NATHAN

Nathan was ordained a deacon and received the priesthood last week. It was so exciting to see him passing the sacrament today. He was nervous, but he did a great job. He looked like such a grown up....where has all the time gone? It was also a first for the Brownlee Ward (since we have lived here, almost 2 1/2 years)....there was 6 deacons passing the sacrament in church today....it was an awesome sight!

First Day of School and Birthday's

The boys started school this week. Nathan is in 6th (Middle School) and Josh is in 3rd. Both the pictures were quick snaps as they were almost late. Nathan has to catch the bus at 6:40, way too early for both of us! Nathan is excited that his uniform can consist of t-shirts (which the school makes a fortune off of) and cargo shorts. Joshua also found out that he can wear school spirit t-shirts any day of the week...they are both pretty happy, but the checking account is running a little low!

Nathan celebrated his 12th birthday this past week and I celebrated one too! Nathan's celebration was spread out over a few days. His birthday was actually his 1st day of school, which he was not excited about. We decided to wait and have the cake on mom's birthday (two cakes in one week, isn't good!) He wanted an icecream cake, so thanks to Baskin Robins we had a cookies and cream cake. I had to skimp on the candles with what I could find in the house...we had a number 3, a number 6 and 3 single candles...3+6+3=12! He had a great week and got everything he wanted. Jared made me breakfast, dinner, and let me take a nap on my birthday (Sunday), so what more could I ask for....oh and I got a foot rub too!

Medieval Times

We took the kids to Dallas this past weekend and went to the Medieval Times dinner and show. This was an early celebration for Nathan's Birthday. We all had SO much fun. The show is takes place in the 11th century and you are the guests at the royal families festival. We were served a royal dinner of soup, garlic bread, roasted chicken, ribs, potatoes, and a pastry...all of which we ate with our hands. As we ate we watched a tournament between different knights on horses. It was "way cool" as Joshua would say.

The Ranch

My sister Katie's in-laws have a great piece of property which is named "The Ranch". There is a small pond, with a diving board, trampoline, kayaks, canoes, paddle boat and lots more. They have a big covered pavilion with tables. It is a great place for parties, and we had plenty of those while there. One night we had a big seafood fry. LOTS and lots of food and plenty of shrimp and crab legs. My boys beg to go over to "The Ranch" all the time, so we usually spend a lot of time there. They have so much fun. Their big accomplishment this time was the diving board. Joshua jumped off and swam all the way across the pond and Nathan did a flip off.

UTAH LAKE

While in Utah we spent a lot of time at Utah Lake. Both my sisters and my parents have boats, so between the 3 of them we are covered. This is me and my sisters and mom! Don't we all look stunning?My one sister ( I won't mention names) has a phobia of the tube. So to we leave her on the boat...but the rest of us sure enjoy the ride and the water! The boys loved spending time on the water and would constantly ask me when Uncle Cory and Uncle Mat would take them out. They loved playing with the cousins, as you can tell.

Spanish Fork Canyon

Oh how I miss the Utah Mountains! While we were in Utah this summer we spent a lot of time hiking, exploring and picnicking in the mountains. My Dad has a Rhino, and so we spent a lot of time riding around the mountains in this. One of my favorite canyons is Spanish Fork. I have a lot of fond memories of this canyon. When I was little my dad would take us to this place called "The Tub". We took the boys up there on the Rhino. The road was closed, but we hiked down in so they could see it.

It doesn't take much to entertain my boys....some water, dirt, rocks, and sticks and they are in heaven. They loved Grandpa's Rhino and the wind blown look it gave them when they were done!

FFYI: For those of you who think my boys were riding around the mountains on a Rhinoceros, this is what a Rhino is:

PARK CITY

While we were in Utah this summer, my sisters and I took the kids to Park City. We let the kids watch the athletes train at Olympic Park. We also went on the Alpine Slide. Josh was really nervous to go by himself, but he did great! Nathan really wanted to go on the zip line, and I couldn't let him do it by himself, so he talked me into it. The only stipulation was he had to weigh 100 pounds....they checked it and at 104, he was excited. It was a little scary at first, but once we started it was awesome!