Gettin' Down in Brown Town

Orson Hyde Park and the Garden of Gethsemane

2009-12-30T07:36:00.001-08:00

The architecture at this center is phenomenal. I decided to try my hand at a few family pictures. Tami Webb and John Merrell - where are you?

These are olive trees in the area where Christ suffered.

Its Adam in the Garden of Eden... Oh, I mean its SuperSam in the Garden of Orson Hyde Memorial taking some personal time.

Sunset on our walk...

In the Orson Hydge Memorial Garden on our way to the Olive Garden.

And we made it home just in time to take a picture from our room... out on the patio. This is what we wake up to and go to sleep with every morning and night.

December 23: Masada, Dead Sea, Ein Gev and Dead Sea Scrolls

2009-12-30T04:42:00.000-08:00

Yes! Can you believe it? This is what we crammed into one day last week:

First, we took a cable car up to this flat Mesa where Masada is. For anyone that doesn't know, Masada is your typical death camp back in the days of Herod. King Herod built this impenetrable fortress against the Romans. 80 years after Christ's death, a group of religious Jews came to protect themselves against the onslaught of the Roman's. It worked pretty well because NO ONE could get up to the top without being knocked down. But the Romans figured if they used Jewish slaves to build a ramp up to the top, the Jews on top wouldn't kill the slaves. So instead, the up-top Jewish clan drew lots and one by one murdered each other rather than have the Romans get their way. Lovely little story that seems to be every Hebrew child's early-on education.

King Herod's Palace Room.

Kimberly, you absolutely would have died. The railings were treacherous and painfully easy for little bodies to slip through the bottoms and down the drop to their death. Definitely not crib safe.

Next, we cooled off by floating in the nearby Dead Sea:There is so much salt that no one can sink. Its 30% salt as opposed to the ocean which is 7%.

With all of that salt, you can imagine what little bodies think when their heads accidentally end up in the water. Needless to say, Sam was done with the Dead Sea before I even had a chance to get in.

Swimming in the Dead Sea doesn't feel too great when you get out. So Kent took us to Ein Gedi -- a desert oasis in a canyon -- where King David is said to have fled from King Saul. There was wildlife everywhere and a nice, muddy, freezing, natural spring (complete with crabs) that we were desperate enough to all jump into and rinse off.

Las but not least, we stopped at the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found:In this cave, scrolls were found that are linked to Moses in the Pearl of Great Price.

and that was our day!

Christmas Day

2009-12-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

Well, Santa found the kids all the way in Jerusalem. He brought their big presents in AZ and then stuffed their stockings here. They were so thrilled! I've decided Santa needs to only stuff stockings from now on because of how excited the kids were.

After the Christmas Festivities, we went to Jericho and saw where Joshua led his army around the city of Jericho for 7 days and caused the walls to tumble down. The remains are still visible today.

This is what Sam thought about Jericho.

He perked up, though, when we went to "Banana Land." Also in Jericho.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

The days are flying by and I can't believe we are already more than halfway done! On Christmas Eve, we went and visited Lazarus' Tomb. We then went into Jerusalem and visited some of Kent and Gayle's old friends. Followed by some falafels and schwarma's for lunch and then we walked home. As soon as we returned home, we got ready to drive out to Sheperd's Field to sing Christmas Carols with the branch here in Jerusalem. We watched the sun set and then saw the only star that night rest directly above the church that celebrates the Savior's birth in Bethlehem. Scott thinks its hilarious to snap a picture of me every time I am awkwardly trying to "discreetly" nurse the baby in public. I will be off on my own trying not to attract attention when I hear a snap and a blinding flash of light and there is Scott laughing his head off. Here I am falling victim to his great joke.

Following the songs, we drove into the King David District (the Scottsdale of Arizona) because Kent and Gayle had been invited to participate in a televised Christmas Program. It was a beautiful musical program that all of my kids' and the Clegg kids' bailed out on halfway through (It was over around 9:00 p.m.). It was a very long and unusual Christmas Eve but the kids were fantastic.

Bethlehem

2009-12-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

OK, Ali, this one is for you since I know you have been checking the blog. Aren't these shoes adorable? I decided to take your advice and "assemble" an outfit for the shoes you made her. I packed up her shoes (still in their packaging, of course, because I couldn't bear to unwrap the presentation) and when I reluctantly pulled them out of the bag, I discovered they were still too big for her. I was so mad at myself because I knew I would never be able to make the ornamentation look the way you have and hence no longer be able to have it on display in her room. Oh well. I guess I will need you to come and reconstruct everything! She's obviously still fantastically adorable and I couldn't resist adding this picture too:

Wow! I have five minutes to try and tackle two huge days of things. I will only start on one day. Bethlehem. We went yesterday. We had to rent a bus and a driver because we were not aloud to go into the city without a resident of the city. The city is about 15 minutes from where we are but its all part of the difficult social division between the Arabs and the Israeli's. The Israeli's have put up a 30 foot separation wall that spreads for miles and prohibits all Arabs from entering Israel. The unemployment rate is 30% in Bethlehem. I saw many groups of men just standing around and wondered how they were taking care of their families. Most of these unemployed people worked in Jerusalem until the separation wall came up. The wall is heavily policed and we had to bring our passports to prove our citizenship coming in and out of the city.

As we began walking into the city, we went through an arched pathway. My father-in-law explained to us that this was the entryway into Bethlehem that Joseph and Mary would have gone through to get into the city. Wow! I was standing right where they had been two thousand years ago. I couldn't believe we were in the same place and words can't express the feeling in my heart as I looked at that archway and thought about a young, probably frightened, young woman about to give birth to her first child - alone, away from the comfort of home and loved ones. Only with her fiancee' to help her through this difficult time. I'm sure Mary came to love, trust and rely on Joseph deeply during this brief and holy period.

When we got into the city, it was pure craziness and mayhem. Here is a picture of us struggling to get through the markets without losing our children:

And actually, we stuck out so much it wasn't too hard. People would come up to touch Cassidy's blonde hair. Can you believe cars were coming in between all of this? They would honk and we would have to shimmy up to the sides of the shops to let the cars through. I wouldn't let go of Sam's hand and he wasn't too happy about that.

Here is Julianne asking for a hamburger.

Freshly squeezed OJ! Brandon, is your mouth watering?

After we got through the marketplace, it cleared into a plaza with a church. The church is traditionally standing where the Savior was born.

Traditionally, his actual birthplace.

After this sacred experience, Kent and Gayle took us to a Tent for some authentic Palestinian Dinner. The food was delicious and the ambience was amazing. We literally dined in a tent, over Persian Rugs, with Christmas music! It was fun and we were very spoiled.

OK, friends, its getting late and I have only written about 1/5 about what is on my mind from that day. Mostly, my testimony is growing. My gratitude for the Savior is deepening as I catch a glimpse of the world and customs He grew up in. I am also so grateful for his mother and the man who raised him, Joseph. They are such examples of faith and loving parenthood to me.

Tomorrow night (Christmas Eve) we will spend the evening at Sheperd's Field near Bethlehem singing hymns. Merry Christmas! Thanks for your comments - its fun to be hearing from all of you. And since I am incompetant, will you all please resend me invites to your private blogs? I have tried to get on but my invitation has expired.

Love you, Jill

Mediterraen Sea and Ceasarea

2009-12-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

Monday, December 21

Today we visited the ruins of Ceasarea. Herod himself (yes, the infamous man that condemned Jesus) built this amazing city. There is an aqueduct that ran from coastal city to coastal city carrying water to various cities. It was a gorgeous, beautiful day!

David and Goliath and the Bell Caves

2009-12-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 20

Today we went to visit the site where David slew Goliath. Gayle brought little slings for the kids to try practicing with and of course they loved it!

After escaping being pelted to death by several thousand flying rocks, we went a saw tons of amazing caves. Some natural and some man-made.

Jason and Sam squeezing through the same cave tunnel.
cute Anna!

Saturday at the Garden Tomb

2009-12-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

Saturday we took the kids to the Garden Tomb. Saturday is our Sabbath here. It was strange because the Palestinian children were getting out of school as we were just getting out of church and walking to the Garden Tomb. The Palestinian's observe their day of rest on Friday and the Israeli's on Saturday. I guess the Christian's follow suit with the Israeli's and observe Sabbath on Saturday.

As we walked to the tomb, the men on the streets kept pointing at Scott because he was publicly holding a baby and helping his wife!

We've made it to Israel

2009-12-18T11:54:00.001-08:00

Here we are at Sky Harbor waiting to leave!

...and here we are five minutes later....

We made it! And truthfully, the voyage was not horrific as I had planned it to be. The flight was long but the kids really did great. On the flight over the Atlantic, each chair had its own TV screen from which the user could retrieve flight information, select a movie (from about 20 options), or play video games. It cost us $5 to buy each one of our kids earphones and we decided it was well worth the price. The kids were happy and each one watched movies until they passed out with exhaustion.

The only one that didn't seem to care so much was Zach. Every time I checked on him, he was either reading a book or excitedly writing in the journal I gave him for Christmas. He made about 5 entries by the time we reached Tel Aviv.

Meeting Grandpa and Grandma for the first time!

On our way home to the Jerusalem Center from the airport, we ended up in an enormous bottleneck of traffic. Nothing out of the unusual for us, of course. Until we got to the source of the bottleneck and realized the reason for the traffic delay. We passed about 7 armored vechicles with Israeli soldiers and what appeared to be 3 small army tanks. My father-in-law nonchalantly mentioned the small tanks were machines designed to seek out and detonate bombs. Apparently a metal cylinder had been thrown over the separation wall between the Palestinians and the freeway that was being investigated as a bomb. Nice way to start our trip (don't let Mom see this).

Nighttime last night was not fun, though. The baby was in tears to go to bed at 8:30. I kept her up until 10:00 hoping she would be tired enough to sleep well. At 1:00 a.m. she woke up and decided to play. She also woke up Sam and Anna who likewise decided to play. I had not slept on the plane and so I really wanted to sleep. Scott helped out and got Lily to fall asleep around 3:00 and then worked on Sam. Sam crashed around 4:00 a.m. at which point the miniarettes began their calls to prayer for the Muslim worshippers. That naturally woke up Lily again. So keep your fingers crossed for me tonight!

This afternoon we went into the old city. Its amazing to see the same things happening today that I would imagine happened in Christ's time. Shopkeeper after Shopkeeper yelling at us to come and look at their things. Then at dusk the city began pouring in with Ultra-Orthodox Jews coming to pray as Sabbath began. It was loud, dirty, exciting, amazing and beautiful all at once. We also had the chance to visit the Church of the Holy Sepluchre. It was great to view so many people of different faiths coming to worship the Savior.

We tried to get pictures of the Ultra Orthodox Jews coming in for prayers (one on the left). We'll keep trying!

Here we are in the Old City. Behind us its hard to make out but you see many satellite dishes and barbed-wired fenching. The fenching also has a Israeli flag pinned to it that has been torn down. We noticed a man inside the wire walking around with a 9mm gun. Scott asked his Dad about it and was told the man is Israeli and bought the home in a Palestinian neighborhood. Friendly neighbors.

Actual doors to homes inside the Old City (These homes are also on top of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre).

Bear Badge

2009-10-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Josh found out last week that two boys (YOUNGER than him) were both earning their Boy Scout Bear Badges before he was. That was all it took and last night there ended up being three boy scouts earning their Bear Badge instead of two. Congratulations, Josh!

Snowflake Temple

2009-10-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

We went to our cabin during fall break. When we showed up at the church building on Sunday, the parking lot was empty. I guess it was Stake Conference. The problem was that we didn't know where to go for Stake Conference so we decided to take the kids to the temple. We all shared our testimonies and enjoyed some time on the temple grounds.

Blessing Day

2009-10-25T20:57:00.001-07:00

Today has been a spiritual feast for me. We blessed our little daughter Lily. My mom fixed the blessing dress I wore as a baby so Lily could wear it and the blanket is a Bethlehem Blanket from my mother-in-law. I am so very grateful for Priesthood blessings in my life. What a beautiful way to begin life - with a blessing from her father surrounded by men who love her and love Heavenly Father.

I wanted to be sure and put pictures of Lily up today for family and friends that couldn't be with us. I have especially missed Gayle. Its the first baby blessing she has missed in our family. I guess we can make an exception (ONLY because she is on the other side of the world serving a mission) but there is a void without her and a pang in my heart. I wish she could have been here.

As you can see, she is beautiful and I am loving the time I have with this little baby. The kids are so sweet and gentle with her. She is the icing on the cake to an already fantastic bunch of Brown kids!

Lily is two months old!

2009-10-15T14:34:00.001-07:00

I saw my friend at the park today and she asked to hold Lily. When my friend handed her back and put her on my lap, I got a little shock through my system as I realized what a beautiful baby I have. She is so perfect. I am so in love.

Lily loves to smile!

Lily's favorite time of the day is bath time. We wait until the end of the day. She is usually tired, cranky, and crying for me to put her to bed. When she gets into the warm water, her crying stops instantly and I get to hold her sweet little body and look and all of her adorable soft little dimpled skin.

St George Marathon

2009-10-15T14:24:00.001-07:00

Well, sadly, these are the only pictures I have from the St George Marathon. Scott shocked me when I discovered him coming through the finish line 40 minutes earlier than his first marathon in June!!!!

Sam and Anna decided to run through the finish line with Scott. I tried to keep up with them through the crowd but lost them. When I finally found Scott in the runners circle about 20 minutes later, the kids were missing. I got his attention and he told me they had run back to find me before the finish line. I was terrified! We split up and circled back into the crowd to find the kids. I started having nightmares about my children being abducted when my cell phone started ringing 15-20 minutes after we started looking. It was Scott. He found the kids about 5 blocks from the finish line holding hands and crying. I felt so badly about it that picture time ended and my post partum out-of-control hormone body just clutched my kids and cried.

Playing House

2009-09-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

This baby is so much fun! Of course all of my babies are - I just haven't been able to dress them up. She spends far less time in her pajamas than her brothers did... I'm just playing house all day long.

Lily at six days

2009-08-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

My friend Tami (tamiwebb.com) took these pictures - didn't she do a great job? thanks, Tami!

dreams do come true!

2009-08-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

Wow. Can you believe it? Here she is - our beautiful little miracle. I'll never be able to thank you all enough for your prayers and concern to get her here. Thank you.

lily laurel brown

6 pound 15 ounces

20 inches long

9:39 a.m.

August 14, 2009

Girl Time

2009-07-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

I've been so sick with this pregnancy that the thought of "decorating" for a girl was out of the question. But my sister Cheryl (thank you by the way) wouldn't take "no" for an answer and offered to do ALL of the painting - which turned out to be a lot. At first I thought I would just do a little here and there, but several reams of fabric, spools of thread and cans of paint later, I did a complete overhaul and can't wait to put a beautiful little baby girl in the "blue" room!

Marathon Man - No Really - He Really Is a Marathon Man

2009-06-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

4:19

Yes, he ran his first marathon in 4:19. It was really exciting and fun. We drove up to Utah on Thursday and he spent Friday acclamating. The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery. It felt great to be so close to the mountains. And even though it really has been a mild summer so far here in AZ, I felt an immediate difference in how I felt with my pregnancy being in a cooler climate.

Anyway, Saturday morning the big race began up by Deer Creek Resevoir. He ran from there over to Utah Lake and then ended up at Provo Mall. The kids saw him make the curve to the finish line and ran up to him, turned with him, and ran through the finish line with their banners and everything. It was really cute and fun to see how excited they were.

Look, its after the marathon and he's still standing!

Well, sort of. But he earned it, right?

Congratulations, Scott! I am a proud wife and now Scott is already in training mode for his next marathon - St. George in October. Any lodging ideas? I am the travel agent if anyone has tips.

Go, Bookworms, Go!!

2009-06-18T21:00:00.001-07:00

Sometime between my last blog post and today, Scottie Brown and his team of readers have been burning the midnight oil reading and re-reading books for one competition after another. The three of them had to read 12 books throughout 6th grade and then they had 3 school competitions. All of which I missed. Didn't even know about. But we will save what a great mom I am for later. After his final school competition, he came home and announced he and his team had won the school title and were moving on to regionals.

WOW!!! Way to go, Downtown!! He and his posse reread all the books in preparation for the regional Battle of the Books at Greenfield Regional Library. Scott and I were setting up Scottie for failure you might say by trying to not let him get his hopes up too high. But, but to our surprise (not because of Scottie but because of his genetic gene pool), his team placed 3rd in regionals and were on to district finals!

Again, time to reread the books. A few weeks later we were at Brimhall Jr High in Mesa to cheer Scottie on again. He and his team were well prepared. They got every question right in round one and then the same in round two. The boys never even seemed to hesitate when answering difficult questions about characters, plots, places, and situations in every minute detail.

He and 6 other teams got every question correct. So, the judges had those teams square off for really difficult and intense questions you wouldn't know the answer to if you had just read the answer five minutes ago. Well, true to form, his team did great and in the end they placed 4th for the entire district.

Way to go!

Beautiful Baby

2009-05-14T16:31:00.001-07:00

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and got some pictures of our sleeping beauty.

Mother’s Day (A Day of Guilty Reflection)

2009-05-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

This morning started as most Sunday mornings do for the Brown Family with the exception that Scott decided to skip his meetings to help get the kids ready for 8:00 church because it is, after all, Mother’s Day.

We got the table set for breakfast and after prayer, the kids started pouring their usual well- balanced and healthy breakfast of “Golden Graham, Lucky Charm, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Blend-Special.” One of my children realized his milk was not on the table so he got up to retrieve it from the refrigerator, accompanied by my three-year-old. Promptly thereafter I hear, “Um…Mom… the yogurt accidentally spilled out of the fridge.” I got up from the table to inspect the damage. Sure enough, the brand-new 24-ounce carton of Strawberry Yogurt was spread all over the floor and slowly glopping itself under the fridge. This little guy, knowing it was Mother’s Day, said, “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll clean it up.” I watched apprehensively for a brief second and then decided it would be better to try and ignore the situation until he determined it was “clean.” Then I would go and do the touch-up work.

This strategy worked for about 30 seconds. I began to hear sounds emitting from his mouth that sounded like bomb explosions. I returned to the scene of the crime to discover my son with a miniscule rag dropped in the center of the disaster and pounding his fists into it. The result was yogurt exploding all over the dishwasher, cabinets, and exterior of the fridge. Not to mention the glob was moving further and further under the fridge.

I thanked him for his efforts and excused him.

When I finished cleaning up the mess, the rest of the kids were nearly finished with breakfast. I noticed that said son had not sat down for his breakfast but was absent-mindedly dazing at the ceiling from his perch on the couch. “(said son), why haven’t you eaten your breakfast yet?” He snapped out of his trance and realized he wanted his morning sustenance. “Oh yeah!” He ran to his place at the table, grabbed his milk, poured some into his cereal, then, without watching, plopped the milk carton in the center of child X’s untouched cereal and milk for nuclear bomb #2 as I stood dumbfounded watching. I tried (ever so calmly) to ask Scott to handle that one and excused myself from dining with my children.

About this time, I glanced at the clock to discover we were now about 15 minutes behind schedule if we wanted a chance at a pew rather than the highly un-coveted hard chairs in the overflow. I set the timer for 10 minutes and told the kids if they were all dressed within that amount of time, they could get a “Sunday Treat.” I was hoping this strategy may help us realign our goal of getting a cushioned place to sit during sacrament.

10 Minutes Later: Timer beeping, no children in site, but their loud, shouting voices are carrying more than I would like up the stairs. “The timer just went off! No Sunday Treats!” I yell down the stairs. Dead Silence from below and then suddenly its all hands on deck. Then begins much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth as children begin pleading their cases as to why they couldn’t make the deadline or why they should be allowed to wear gym socks to church, etc. Said child is also a part of this confusion and I notice how the blazer he has on appears to be covered in white chalk. “Said child, you cannot wear that to church today.” After 2-3 minutes of moaning and groaning, I decide I can’t take his complaints anymore and point to the washcloth behind him. I asked him to get it wet so I could try and clean the jacket. He obediently drenched the washcloth and then proceeded to watch it spill forth water over the floor. “Said child, wring it out over the sink!” I then got another blank stare from him (maybe I really am the invisible mom) followed by him taking the washcloth and whipping it over his head in circles. The water went everywhere. All over the newly washed mirrors in the bathroom, everyone’s church clothes, etc.

Needless to say, my patience was beginning to wear thin.

After straightening up mess #3, the phone rang. My sister Cheryl was looking for baskets to put chocolate candy bars in for mother’s day that would be handed out during sacrament meeting. I told her we would round some up. At this point the clock was racing madly toward 8:00 and I still had a lot of hair to do and clothes to straighten up. (My stay-at-home husband was nowhere in sight.) So, mustering up my courage, I specifically instructed said child with the same set of instruction repeated three times, “Go downstairs to the food room. Get the two baskets that have plastic knives, forks and spoons in them. Put the utensils in a grocery bag and bring me the baskets.” Again, I remind you that these instructions were carefully repeated three times to insure they could not go misunderstood.

Well, this little helper disappeared for quite awhile. Soon it was time to get into the car and I had already forgotten about the baskets. I started yelling frantically for my son to get upstairs so we could leave. I could hear him hefting himself up the stairs with what appeared to be a 300-pound bag. Triumphantly, he dropped the enormous bag at my feet and shouts, “I finally did it!!!” I looked into the bag. Rather than bringing two small baskets that held a combined total of about 50 pieces of plasticware, he had dumped 3 500-piece not-yet-opened-boxes of plasticware that I had just barely bought from Costco into one giant gift-bag.

I lost it. I covered my face with my hands and started yelling. “I told you the baskets!!! Not the Boxes!! I will never be able to sort through that mess you have just made! We have to leave and you have spent all of this time making a huge mess!!” I uncovered my face just in time to see a once-triumphant but now bitterly dejected little boy crumble. “I’m sorry, Mom! I’m sorry! I thought that’s what you wanted!”

Feeling like a horrible mother but knowing the damage was already done, I put my arm around him, told him I was sorry for yelling and asked him to get in the car through clenched teeth.

30 minutes later, as I sat on a cushioned pew during sacrament meeting, I listened to Brother Merkley talk about how we mothers should never feel guilty on Mother’s Day. I thought to myself, “How can I not? I just blew up at my sweet little boy that thought he was doing a fantastic thing for me. And that was only one child. That doesn’t even begin to mention the damage I did with all of the other kids as they stood watching in stunned silence. And what about last night? And yesterday afternoon? And yesterday morning when I was trying to get them to do their work? What about how dirty their rooms are? What about the nutrition (or lack thereof) they are getting under my care? Is that why my three-year-old already has a cavity? My children are going to be scarred for life!” It went on and on as my guilt was spiraling out of control.

And at this same time of guilty reminiscence, a note was passed to me by said child. “Dear Mom, you are the best mom. I love you. Happy Mother’s Day.” Guilt again washed over me. I looked up to this sweet little boy that I felt I had crushed a few minutes earlier. He was grinning from ear-to-ear at me. I realized that just as I love him immensely despite his imperfections, he loves me tenderly and deeply despite my imperfections. I reminded myself that it’s OK to mess up and it’s OK that I have a long way to go before I am a perfect mom– my kids will forgive me and I can take this day to enjoy and relish all of the happy memories they have created in my life.

I hope you all have a wonderful guilt-free Mother’s Day – imperfections and all – and know that I love and think of you often.

Happy Mother's Day, Gayle

2009-05-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

I asked my mother-in-law what she would like for Mother's Day. Right now she and my father-in-law, Kent, are participating in a service mission at the BYU Jerusalem Center. She and my Grandma are the main reasons I have started this blog - so they can keep tabs on their grandkids. We all know how great I am about keeping this updated but I promised myself I would update it for her Mother's Day present.

Gayle, Happy Mother's Day! We have a little message for you:

Happy Birthday, Hero!

2009-05-10T11:58:00.001-07:00

This has really been a difficult pregnancy for me... we must be getting someone really special for all of this effort (actually I know that all of our kids are worth it). Anyway, about three weeks ago I started having some really intense pain in my back that wrapped around to my stomach. I've had it before with my pregnancies, but this time it would not go away. It had started at 8:00 in the morning and by 1:00 the next morning, I couldn't take it anymore. Scott had left work early the day before to come and help me and so I knew if I asked Scott to take me down to the hospital he would miss another day of work where he was really busy and already feeling behind. I decided I really couldn't tolderate the pain anymore and asked him to take me down to the hospital anyway. At about 2:30 I was finally given some pain medication. The medication made me really dizzy and nauseated and I couldn't really move or talk without throwing up. I was lying there thinking about Scott who was sitting in the chair next to me (tired but just trying to make sure I was comfortable) who would also need to "get up" for work in a few hours and would not get to rest the way I would be. In addition to working, he was going to need to get the kids up and dressed, fed and sent to school. He would be needing to try to get the house cleaned up and Sam taken care of before he could think about work. He would also need to make sure I was doing OK. Through the fog of heavy sedation, I really wanted to tell Scott how much I appreciated all he was doing for me. I thought long and hard to form my words and finally heard myself saying, "you are my hero, Scott." That was all I could really get out.

The next day I asked Scott how I was acting with all of those drugs. He started laughing and said, "you told me I was your hero." Dang! That was no joke. I explained to him how hard it was to get those words out and that I really meant what I said. Scott has been so great to try and help me get through this pregnancy so far and I love him so much.

He is now 35 and a great husband and father. I love you, Scott! Happy Birthday!

Washington DC

2009-05-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

In April Scott had a Bankruptcy Conference in Washington D.C. Scott and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and take Josh to see the sites. We had a great time! Here are some pictures:

The White House

Lincoln Memorial

Arlington National Cemetary

Riding the Metro

The Library of Congress

Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum

Inside Union Station

The Capitol Building

2009-05-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends:

It’s been a busy few months since I last wrote. I know these letters are better when I focus on me, but I’ll step aside and let some other members of my family take center stage. Here are a few episodes:

Church:

Scottie turned 12 on March 8 and, that same day, was ordained a deacon in our church. It was really cool to be a part of that process. He’s our oldest and everything he does is usually a “first” in our family. (I say that with some reservation because Zach regularly comes up with “firsts” that usually end with spanks.) We (his parents) are very proud of him. He has been thrown into the thick of Church service without complaining. In fact, he seems to enjoy his extra time away from his family a little too much.

Braces:

Josh is getting his braces off soon. He’s only had them since last summer – not nearly enough time to be sufficient teased or embarrassed, in my opinion.

Football:

Spring football has been taking a lot of time, too. I still coach Scottie’s team. Josh is on another team for his age group and Zach is on another team for his age group. So between the three teams we go to practice 4 days a week and then have games on a fifth day for most of the morning. As a father, I have to say I’m in heaving. Really – there’s no such thing as too much football and I only wish Sam were old enough to play, too.

Oh, and I’m sure you are too embarrassed to ask, but the team I coach is actually winning a few games. Kind of hard to believe since my three prior seasons my teams combined record during the regular season is something like 2-20. My parents are especially proud of my achievement as a coach. For the last year and a half they have called me on Sunday to talk about the week and invariable they ask me about the latest football game. What usually follows is an embarrassing conversation about the latest blowout. But no more!! Ironically, my parents are on a mission right now and don’t call me Sunday evenings anymore. I’m sure that’s part of the whole “your family will be blessed when you go on mission” promise I’ve heard so much. There will be mixed emotions when they come home.

Spring Break:

We recently enjoyed spring break. Scottie has been saving his money to travel to Seattle to visit a friend who moved there 6 months ago. He’s an expert on the state of Washington because of a report he did on that state in second grade, so he didn’t much care for people telling him what to see or what to do while he was up there.

As soon as he got back to Arizona, we packed up the kids and went to San Diego for a few days – of course, not so long as to miss any football games that Saturday. We spent a day at the beach in 55 degree weather, playing in the freezing cold waves; protecting our food against the seagulls (we only lost one bag of chips); and collecting seashells that can now be found in every corner of our house and yard.

We spent another day in CA at Legoland. It was a fun day – especially seeing Scottie ride the tiny bumper cars with kids in the general age range of 6-8 years of age[1]. Next year I've decided that he and I will go to Six Flags or something akin while Jill takes everyone else back to Legoland or Sea World.

Work:

As a bankruptcy lawyer, you can probably imagine that I’m a little busy right now. (Actually, most of you are probably saying right now: “Scott’s a bankruptcy lawyer?” Yes, I hid my secret identity for years because of the shame of it all, but now bankruptcy lawyers are quite popular.) Anyway, the other day I had an important bankruptcy partner at my firm trying to track me down on a Sunday and so she called me at my house. Usually no one calls me at my house, let alone important people. What’s even rarer is that Zach answered the phone. Here’s how the conversation went from what I could hear:

Zach: “Hello?”

There was a pause and Zach looked confused and hesitated for a moment.

Zach: “What does available mean?”

A moment later he says “oh” and hands the phone to me. You have to admire the little guy for asking the question. He wasn’t about to give me the phone if “available” meant I was dead or something.

Washington D.C.:

I have a bankruptcy conference in Washington D.C. every spring. When Scottie turned 9, Jill and Scottie came with me to the conference and they toured while I sat in hotel conference rooms. Well, Josh is 9 now and this time Jill and Josh came with me. I wasn’t with them for most of the time, but apparently Josh tours a lot like his father (and Grandma Brown) – it’s enough to “see it” and move on quickly than to “examine and learn about it.” Jill is on the opposite side of the spectrum and she apparently had a difficult time keeping up with him as he raced walked through the various museums.
Besides, he was in love with the hotel’s swimming pool (much cooler than the Smithsonian) and the cable TV (Lincoln Memorial takes a backseat to Sponge Bob and the Final Four).

Science Camp:

It seems like Scottie is getting the most press in this letter, but there’s one more thing I have to tell you about – Sixth Grade Science Camp. Because I am a boy and Scottie is a boy and Jill is pregnant, I was selected to go. I’ve never been really good with that age group, nearly sending myself to jail several times when I have lost my temper teaching kids that age at church. So I promised myself I would be good and just let the kids do whatever they wanted in order to gain their favor and keep myself sane. That worked for the most part, although I still had to make sure they didn’t tell dirty stories or jokes and didn’t sneak out of the cabin at night in search of the girls’ cabins.

It was freezing cold up there (Prescott) – I ignored the teacher warning to bring warm clothing – so that actually kept the boys in check. The good news is that kept the boys in our cabin – and, hence, more supervisable – than they otherwise would have been. The bad news is that the cabin stunk like a pile of old gym shorts. The kids didn’t seem to mind the smell at all, flatulating every 3 minutes or so.

Just think, only five more Science Camps to go!

We love you all!

The Browns
[1]

Spring Break

2009-05-09T18:34:00.001-07:00

We decided to go have a fun Spring Break as soon as Scottie got home from his to to Seattle in March. He had saved his money so he could go and visit his good friend, Chase Hawkins, who moved up to Seattle in August. Scottie had a great time.

So for our Spring Break we went to California to visit the Beach and Lego Land. Here are some pictures of our trip:

Doctor Appointment

2009-02-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

Friday Dr. Blumrick (my perinatologist) called returning a question I had about my heparin injections. After he answered my questions, he said, “I’ve spoken with Dr. Polowy, your hematologist (my blood doctor). We have discussed your case and we both are in agreement that if your hematoma has grown since your last visit, we will need to take you off of blood thinners and put a filter in your vena cava. You cannot risk having this hematoma continue to grow while still being on blood thinners. With a filter, you will not be prevented from developing another clot, but at least the clot would not be fatal to you if you do clot during your pregnancy.”

I was stunned and shocked. I thanked my doctor and then hung up. Once I hung up, questions about my situation began flooding my mind. What about my heart irregularity from my last surgery? Will I have to go back on thinners regardless of the filter if I do end up clotting during pregnancy? What kind of drugs would be used on me during surgery when I am pregnant? What kind of threat does a surgery pose to the baby (the surgery would be happening right underneath the baby)? In addition I was remembering the trauma and ugliness of the surgery I had one year ago and had vowed to NEVER go through that again.

I called Scott and the tears began to flow!

And then word got out. My amazing and wonderful extended family decided they would fast for the baby and me. I feel so uncomfortable being in the spotlight again. I keep hoping that I can get through this “hiccup” and then go back under the radar permanently. Believe it or not, these health problems do not stem from a psychological need to get more attention.

I have felt humbled and embarrassed knowing that so many people were going without food on my behalf. Thanks so deeply to everyone who chose to help me in this way and also the many prayers that have been offered in my behalf. I love you all.

Today was my next appointment. Scott and I went in for the sonogram and I was feeling very anxious. After the sonogram, we had to wait for my doctor to arrive… it felt like a long wait. When we went into his office, we were so VERY! relieved to learn that the hemorrhage is stabilizing. It has not grown and in fact has slightly shrunk. He told us that as long as the hematoma is there we are at risk but he feels the risk is minimizing. So no surgery!!! Our little girl looks great and relatively speaking she is much bigger than the hematoma which is another good sign. My next appointment is in four weeks. If the hematoma has grown, then I will definitely need to have the filter put in. However, Dr. Blumrick does not anticipate that this will happen.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers and fasting for this little baby. We can’t wait to meet her and feel like she must be a special little lady if she has to go through this rocky start to be in our family. Will you please continue with your prayers – hopefully things will all work out in just a few more weeks.

Love,

Jill

Marathon Man

2009-02-17T13:50:00.000-08:00

Scott recently ran a half marathon. He left earlier than the rest of us to begin the race and the plan was that I would bring the kids at the appointed hour to cheer him through the finish line. When we got there, Scott wasn't coming through and I figured we had probably missed him. I sent a scout (Scottie) to search the crowds for him. Scottie returned a few minutes later saying that he had found Dad but that he was unable to join us and we would have to follow Scottie to be reunited with Scott. Here is what we found:

Jill: Scott, are you OK?
Scott: ..........oohh....
Jill: What happened do you need me to get you some help?
Scott: .........OOHH...

..........long akward pause; kids don't know what to say so we decide to take a picture to celebrate the momentous occasion...........

Jill: Scott?
...........

Jill: Scott?

Scott: .....(barely audible) you just don't know what its like to put my body what I just put it through.

........another awkward pause...............

Kids: Mom, can we go?
Scottie: Mom, see that rock wall over there? Can I go climb it?
Jill: Scott?........Scott......... Are you up for it?
Scott: ....moan....just go without me....

Well, after several days of recovery he seems to be getting back his strength and we are all proud and a little befuddled at Scott's accomplishments. Way to go Scott! (And truthfully he did pretty well - 8 1/2 minutes miles! Way to go!)

Help!! My mom is posting my nude photo!

2009-02-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

That's a title that has to grab you - especially from a Relief Society President. Yes, its true, I'm exploiting my child - even before she is born - and showing her nude!!! Did you catch that? The radiologist told us she's 98% positive that we are having a GIRL!!!!! We are seeing pink!! MY HEART HASN'T STOPPED RACING FOR 24 HOURS.

When I was told we were having a girl, I immediately began crying. Not have tears extracted from my eyes kind of cry. We are talking shaking, heaving cries in front of complete strangers to the point that the sonogrammer was having difficulty keeping the instrument on my belly. I am shaking and crying as we speak to even type these words! I feel so grateful that we are having a daughter. I wish I could express myself in writing as well as my in-laws are able to because my emotion is much greater than my words. I have been telling myself over and over that I will be happy with anything but the honest truth is that I have felt connected to a daughter for awhile now. I feel that she has helped me through many trials I have had to recently face. So I hope that "98% positive" is right because I really don't think we are having any more babies after this little love. Cheryl, I will take that girl gift back you gave me a few weeks ago that I was too scared to accept.

So that is our wonderful and exciting news. Unfortunately, we also received news that has been very concerning. At the end of the first trimester hematomas have usually shrunk and resorbed back into the body. Sometimes they may take up to twenty weeks of pregnancy to resorb. Currently, I am twelve weeks. When my sonogram was taken to check on the status of our baby and that of the hematoma, we learned that my hematoma has actually grown. This means that the bleed is still active rather than being "old blood" that is working its way toward resorption. Thus we are still at risk for losing our baby. To complicate matters, my perinatologist no longer feels that I can continue my pregnancy without going on blood thinners. He feels that I have a life-threatening risk and I must begin heparin. Heparin will help to keep me from developing another clot, but it may also cause the hematoma to begin hemorrhaging. If I hemorrhage, the baby could be aborted. This is such a two-edged sword and its extremely difficult for me to do something to myself that I know can harm my baby. Please keep us in your prayers and ask that the problem of my hematoma will end soon. I have faith in our Heavenly Father and believe this is all in His mighty hands. I also believe that prayers will help to bring comfort, solace and healing when He deems it necessary.

hello world!!

2009-02-04T16:20:00.001-08:00

another surprise!

2009-02-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

I was stumbling through my previous posts and discovered "comments!" This blogging deal keeps getting sweeter. Thanks, everyone! If I were more adept at blogging I would respond personally but I loved reading your boosts of confidence and it was so fun to hear from people I haven't heard from in years. Love you, Jill

What is this "friends" thing?

2009-01-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

It's probably been about a month since I last looked at this blogspot... or at least a long time... (That sounds a lot like every journal entry I've ever made.) I was lucky because somehow I am still logged in. I don't remember my password so I can through up a post without needing that thing. I looked up my blog only because someone in the ward mentioned they saw it. I felt guilty realizing it probably has the fewest pictures and gadgets of any blogger on the block. I guess I am truly a terrible mother. My sister has more posts about my kids than I do. Most of you probably have found this site by looking at hers.

Anyway, I was surprised to discover that I have five "friends." What does this mean? How do you join? And I'm flattered to any of you who have decided to try and follow a largely defunct blog spot. As with my journal, I will recommit myself and try to be a little better (ha-ha. Does your journal ever really believe that?)

Here are some pictures from Christmas:

Nevermind. Christmas in a minute. This is a cool picture we took in July on a mountain pass between Montana and Wyoming. The snow was still piled up this high. OK, let's get back to Christmas.

Alright, friends, thanks for your allegience and until next time!

Jill

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends:

We hope you are all having a happy holiday season. Jill will be sending the official holiday “letter” (usually cute pictures of our kids) a little late, but I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to thank you all for your friendship and/or bloodship, as the case may be, this year and to give my version of 2008:

Sam’s still our baby although he is three
This year he has learned where to go p
He gets really mad unless he’s had milky
And gets his blanket that’s nice and silky

Zach is a man, or at least he thinks so
He like to eat chips and chew on his toe
He can’t keep his finger from curling his hair
And if you tell him to stop he growls like a bear

Anna giggles at her nickname “banana”
And tells lots of tales of her trip to Montana
She is in the first grade, learning how to read books
But never remembers to hang her coats on our hooks

Josh can’t chew gum because of new braces
He has one love – here’s a hint: “football laces”
He finally moved in with his brother named Scott
Which means he stays up late when he should not

Scottie is studying to become a great actor
He’s got talent, but his dad’s genes are a factor
He’ll sell you tickets before you say “poof”
To a beloved old tale about a Fiddler’s Roof

Jill is running really fast once again
(She ran a long race and beat several men!)
She loves to spend time making holiday décor
Which she never considers a nuisance or chore

Scott spends his days rendering bankruptcy aid
And his nights are spent as the kids’ live-in maid
Sometimes he is crazy and coaches youth football
His team rarely won; but will dominate next fall!

Love,

The Browns

2008-12-19T12:21:00.001-08:00

Brown Family 80AZ

Dear Family and Friends:

It is Sunday afternoon. I have come to love Sundays after the beatings administered to my Broncos football team on Saturday nights, plus the craziness of the week and weekend in general. Our calendar is SO full right now it is hard to find time to do anything but go from one thing to the next. I’m looking forward to Jan. 2, when life will slow down again.

Prince Sam:

I’ve been reading Josh’s books about The Diary of a Wimpey Kid and they are really funny. (The book concept is really good – it’s told from a middle schooler’s perspective. And it has pictures! When I’m done reading, I let Josh have the book back. But then Scottie confiscates it and Josh has to fight him for it. When Josh does get the chance to read it, it inspires him to write about his own childhood, including the now infamous dog-poop-in-the-eye incident, which Scottie still denies.)

Anyway, the “Wimpey Kid” in that story has a three-year-old brother – the youngest in his family. He says his little brother can basically get away with murder and his parents treat him like a “some kind of prince.”

That basically sums up Prince Sam. Except Jill gets mad when I call him “Prince Sam”. She says it will ruin him in front of our other kids’ eyes. But as the Wimpey Kid observes, it won’t be news to them.

Just to prove my point, we recently moved Prince Sam into Zach’s bedroom and Josh into Scottie’s bedroom. Prince Sam’s not too happy about (finally) being kicked out of the crib and the nursery and, more importantly, losing his bottle of milk. Prince Sam thought it was cool that he got to sleep downstairs for one night and then he was ready to move back upstairs to the nursery and his crib. So I had to actually take down the crib so it was no longer an option. He says he’s scared of the dark so I tell him stories and that seems to help, unless he’s afraid of the three bears or the wolf that chases pigs or the troll that guards the bridge. I don’t know.

Anna:

Anna recently spent a weekend in Montana. Apparently there are some really cheap flights up there right now and my sister-in-law, Cheryl, loves to take advantage of that. Twice now she has flown up there with one of her kids and one of our kids. So, Anna took the most recent trip and came back with a ton of new clothing. Apparently it is really cold in Montana right now and there is nothing to do there but shop until you drop. My hell. Anna’s paradise.

Anna also recently took a trip to the orthodontist and man, oh, man she apparently has every problem with her mouth known to womankind. In addition to teeth spacing problems, she has an underbite and a crossbite. She’ll basically be in braces for many, many years. She’ll even have to wear one of those headgears thingys when she sleeps at night. Right now, though, she’s excited about having braces and stuff and brags about not getting to eat anymore popcorn or “sticky stuff” – just like her brother Josh.

We were also told a year ago that Anna needs glasses. So far we are avoiding that trip to the eye doctor. She doesn’t run into doors and she can read words and numbers just fine, so we’re not that concerned about it yet.

When Anna gets a modeling contract someday, Jill and I are taking at least a 50% cut.

Zach:

Zach also recently spent a weekend in Montana. I think he played outside a lot more than Anna did, mostly because he hates shopping and doesn’t mind the cold. I actually have no idea what he did there, just that he is back safe and sound and had fun.

Zach also recently went to the orthodontist. He has an underbite and will need braces and headgear soon, too. The doctor told us that the underbite problem is a one in one thousand problem. We are the fortunate parents of two children with the same problem. At least Zach and Anna won’t tease each other about their new sleeping attire.

Zach is finishing up his soccer season soon. He’s an intense soccer player and is a lot of fun to watch. At home, however, he is a fragile young man who needs a lot of his mother’s mothering. The other day Jill was gone to some meetings and Zach hurt himself outside. He came in to the house screaming like his hand had been cut off. I could hear him going through the whole house screaming and looking for his mom. When I finally informed him that mom was gone and I would help him, he simple said “nevermind”. Then he stopped screaming and ran back outside to play some more.

Josh:

Josh started the teeth problem in our family. He’s the first to get braces and not eat popcorn or “sticky stuff”. Not only does he have braces, but he had a special surgery to bring down one of his front teeth that is still hiding in the roof of his mouth. The surgery worked and the chain is indeed pulling down the long lost tooth. But at a recent visit the orthodontist told us that the tooth was cracked and in decay, probably because it spent so long hiding around his nose. He’s thinking it might be the subject a root canal in the near future.

Josh just finished his soccer season. His team did pretty good – 2 losses; 2 ties; and the rest wins. Whose counting, though? And speaking of counting, the fathers played the sons on the team again and we fathers beat the sons for the second year in a row. Most of the fathers don’t care who wins and try to let the kids get a couple of extra goals, but a few fathers are seriously competitive and will play hard the entire time, including kicking hard shots against the sons’ goalie.

Scottie:

Scottie’s football season came to a screeching halt recently. Every team makes it to the tournament, but it is single elimination. We had the second lowest seed and it showed. It was 28-0 at half time and most of my players were pretty much resigned to another loss and wrapping up the season. I tried to build them back up, but it’s the same story I’ve been telling them at half time for most of our games, so it didn’t help them that much. Despite the bad season, I think most of the kids want to play together again. I’m trying to put together a 9-10 and 11-12 team next Spring. Jill’s not too happy about that, especially since I told her I’d be taking a break from coaching after this fall season.

During the off-season Scottie is going to brush up on his singing and acting talents. Scottie got a part in Fiddler on the Roof as a villager. I think it should be something he’s proud of. Maybe he is but he’s just biding his time before making his grand debut.

Scottie’s not happy about his new sleeping arrangements. He has had his own room for 3+ years and was quite content to live out his days as a hermit. But now he has to share with Josh and Josh is ecstatic. He feels like he has finally moved into the big time. Really, all he did was move into the smelliest room in the house.

Jill:

Jill spends her days visiting the orthodontist, decorating the new rooms for the boys and undercoating the nursery, attending physical therapy, and trying to convince me to not coach in the Spring.

Scott:

Scott is slow at work, even though he’s a bankruptcy lawyer. Apparently the economy is so bad that businesses can’t even afford bankruptcy lawyers. It’s a huge blow to his ego. He is also undergoing rigorous 12-step therapy for recovering flag football coaches. “I am powerless over my ability to win games.”

We wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all and pass along our love.

The Browns

Family Pictures

2008-12-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Well its been quite awhile since I last updated this. Long enough that it took me quite awhile to figure out what my password was. We had some pictures taken of our family I thought I would post. There were so many great ones I had a tough time deciding which one of the kids to use!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween, everyone. Unfortunately, we don't have Scottie this time. There was a football game on that was a little too intriguing to leave the TV for a snap of his headless horseman costume. As it happens, it the same costume as last year's so I am including a picture from last year.

2008-10-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends:

Football and soccer season are in full swing. I’m not sure why, but I am coaching Scottie’s flag football team again. I must be a glutton for punishment. This year I did a bit of recruiting to get certain kids on my team and we had 8 practices before our first game. But none of that has mattered thus far – we are still 0-3. It’s a good thing I don’t get paid to do this – I’d probably be fired by now.

Josh’s soccer team was undefeated last fall. He’s playing with the same team this fall. Their season started off well, but they finally lost a game. Josh is pretty bitter and didn’t say a word pretty much the rest of the day. I don’t think he’s ever tasted defeat in soccer before. He’s a proud man – like his dad.

Zach is playing soccer for the first time. He is super excited and tries his best all game long. In his first two games he came exceedingly close to scoring a goal, but to no avail. Then, in his third game, he finally knocked one in. I’ve never seen such a celebration. Then he scored two more, just for good measure, and he’s been walking on air ever since.

Meanwhile, Anna is doing dance. (Did that sound enthusiastic?) She has a practice once a week, but unlike sports where there is a game every weekend, they only have one recital at the end of the season. (I’m not sure if “season” is the right word for dance). She doesn’t understand why her brothers get all of the fun while she’s stuck sitting in the hot sun watching game after boring game every Saturday.

Sam doesn’t mind all of the games, so long as we bring him lots to drink and eat. Speaking of whom, we finally cut Sam’s hair. It’s official – he is a boy.

Last year for fall break we took a family trip to San Diego . This year we didn’t take any trips. Instead, Josh had oral surgery on Monday. He has a tooth that will not drop into place so they had to put a chain on it to pull it down. He had to go completely under. To help him go under they put laughing gas on his nose. He had a nice, relaxed smile on his face for a while and said at one point: “I tooted.” Meaning, he farted. Then he started laughing hysterically. Overall the surgery was a success.

Scottie went to a day camp during fall break. You’re probably thinking he did football or soccer or, at the very least, baseball. But he didn’t – it was a musical theater camp. Other than the price, Jill and I were excited he was doing it. Apparently lots of other parents thought it was expensive, too, because only 8 kids between K-6 ended up taking it (and it was advertised to several elementary schools). Scottie was one of only two boys, the other being a second grader who cried the entire first day because he was hungry. At the end of the week they put on a little performance with some singing and dancing. Scottie has made us make a solemn vow that we would not bring our other children to the performance or show our video recording of it to anyone. But I don’t know why – he did great and seemed to really enjoy it. Up next – Fiddler on the Roof. Seems like Scottie is following his Utah cousins’ footsteps.

Flu season is nearly here, which means it is time for flu shots. It’s not that big of a deal to all of our kids, including Sam, except for Zach. He is definitely our most aggressive child as far as anything goes, except shots. He’s paranoid and will often put on a sound and light show before he gets poked that would rival an Oscar nomination. We are thinking about putting him in Scottie’s musical theater camp next year.

Report cards for first term are out and Jill and I met with all of the kids’ teachers. Last time we received report cards, I started to write a Brown Family letter that did a report card on the kids’ teachers. I’m not going to attempt that again, since Jill will just erase all of my hard work, but it’s not necessary – the teachers basically said that our kids are the greatest they have ever had. That’s how your get an “A” as a teacher.

Love,

The Browns

Brown Family Olympians

2008-10-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Family, Friends and Countrymen:

Whenever I watch the Olympics I’m reminded of how I could have been an Olympian. Everyone said so when I was growing up. And now that I’ve watched a few Olympics from my couch, I heartily agree that I could give those athletes a run for history. Is it too late to sign up as an alternate somewhere?

Speaking of future Olympians, we now have four kids in school full-time! I thought Jill would be in celebration mode, but she is super sad. I’ve tried to comfort her by telling her that she can get a job and I’ll stay home with Sam, but she thinks I’m kidding. Secretly, though, I’m looking to train more. After all, who couldn’t become an Olympic athlete if they worked out all day?

I have recently taken up golfing again. I take it up about once a year during the summertime when it is so hot outside the golf courses practically pay you to play. I’ve now taken Scottie twice and Josh and Zach once each. The universal theme is that they all think I stink. And I can’t disagree – collectively we’re quite a spectacle out there, holding up the fast-moving golfers who tell us our type should be confined to the driving range or purgatory. Note that golfing is not an Olympic sport . . . and there is a reason for that – it’s not a sport for real athletes.

Scottie has taken up the Olympic spirit, too. He told me and Jill that he's going to start training for the 50m freestyle in swimming. When I told him I was going to be in the 2012 Olympics, too, he and Jill started laughing. It took them a while before they could regain their composure. I don't mind -- it's just extra motivation.

I took the kids to the cabin without Jill. She banned me from taking my .22 rifle – apparently she didn’t think there was enough “adult” supervision, whatever that means. So, we were stuck with shooting an old $10 bow and arrow set that we bought Scottie for his third birthday and a bb gun that can’t penetrate paper plates. Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves, shooting in tournaments that I set up. I won them all, naturally, but the kids did well, too. I’m pretty sure bows and arrows and bb guns are in the Olympics.

I finally bought a fishing license a month ago. I’ve been fishing three times since then and have been skunked every time. Part of the reason is that I am too lazy to wake up early in the morning to go fishing when the fish are actually biting. Part of the other reason is the adult to child ratio on my fishing trips, generally 6 (kids) to 1 (adult). One of these days I’m going to go fishing by myself at 4:00 in the morning just to prove to myself (and the world, who is always watching me in my Olympic fantasy) that I can still catch a fish.

Misty has a stink problem. She’s generally been a stinky dog, but over the last year she has really outdone herself. During that time she’s rarely spent time in the house because of her unbearable smell. Finally, Jill took her to the vet, which we have been informed is a doctor for pets that are sick or otherwise injured. Anyway, the pet doctor said Misty’s ears are infected and that is the cause of her increased smell. Indeed! Now we have to squirt stuff in her ears morning and night and clean them out with cotton balls. It’s a gross job and smells really bad, which is why Jill and I have fought more these past few weeks over whose turn it is to squirt and clean Misty’s ears than we have the entire length of our marriage combined.

I’ve decided that job or no job I need to start training for the 2012 London Olympics, so I took Misty jogging the other morning. She is out of shape! After the third mile she wouldn’t run anymore and after the fourth mile she laid down in some shade and stuck her tongue out at me. (Okay, so Misty was lolling her tongue out the entire time, but you get the point.) Luckily we were close to civilization so I asked a lady in a parking lot if I could use her cell phone to call Jill to come rescue us. The lady was very helpful. Won’t she be surprised when, in 2012, she sees that strange man from the parking lot win gold against his son.

Love,

The Phelps-Browns

Keeping up with the Joneses

2008-10-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

I've decided I can no longer hold my ground. I've succommed to peer pressure by actually creating a blog. Fancy music has not yet made it in but I'm sure its only a matter of time - the matter being that my sisters have to decipher what the artists and titles are of the songs I like as I cryptically try to hum the melodies to them.

Plus also, (that is a connector commonly found in the Junie B. Jones grade level 2 books I frequently read) the real nail in the coffin came when Scott promised Zach $5 if he could score a goal at his last soccer game. Zach apparently was in great need of liquid cash and, considering Scott to be a man of his word, took him to the cleaners. Zach's triumphant game ended with no less than 3 goals. Afterwards, Zach proudly asked Scott to pay up and Scott told him "If you can tell me what 5+5+5+5 is I will give you that much money." Zach is a smart first grader. I'm not sure why Scott thought he could trick Zach with this addition problem but needless to say his plan was instantly foiled. "Twenty!!!!" Zach screamed with delight as he realized he had hit the jackpot. It was a red-letter day for Zach!

Later that day I was cleaning the kitchen and was putting away the crayon mess. I noticed Zach, who never colors, had created a beautiful piece of artwork that I just couldn't put in the recycle. It says, "HApe socRa DAy. ZAch I Git 20 BUX" with two very smiling orange stick figures next to a soccer goal and a couple of soccer balls. How could I resist?

It really was the deciding factor for me. I decided I had to find a way to remember this and determined to put the "blogging" question at last to rest. So, yes, we are keeping up with the Joneses!