find joy in the journey

mission weekend #1

In 2004 we had quite an exciting spring/summer.  Between our two families we had 2 mission farewells, and 2 weddings.  All in the space of 2 months.  Well, here we are two years later and the missionaries are coming home.  And another one will be leaving.  So right now we're in the middle of three mission farewells and homecomings in the space of 5 weeks.  Here my story begins with mission weekend #1.

We just returned this evening from Scott's parent's home.  Randy returned from the Sacramento California Mission -- Cambodian speaking.  It's such a cool experience to see a missionary come home.  All the family anxiously awaiting the moment when he emerges from the plane.  There weren't any balloons & banners for this occasion, but lots of hugs & smiles. 

In true missionary fashion they were the absolute last ones off the plane

Randy's the one on the right

banners & balloons waiting at home

The Browns have been in missionary mode for the past 11 years.  4 boys = 4 missions.  So now that era has come to an end.

So I'd love to give a synopsis of our weekend, but realizing it's been a long day and I'm in no condition to write in paragraphs or even full sentences, you're getting a list.  Here are the highlights.

• 36 holes of golf for Scott
• Brian & Rachel (Scott's brother & sister-in-law) joined the party all weekend
• World of Warcraft was the gift Scott handed Randy when he got off the plane.  They spent Friday morning installing it on Randy's new laptop, and then the gaming began.
• watching the base jumpers leap off the Perrine Bridge.  Over the weekend one lady died, another was near death in the ICU after his parachute didn't open & he landed in the mud, and a couple others were also injured.  Not a very smart hobby.
• Grammer spoiled the boys by playing game after game with them -- pop-up pirate, connect four, yahtzee, let's go fishing, buckaroo, penguin shuffle, don't break the ice.  The adults also played some games:  Loot, Pinochle, and practicing the proper grammar for Touch My Monkey (don't ask, it's a waaay inside joke). 
• Anna looking "cherry cute" in her new Old Navy shirt.  Just look at those fangs!
• A triple date on sat. night -- me & Scott, Brian & Rachel, Randy & a girl.  Yes, we got him to ask a girl out.  Went to see "The Da Vinci Code", then Churros at home.
• Scott & Brian sang "Quiet Grove" in sacrament meeting.  They did a fantastic job.
• Conner made quite an impression in Primary.  Standing out in the hall I could hear him singing "Scripture Power" above the rest of the group.  After the 1st verse he said, "but we need to sing the second verse."  When the song ended he exclaimed, "wow, I did a great job!" and had everyone laughing.  Good thing his papa is the bishop.
• And trips to the park

surprises, and more surprises

Surprise #1

Last night I threw Scott a surprise 30th birthday party.  He had absolutely no clue and in the end that's what he was kicking himself the most about.  He thought we were just going on a date night with some friends.  But when we arrived at the pizza restaurant in town he was greeted by a room full our friends dressed as pirates and a big "arrgghhh!!" from the group.  When it comes to a having a party I have a really hard time passing up a good theme.  We ate pizza & a ton of cinnamon sticks, played Pop-Up Pirate, and had a good time visiting.  For Scott, who stated to me specifically that he did not want a surprise party, I have to think this one was relatively painless.  But I did have to promise that I will never do anything like it ever again.

Surprise #2

After 3 years and 3 months of service I was released from my calling as a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency today.  The whole presidency was released and I'm kind of anxious to see where they'll put me next.  I don't imagine I'll get too much of a break.  But after hosting 104 play groups at the church, 77 presidency meetings, 37 enrichment nights, and 3 super saturdays it is a break I'm going to enjoy!

astoria

we just returned from a couple nights spent in Astoria.  Scott had been working there this week, so we decided to join him for part of the week.  Reminded me of the days when Conner was a baby and we would follow Scott on his business trips back east for 2 or 3 weeks at a time -- living in the hotels, eating out every night, and sight-seeing on the weekends.  But this trip was quite different.  With 3 kids bouncing off the walls, I could barely handle the day and a half we were there.  Cartoon network was on A LOT, Anna didn't get any naps because of the commotion, and a hotel room with 4 people in it gets very small very quickly.

On Thursday I was able to get the boys out of the hotel for about 4 hours.  We had lunch, tracked down a children's museum, watched the ships on the river, and back to Burger King for milkshakes.  I've posted a photo album in the left side bar with many of the pictures from our little adventure.  The children's museum wasn't much more than a room filled with toys, but it was absolutely perfect for our purposes -- giving the kids a place to play.  We stayed for 2 hours and we were the only ones there the entire time. 

You might notice partway through the photos that Payton is suddenly sporting a giant knot on his forehead.  He was so excited about the dinner he was "cooking" for me, and as he ran to go tell Conner all about it he slipped on a rug and slammed his forehead onto the train table.  I found some ice and he was back in action in 10 minutes.  It wasn't until later that I realized what a disaster this could have been.  He's so lucky that he didn't split his head open (he's got a black & blue line to show the impact).  I could just picture myself sitting there with Payton, bleeding profusely, trying to figure out how to get to an urgent care center with Conner, the bleeding child, and 7 1/2 month old Anna.  I was definitely experiencing one of those tender mercies.   

Here's a couple favorites:

(I like this picture (above) because it captures all three of them doing their own little thing)

All in all it was a nice trip, and nice to be with Scott.  I think he really appreciated having someone to come home to.  And I appreciated a break from cleaning!

finally published

There's a crazy story behind this one, but I have a recently published scrapbook layout to share.

   

(It's of Payton, if you're wondering).  I submitted this page to Scrapbooks, Etc. in response to a call for a baby idea book.  They asked for my layout and I sent it to them (prepare yourself) in . . . . September 2004.  A month later I received my check in the mail.  Six months passed and I hadn't heard anything about this special baby issue coming out.  (Six months is the typical turnaround from submitting a page to seeing it in print, so I hadn't worried up until this point).  Through the help of the Two Peas message board I was able to track down an e-mail of someone at Scrapbooks, etc., sent an inquiry, and was told the baby issue had been pushed out to spring 2006.

I'm glad that the layout did actually get published.  Although as I'm flipping through the book the style & products of my layout look a bit out-dated next to many of the other pages.  Scrapbooks, etc. actually re-issued a call for baby layouts for this particular issue not too long ago.  Oh well, I guess all that matters is that I got my layout, I got my money, I got my name in print, and a free idea book to boot.

bubblator

because I know you are all dying for an update . . . here's the bubblator in action.

mother's day

okay, I hope the fuzziness of this picture doesn't make you too dizzy, but it was the best one we could get on Sunday morning.  Once I got Scott to turn on the flash the boys decided to practice every facial contortion in the book.

So my mother's day was wonderful.  It actually began on Saturday night -- Scott took us all out to dinner at Chili's.  And I have to say that I cannot fathom 3 more perfectly behaved children at a restaurant.  Scott and I kept looking at each other thinking, "is this for real?"  Of course it did help that Payton fell asleep 5 minutes before arriving at the restaurant -- he spent most of the meal in a post-nap zombie state.

On Sunday morning the boys woke me up with a bag full of presents.  I'm always anxious to see what they have come up with each Mother's Day.  Scott takes them to the store and basically sets them free to pick out whatever they want for mom.  He does give them a little direction, but most of the time the boys have a pretty good idea of what they want to get mom for mother's day.  So here's the loot:

First of all, don't you love the Disney Princesses gift bag?  Payton chose to include Starburst -- good pick.  Conner picked out the Bubblator -- Scott says he was sure this was just what I wanted.  And Anna got me a new memory card for my camera -- she was definitely on my good list.

Nothing too exciting happened the rest of the day.  Oh, my hair dryer died 5 seconds into drying my hair -- hence, the pony tail for church.  Scott assumed dishes duty.  Conner sang with the Primary in church and I got 3 potted flowers.  Scott corralled the boys so I could have some alone/quiet time in the afternoon.  And for some reason I was feeling in the crafty mood and completed a floral centerpiece for my dining table, a cute flower & votive candle project, and two scrapbook layouts.  I have to say that it was a good day.

Today we are expecting temps in the 90's (that's way above normal for this time of year).  I'm sure we'll bust out the Bubblator this afternoon.  Yesterday our new neighbors were moving in and the boys planted themselves at the open window yelling & waving "hi."  Payton made sure to say, "hi, we have a bubblator!"  On the to-do list:  balance checkbook, laundry, vacuum, make banana bread, and go to Walmart to get a hairdryer.  Check-marks so far:  grocery store, blogging.  I need to get busy!

I feel pretty

Yesterday was quite a day.  A lot of chaos and a lot of time-outs. 

Around 5:30 I was trying to get ready for Enrichment, in a hurry, and waiting for Scott to get home to make the hand-off.  So I was putting my dress on in the bedroom when Conner asked, "where are you going?"  I told him I was going to a meeting at church. 

Then somewhat sheepishly he says, "Are you going to look pretty for your meeting?" 

I asked, "Do you think I look pretty?" 

"Yes."  And then he comes over and gives me a hug around my waist.

Totally melt-my-heart cute!

banana cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease & flour a 9x13 pan.

Cream together:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix together & add:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 cup sugar

Beat for 3 minutes.  Bake for 35 minutes.

Banana Cake Frosting (here's where it gets good)

Don't begin making this until the cake is completely cooled

• Melt 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan.  Add 1 cup brown sugar -- cook for 2 minutes
• Add 1/4 cup milk.  Bring to full rolling boil.  Take off heat.
• Add 2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar & beat until smooth spreading consistency.
• Spread onto the cake right away (the frosting will set as it cools)

My favorite way to eat banana cake is to heat it up in the microwave for about 20 seconds -- just until the frosting gets a little soft.

quiet afternoon

Yesterday we had a very quiet afternoon.  And this is why.  When Anna takes her afternoon nap the boys also have quiet time -- they get to pick a movie and they're supposed to sit quietly and watch it.  That rarely happens.  They are usually bugging me every 10 minutes for a snack (which I always remind them, "snack is at 3:00", but no one seems to remember that), or they end up running, jumping all over the family room.  But yesterday I was working on odds & ends in my bedroom, thinking that the boys were being very good.  So when I went out to check on them the fact that Payton was zonked out on the couch wasn't too much of a surprise.  Thank you Payton.

Nothing too big has been going on here.  Scott now has to mow the lawn every couple days -- it's growing like crazy and sooo green.  This time of year our yard definitely looks it's best.  Then we look over the fence and have to laugh at the ridiculously long grass in our neighbor's yard -- seriously 18 inches tall (or more), it's a jungle.  They sold their house a few weeks ago and have since let it all go to pot.  Feel bad for the new guys.

I'm slowly approaching the bottom of my project to-do list -- but still in the thick of it.  A big checkmark was my RS lesson on Sunday.  Hoping to put my dining room together this weekend (I think I mentioned redecorating it back in April -- I've got the stuff, but it's sitting in a pile in my bedroom).  Other items include:  room-by-room spring cleaning/de-junking; a couple scrapbook albums; and start on the Heritage Makers storybooks I purchased in March. 

Oh, and tomorrow is Scott's 30th birthday!  Looks like we'll just have a quick celebration though, because an hour after he gets home he has to go to Scouts.  He asked me to make Bacon Chowder for dinner and we'll have the traditional Banana Cake -- it's been his birthday cake of choice since he was 8 or 9.  It's really good.  Maybe I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

oh yes, oh yes, it's springtime

(for moms of Little Einsteins fans, you're sure to recognize the above title.  Right now listening to Payton sing along with "little totem pole listen, here we come to save you."  So cute!)

We have been enjoying some really nice weather off and on over the last few weeks and it feels so good to be outside.  These warm days have taken us to the park quite a bit.  The boys love it there.  Yesterday they decided they were secret agents and went on a search for "the perfect tree".  The picture taking went like this, "1, 2, 3, freeze!"

Glad I brought along my camera because it became the perfect opportunity to take some pics of Anna in the shade.  I picked up her little Carter's summer dress at Costco this weekend -- can't beat their 5.49 prices anywhere.  I just thought she looked like the cutest little thing.

it's official

We're going to Hawaii!  The hotel reservations are made and the countdown has begun.

It has now become our tradition to take a trip away (just Scott and I) very soon after the baby is weaned.  After Payton we went to Las Vegas. Now that we are the parents of three kids, we decided that we needed something a little bigger.

I'm already dreaming of 6 days and 5 nights of sunny Hawaiian bliss!

If you've been to Maui before, I'd love to hear your list of "must see, must do" activities.