Christmas Day

Santa came! Look at what he brought us! All of these toys...

an itchy bum for the Giggies...

a strange, puffy eye for William...

and the flu for mommy. I spent the day feverish, with body aches, and a terrible sore throat, but we made it through. The boys had a great time opening presents, and playing with them the rest of the day. Josh was gracious enough to let me sleep much of the day. I learned something this year. Will is now old enough that if he puts something on his Christmas list for Santa, he fully expects that it will be under the tree. This year he only asked for one thing (aside from the chimney of course) and that was a remote control monster truck. He didn't get a remote control monster truck. He did get a regular monster truck, but one you had to push yourself. Every present that Josh went to hand him he would say, "No, not that one. That's not the right size for the remote control that goes with my monster truck." Thankfully, the racing motorcycles he got seemed to make up for the HUGE disappointment of Santa's obvious mistake. Isaac on the other hand only asked for one thing too--a remote control dump truck. He just kind of copied Will. He didn't get it either, but that didn't matter, because nearly every present he opened was followed by, "This is just what I wanted!" I'll appreciate that while it lasts, because pretty soon Santa will be held to much stricter standards...nice try St. Nick, you better get it right next year!

Christmas Eve

Will, proudly displaying the cookies and note he made for Santa.
The boys sporting their new Christmas pj's that Santa's elf left on the doorstep for them

Me and Josh, thankful that it is finally bed time

The holiday buzz was brimming in the Brown home on Christmas Eve. I'm pretty sure that I was completely sick of my kids by about 10:00 that morning with all of the Christmas excitement that couldn't help but present itself by way of obnoxious running, silly potty talking, and excessive bickering, but what is Christmas with kids without these things, right? Bring on Santa, let's do this thing!

First, we have a little bit of a problem...

We had our ward Christmas party last Saturday. It was a crazy day. From the moment I woke up until I was finally able to lay down I was on the go. I remember walking into the party and thinking, why doesn't everyone else look more frenzied?! Then I remembered, that only I had to make a bizillion candy "wreath" necklaces for the primary, come up with a craft for them to do, prepare the song that I was supposed to sing and play for the program, and make a dessert before we got there. Thankfully, it all went fine. As you can see from the picture below, Santa made an appearance. I asked Will if he talked to Santa, because I didn't see if he did or not, and luckily, Sis Givich caught this priceless moment on camera for me.



Their interaction went as follows:

Santa: Hello! Have you been a good boy?
Will: Yes. I've been good, but FIRST we have a little bit of a problem.
Santa: What's that?
Will: I have been asking my mom to take me to the flower store (Menard's-that's where we buy our flowers in the summer time) because we don't have a chimney, and I thought we could pick one up there, but she keeps saying "No". I keep telling her that you need the chimney, but she's not listening to me! So, first, I want a chimney.
Santa: (chuckles to himself)
Will: Then, I want a remote control monster truck.

I'm almost positive that even if Santa brings the remote control monster truck, that there will still be an element of let down Christmas morning when Santa didn't listen to him either!

Alive and Multiplying!

It seems I've taken a blogging hiatus. I lost steam. Stuff has been happening. Lots of stuff, but if I were to worry about addressing even any of it, I'm pretty sure that I would close this post now, and put away the computer...way too daunting! So instead, we'll start fresh with today's events.

I had an ultrasound. Many of you are thinking...what?! Oh yeah, I'm pregnant. 20 weeks to be exact. The baby is healthy and strong and looking great, and the best part--it's a girl!!

New Jersey

We have friends who are in the air force and are currently stationed at Ft. Dix in New Jersey. It was so fun to be able to include them in our trip. Aside from them being kind enough to let us invade their home, they also gave us a relaxing beach day which is exactly what was needed. The kids had a blast playing in the water, but nobody had more fun than these two!

In between Boston and New Jersey, Will turned 5

We decided that although, his birthday fell on one of our driving days that we needed to do something to acknowledge it, so we stopped off in New Haven, Connecticut (scariest stop by far) and ate this little, yucky birthday cake at a park. When we got back home Will wanted to have a family bowling party, and party we did! Happy 5th, little Will.

Gillette Stadium

I know there are many Patriots haters out there, but we are not one of them, and we couldn't possibly drive through Massachusetts without stopping by Gillette Stadium to see where the action takes place.

Come on, Already!

Boston Temple--stunning!

For me being able to visit some new temples was the best part of this road trip. Hopefully, we'll make enough money one day to go to some of the really exotic ones! This temple is stunning, and really very big. We met in the chapel before the session began, and the temple worker greeting us in the chapel was asking us all kinds of questions to which I just sat with a dumb smile of my face through all of them, because I couldn't understand anything he was saying. His was the most extreme Boston accent I heard while there.

Thanks to Pam and Norm for helping out with our kids so we could enjoy this together, and for convincing me that we absolutely could do residency in Boston--I think it would be awesome!

Boston!

Of all of our stops, our trip to Boston was hands down, the winner! One of the coolest cities I have ever been too. For those of you who know me well, realize that means almost nothing, because I am not well traveled, so take this with a grain of salt, but it was by far my favorite place on the whole trip.
Unfortunately, I am too lazy to post these pictures in any real order, so jumbled will have to work.

This was possibly the most exciting thing that the boys did the whole vacation. This is us riding the 'T' (Boston Subway). We didn't really need to ride it, but Josh was sure that this would be worth it for the boys and it was! They loved it. I would have loved it had the train not got fuller with each stop, forcing me to stand, holding our TWO strollers, which trust me, no seasoned subway rider appreciates you having on a train, while extra ripe armpits were waved in my face by my fellow, sweaty riders. That's just the kind of mom I am though, I'll take a sweaty pit in the kisser if it means my boys are full of joy.

One of the benches along the "freedom trail". If you have never been to Boston or if you have, but have never walked this trail, be sure to do it. Even with kids, and not having a ton of time to read about each place, it was well worth it. It takes you through some of the coolest places in Boston.

Josh on the one of the Navy ships.

Street performers at Faneuil Hall.

Quincy Market

Bunker Hill Monument. You can climb to the top of that tower, and we did, when I say we, I mean I did while carrying what felt like all 200lbs of Giggies on my back because he was "too sweaty", and then poor Josh did it twice. There are 294 narrow, windy steps that coil to the top. I had headed up with Giggies, and yelled to Josh to join us as we headed in. At about step 250 I heard Josh behind me offering to take Giggies. I replied, "oh no, that's ok, you have Will" Josh's quick response, "no I don't" WHAT?! Neither of us had Will, so down Josh went to find Will. Anyone who knows us and knows Will is not surprised by this story. He was safe and sound at the bottom with a friendly park ranger keeping him company. Some kid's parents!

Me teaching Will the story of Paul Revere. He loved it, and now affectionately refers to him as a hero.

Us in the Boston Common, with part of the city skyline behind us.

We have a ton more pictures that we took while in the city, but too many to blog about. Before visiting there when Josh would bring up the possibility of a move there someday, I was sure the answer was a firm NO. If we had the funds, I would go in a heartbeat. I heart Boston.

Palmyra

It has actually taken a lot longer for me to blog about this trip than it did to do it, but I have had zero motivation to blog, so...without further adieu, I present Palmyra.
Like our previous church history stop (Kirtland) our boys proved to be quite predictable at being total turds on the tours, so any tours we did, were done separately, but I'm still glad we got to see it, nonetheless.

The monument at Hill Cumorah.

Both Josh and I thought it would have been cooler to see the actual hill, instead of this big statue. I suppose it is just easier to picture Joseph digging up the plates that way, but apparently, the church didn't find it necessary to consult us on this matter.
The Grandin Print Shop, where the Book of Mormon was first published. Josh thought this tour was fantastic, until I brought the boys in and ruined it all.

The incredible Palmyra Temple. This temple is stunning, and was by far the highlight of my experience in Palmyra. It was so nice to be able to do a session while we were there.

Doors to the temple. You can't see it well, but all of the doors and windows in this temple are stained glass, resembling the Sacred Grove.

Josh and Turd 1, and Turd 2

Main Street in Palmyra. I fell in love with this little town.

Me at the temple. Sometimes when I type captions like that I feel like I am just being insulting, to you, the reader, as if you couldn't interpret that yourself.

This beauty is what we called home while in Palmyra. I use beauty loosely, although you would never know it by the boy's reaction to all of the trash holes that we stayed in. Josh and I would walk in with noses upturned at whatever funky smell each room emitted, while the boys excitedly ran around screaming, "This room is the best! I love this place! It has a bed, and...OH! a drawer, and...look over there! two hangers!" Foolish children.

Overall, Palmyra was beautiful. The drive through upstate New York has got to be one of the prettiest stretches of land in the whole country. This place comes highly recommended.

Vacation--Part 2:Niagra Falls

After our day in Kirtland, we were on our way to our next scheduled stop in Palmyra. Upon further inspection of the GPS, Josh realized that we were SO "close" to Niagra Falls, so we had to go. This is Josh. He is willing and quite enjoys a bit of spontaneity, as do I in controlled settings, but being on the road with two volatile boys in the back seat does not count as controlled for me. However, in the spirit of true road-tripping, and held back my initial reaction to scream "NO! think of all the things that could go wrong" and simply said, "OK".

Things were going along fine until we realized that we weren't sure exactly what exit to get off of to reach the falls, and then things started getting a little stickier when we saw a sign that said 3 miles to the Canadian border. With this sign came 3 miles worth of traffic that was sitting at a complete stand still. Here is something I learned: if you are really trying to catch the spirit of a road trip, then it is important that your posture and sounds remain in sync with such spirit. Here is an example of what not to do: Upon seeing that you are 3 miles from entering a new country that you do not want to be in, and never wanted to even be in this situation in the first place, do not angle your body away from the "spontaneous" person who the idea in the first place, while crossing your arms, and letting out a sigh. This is to be interpreted as a "bad attitude", thus resulting in a sour mood for all parties.

After my quick realization, I was sure to praise Josh for his great idea of taking us to the falls after we got there. They really were amazing, and completely worth the extra time and effort.

next stop, Palmyra.

The Vacation--part 1

We have been home for a few days now, and I've been too intimidated by all of the pictures we took on vacation to blog. Baby steps.

When Josh and I were planning this vacation I was skeptical to say the least that it would be 1) any fun and 2) that it would actually happen. We were, after all, taking our kids who, since birth, have been notoriously crappy car riders. It didn't seem like the recipe for fond, family memories, but I can now say with more certainty than ever before, that miracles do happen. It can be added to the list right after "with few loaves the multitudes were fed"..."the Brown boys were incredibly well behaved in the car---the WHOLE time!"

Those teeny tiny people are us, sitting on the steps of the Kirtland Temple

This is how Isaac and Will passed the time waiting for Josh to get out of his temple tour. We realized very quickly that although the boys were shockingly good in the car, they really were still themselves, and the historic tours offered for these sites did little to hold their attention. If we (meaning Josh and myself) wanted to get anything out of this trip, we would have to do the touring solo--so we did.

We first went to the sites that our church owns and operates, and then to the tour of the temple that is owned by the Community of Christ Church (formerly known as RLDS). It was a bizarre feeling to be in the building where so many miraculous things happened at it's dedication, just to feel like it is really only a shell of itself now. It was a little sad for me.

Picture of us at the visitor's center

Newel K. Whitney store.

More to come!

Day 1 Eve

We just returned from a vacation that I swore that I would never do with kids, especially my kids--but, 9 days, 9 states, 2600 miles, $100 in tolls, and 2 birthdays later, we are back! Interestingly enough, it was an awesome time.

As most of you know, Josh and I have had a 1990 4-Runner since we have been married. It has been good to us, and although old, we both really liked it. The kids were attached, so much so, that at the mere mention of possibly getting a different car, it sent both of them into hysterics. The only way we could convince Will that maybe a new car wouldn't be the end of the world was when we told him that a new car could go faster and pass other cars on the road better than the 4-Runner did. So, on a whim (quite literally) and thanks to Cash-4-Clunkers we traded in our 4-Runner and got our brand new car.

We sealed the deal on the car purchase the day before we left on our road trip. I think that it made a big difference in how comfortable the driving portion was.

On behalf of the whole family, though, we bid our beloved 4-Runner adieu. You were a special car, in fact, maybe even one of a kind. We bought you 7 years ago for $4200 and traded you in for $4700. That just doesn't happen. You will be missed.