that his brother is here because he is glad his Mom is out of the hospital. He did not like being away from his Mom and Dad and would say he wanted to go back to Nebraska so we could live together. He can't wait for Asher to grow up so he can teach him baseball.
Asher going home, YEA!!!
Between hours of studying Ryan would take a break to come hold Asher. He could not have squeezed any more into his month.

We could not have made it this summer without our Mom's. Thank You Grandma Luvlee for your three weeks of getting me to and from the hospital, being our picture person and endless hours of sitting in the NICU and thank you Granny for making our boys summer a good one even if they did get a little spoiled and you went a little crazy:)! We love you guys!

We made it!

2009-05-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well after three years of hard work Ryan has graduated (I am only one month late posting). I would have to say that Law school was not easy but also some of the best years we have had. We loved being in Lincoln and meeting such good friends and neighbors. The boys and I are so proud of Ryan and how dedicated he was to his studies. We are glad he is a smarty pants! As much as we will miss Lincoln it it so nice to be back in Arizona and close to family.!

2009-04-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

In order for us to keep in touch with our Lincoln friends we have decided to give in and become members of the "blog world." This is a big step for me since I, up until this point, have been an anti-blogger. Lincoln has been such a great experience for our family. We will always have many fond memories and some of our favorite friends in Lincoln. I plan to post every six months at least.