Christmas pictures as promised!

Another digital slideshow by Smilebox

Ferguson Family Online Auction

The Ferguson family in Mendon lost 2 of their little boys the Sat. before Christmas (2 of their daughters were hurt in the same accident). Their basement flooded that same day! They have no life or medical insurance because they are self employed. Someone here in Cache County has set up an online auction to raise donations for this family. You can bid until midnight on Dec. 31st. They are still accepting donations too. Go check it out. I bid on a few items myself!

http://wwwfergusonfamilyfundraiser.blogspot.com/

Christmas!

**Disclaimer - pictures will come in another post. I still need to download all of them to my computer!

Wow! I can't believe how fast it has all come & gone! Christmas usually lasts for a week after the big day for us because we head south. This year we went south early though so now I'm not quite sure what to do with myself since I didn't have to pack up & leave town first thing this morning!

We went to Manti the weekend of the 18th. We were able to visit with Trav's Grandma & Grandpa Whitlock & most of the Whitlock family on Saturday. Lots of food and presents! It's fun doing white elephant with kids. We let them pick from youngest to oldest and then after everyone opens presents THEN whoever wants to trade can trade. That way there's "No bawlin'!". On the 19th we had Christmas with the Bown clan. I hear there's 58 of us now and 2 more on the way. No wonder we have to have the party at the senior citizen's center! Lots and lots of good food again as well as some fun presents. The kids draw names on this side of the family, so they get to trade presents with cousins. Fun to trade, hard to buy presents sometimes!

After our weekend in Manti we got home and said our good bye's to Travis as he had to head back to work for 2 more weeks. We were glad he got to do Christmas in Manti with us. If he had been working I don't think I would have taken the kids down by myself this year.

We spent Christmas Eve at my mom's house. We just ate lots of food (again...apparently I'm getting pretty good at that!) and had the kids open presents. My poor brother ended up wrapping all the presents and I think it took him & Scott something like 3 hrs of both of them wrapping to get it all done! They wrapped all the presents up and then put them in a big box so it looked like the kids were just getting 1 big box for a present. They were pretty surprised when they opened their big box to a bunch of smaller wrapped presents. They were sure excited. I don't think there was any disappointment at all! Caleb's favorite present was the tractor pillow thing my mom got. That kid has adored that sucker every time we go into JoAnn's (and we go there A LOT) for like 6 months! It was around $25 so I couldn't ever justify buying it. I was SOOO glad my mom got it for him. I'm not sure how glad I am that the sucker makes noise though! We didn't know that when we admired from the store! I was excited to find some cute new baby girl clothes in my big box of presents! They're SO tiny! I had totally forgotten how fun baby girl clothes are! I'll be in trouble when I take Sam shopping now!!

Christmas Day we were allowed to sleep in until 8:30 when Sam woke us and her brothers up. As soon as Caleb saw his 4 wheeler (one he can sit on and ride) he was pretty much not interested in what else there was for him. It was cute! You should have seen his face when he accidently hit the accelerator and ran into the couch! I surprised Travis by having his wedding ring fixed (it was cut off in his accident 3 1/2 yrs ago). I also bought him a new wedding ring (scratch resistant, life time guarantee, titanium, and thicker). I also had my grandpa make him a strap for his acoustic guitar and his gun. Those were his idea, but they turned out amazing and I think he'd kinda forgotten that he asked me about having that done for him. I also bought him a new set of binoculars and a book light (for when he's stuck on the side of the road in a blizzard again!). The kids were super surprised when they opened their new xbox 360. Our playstation2 died a few months ago and they were kinda bummed out because they had just figured out how to play it and we had gotten some kid friendly games at the big Hollywood video sellout. We also got Rock Band Beetles edition. Nash is quite the drummer and Sam is an awesome singer. I tried it for the first time tonight and didn't do too bad on the drums (Caleb was helping though). I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get the guitar to work right (neither could Nash or Sam so I don't feel too stupid). I think once we have the guitar figured out (hopefully we can figure it out on our own without Trav!) the kids and I might have some serious Rock Band wars!

Today was a double whammy of Christmas parties. We were able to go to my Grandpa Maughan's for dinner this afternoon. I've only been lucky enough to hit this party about twice in the 11 1/2 years since we've been married. Grandpa usually does it after Christmas and that's usually when we're in Manti. It was fun to go. Not nearly as many people were there as I had hoped, but it was still fun to see those that were there. I found out that one cousin and his wife are expecting a baby boy on the same day as I am. I also found out that a cousin and his wife are adopting a new baby boy in April. And, another cousin and his wife are expecting in July. My sister and I were talking to Grandpa trying to figure out how many we are in numbers now. We decided after the five babies that are "on the way" we will number about 81. Now that's a lot of Maughans!!

After dinner at Grandpa's we headed over to my aunt's house for another dose of Christmas. I couldn't eat dinner again, but had to sample Grandma's fudge! I think just about everyone was at this Christmas party (only missing one or two). After dinner Grandpa and Grandma gave the great grandkids and grandkids their Christmas presents. Grandma had my cousin Ashlee make calendars for us using pictures of all of us. She even put all the birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and due dates on the calendar! I'm impressed Ash! They turned out super cute! The kids got pillow pets and are using them as they watch a new Scooby Doo movie. I don't think Caleb can fit many more animals in his bed. I'll have to get a picture of that kid tonight. He's in a toddler bed and has around a dozen animals he sleeps with and usually one or two books and a sippy cup! I'm glad he'll be in the double bed when he moves downstairs with his brother instead of just the twin! Of course, the twin would even be a step up from what he's got now! I just don't know how the heck that kid even fits in his bed with all those critters!

Travis had to leave to head back to work at 11 am today. It was a bummer, but we weren't even sure if he'd be home for Christmas so the fact that he got about five extra days off (with pay) was a nice surprise! We are glad he'll only be gone a week this time. Unfortunately, he will miss Sam performing at the USU half time on Wednesday this week. Fortunately, he will be home when Sam gets her tonsils out on Jan. 6th! Samantha was able to feel her sister this past week too! On Christmas Eve Trav and I were watching a movie and he had his hand on my belly. Brookelyn was kicking like crazy and his hand was in the right place but he said he couldn't feel it. I'm sure he'll feel it next time. That girl is doing gymnastics in there just like Sam used to! The night Sam felt her kick I asked Nash if he wanted to feel his sister. He looked at me with this funny look on his face and said "No!". So I rephrased it thinking he might have misunderstood. I asked "You don't want to feel the baby?" I got that funny look again and he said "No!". When I was telling Trav about it later he asked me if it was the "That's the stupidest question anyone has ever asked me" look. That described it perfectly!! It cracked me up to see his face though. He was always excited to feel Caleb kick so I thought he'd want to feel Brookelyn. I guess the Iron Man 2 movie was more exciting!! Shows how much I know!

No plans for New Year's Eve yet. I'm sure it will involve food whatever we do! We're good at that part of parties! Hope you had a great holiday!

The Ultrasound...

Well, apparently my pictures didn't scan very well. Oh well, we'll make do!

1-The first picture is of the feet crossed.

2-The second picture is a bum shot so you can see if it's a boy or a girl.

3-The last picture is of the heart and the heartbeat.

Basically, Brookelyn has 10 fingers and 10 toes! Yes, Samantha FINALLY gets a sister! She couldn't be happier. We'll see how long that feeling lasts when she isn't the center of attention anymore!

Bown Family Pictures 2010

This digital slideshow generated with Smilebox Thanks again to Shalise for taking these! We love them lots & are excited to print them!

Our Weekend at a Glance

Saturday:

1-Go to Hyrum's Holiday at the Hardware - check.

2-Visit Santa and have mom's head chopped off in the photo - check

3-Wait in line to go on a sleigh ride to "see Santa's elk" - check

4-After waiting in line for 20 minutes and moving 3 feet give up and decide to come back another day with dad - check.

5-Finish 12 of 18 rows on a levi quilt - check.

6-Sell something on my etsy website - check.

7-Sell an apron & 2 bags to a friend - check.

8-Make 3 trips to Logan when I wasn't planning on making any trips at all - check.

9-Tuck all 3 kids in bed at 10:30 pm and NOT have a single one get out of bed - CHECK!!

10-Stay up until 2 am working on sewing projects - check.

11-Make 3 more goodies for the Christmas plates for neighbors - check.

Sunday:

1-Wake up to Nash croup coughing - check.

2-Wake up to 2 children and a dog in my bed - check.

3-Watch Drake & Josh's Holiday Show with kids - check.

4-Bake for 3 hours straight and not finish the Christmas baking - check.

5-Wonder why on Earth Caleb keeps striping down and running through the house like a wild streaker man - check.

6-Kill a batch of Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes - check.

7-Do a few batches of laundry but don't get it put away - check.

8-Decide to bake "just one more" Christmas treat at 9 pm - check.

9-Get a bunch of stuff ready to mail tomorrow - check.

10-Wrap Sam's teacher present for her to take to school tomorrow - check.

11-Be super excited about my ultrasound tomorrow - CHECK!

Sarah's Key

I just finished reading Sarah's Key last night. This was a book I inherited from my aunt. I love reading historical fiction and I thought I'd read quite a bit about WW2 (it's my favorite time period because of all the interesting politics that were going on). Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book dealt with something that happened in France in 1942 that I had read (and known) NOTHING about! It was a super good book. I was about 1/2 way through it when I laid down to read last night. I couldn't put it down (surprise) and finished it at 2:04 am!

Things you should know before you read this book:

1-There were quite a few French names of people & places (glad I took French for 3 out of 4 of my high school years!), but I was able to decipher them well enough to understand what was going on.

2-It deals with a part of the Holocaust that occurred in France. The reason I think you should know this is that not everyone can deal with that (it was harder for me this time - maybe because I'm pregnant?). What was especially heart wrenching was the description of what happened to the little children. (It was told from the point of view of a 10 yr. old girl.)

3-There are a few cuss words (not too bad though).

4-I found the attitude of the French citizens toward what happened difficult to understand. So many people are knowledgeable about the events of the Holocaust and are sensitive to them. The author portrayed the French citizens as totally indifferent to what happened to the French Jews- both in 1942 and in current day. That bothered me. Not that they were indifferent in 1942, I can understand that, but their indifference to what happened today.

Anyway, it was a great book and I'd highly recommend it. If you want to borrow it, just let me know!

Festival of the Trees

Before I tell you about the Festival of the Trees, I must say how thoroughly happy I am that my 5 year old SON will play Barbies with my 7 year old DAUGHTER. In fact, he was perfectly content to play Barbies by HIMSELF while she was busy doing homework! How awesome is that? Not necessarily that he plays Barbies, but that he plays with his big sister so willingly and at HER choice of playing!

Last night Samantha danced at the Festival of Trees with her dance group, LaShar's. I had never been before, so I had no idea what to expect. I know it's a fundraiser for Primary Children's Hospital (which holds a special place in my heart), but that's about it.

I learned that they have AMAZING gingerbread houses that are put up for sale. Can you even imagine creating this sucker?!
They also had quilts, center pieces, wreathes, and trees of all shapes and sizes that had been decorated and placed for sale. I think I might try and find out how to donate items to be sold for next year.

The entire Expo Center was decorated beautifully...
This is Sam all costumed, make up'd and ready to go...

Her group, Dyna-kids...
Getting ready for a practice run...
The entire group of LaShar's girls that performed...
They also have a "kids corner" at Festival of Trees. You buy tickets (3/$1.00) and then the kids can do different activities with their tickets. I bought Sam $5 worth of tickets (so 15 tickets). She got her face tattooed, made a stained glass ornament, painted a plaster ornament, visited the giving tree, made some sand layering (that got shook up and is not a beautiful assortment of colors instead of the nice even layers), oh and she made a reindeer light bulb ornament too.
This tree made of lights was out in the foyer. It was HUGE!
She did great and had fun. I videoed her dances but it is taking FOREVER to try and load them. Perhaps I'll try that again another day!

Winter Fun

Personalize your own picture slideshow

A job, a job!

Today I had 2 job interviews. One job interview was for an ESL aide at South Cache 8-9 center. The other job was at the Valley Montessori pre-school. I interviewed for the job at South Cache at 11 am. I was done in about 20 minutes. At 12, they called and offered me the job! I still interviewed at the Montessori school (I thought it might be afternoon hours). I still have a job interview scheduled at 1:15 at Ellis Elementary tomorrow. I think I'm going to cancel that job. It's not really worth driving to Logan for 2 hrs of work at about $9/hr.

So, my new job should be exciting. I realized when I was at the 8-9 center I hadn't been there since I was in 8th grade (like 15-16 years ago). Wow, that made me feel old! The principal there was the vice principal when I was there in 8th grade. Finally I will be working for a MAN principal! Perhaps things will go better this time (considering the last 3 principals I had were women!).

I will be working with 2 (yes, TWO) students. Let me rephrase that. I will be working with 2 students, but 1 on 1. A teacher's dream come true I think! One of these students recently arrived from Guatamala and doesn't speak English, just Spanish (sounds familiar to my teacher brain). The other student recently arrived from Canada and doesn't speak English, just French (I knew there was a reason I took French all 4 years of high school!). There is actually a curriculum for me to use this time (not like when I was working over in Brigham or teaching English to construction workers). I'm hoping that the curriculum won't seem so juvenile to the students this time (last year was ROUGH because the curriculum was geared more towards beginner English speakers or to be used like a reading curriculum). I will only work for 1.5 hrs a day (9:30-11:00). This means that both of my boys will be in daycare, but, I think what they're paying me will work out fine. Of course, I don't have to figure in 30 min. (or even 2 hrs) travel time per day either, so that helps!

I am excited because this will at least keep me in a classroom working with students. It will also allow me to be home with my kids (no parent teacher conferences, after school "stuff", grading papers, curriculum planning, etc.).

And, to top it all off, since I will be under 40 hrs and less than 30% of my weekly unemployment check, I still qualify for my unemployment. So, this is like extra money in my pocket. Ah the benefits of joblessness!