This summer has been such an event. Every day has been so full and so much has been going on.

Ever since Brian and I have moved, I don't know why, but things have been different between us, maybe better....and nicer.

It's wierd and I really don't know why.

Maybe it's because it hasn't been as easy as we thought it would be. The kids are taking thier own sweet time trying to adjust and our ward is a little strange.

I feel a little detached from the sisters because I don't live like 2.2 seconds away. I think it's just the little things like the walks at night and the quick little stop-overs. Boo girls...I MISS you all!

I KNEW things would be different, but we made the change anyway, hoping this would be a great thing for our kids.

The cool thing is that even though things have been harder than we imagined, and life hasn't necessarily been greener; I have Brian. Maybe I have turned to him a little more than usual....(?) and it has made me realize how blessed I am to have him to share my life with.

I was talking to a friend on the phone the other day and she said,"Me and _____ (her husband) never ever really get in to fights." I started laughing. Was she serious? Brian and I fight like every single day. We fight over little things that don't matter and over the big things that really do.

But, really truly....

He is the best guy I have ever known.

He takes care of all seven of us

and......

He is the freakin love of my life! I could never live a day without him in it.

Bummer that he doesn't read my blog.

They're Back!

Our joy was full on Monday Morning, June 29th.
Dad and Mom returned from serving as Mission Presidents over the Utah South Mission. It had been three years.
A little after noon, almost EVERY single grandkid lined the streets of Bluejay lane. Each one was holding a poster and had yellow balloons. The anticipation was high.
We had waited a long time for this!

The red jeep started up the hill. Dax and Trey and all the cousins started running after the car and it was funny because mom was filming everything out her window as they were driving. By the time they got out of the car, all of us were there and they were pretty much attacked. We have missed them!

And even though they've only been in Provo, they have never really been home. It is time. We love them and want them in our lives!

I, personally am very proud of both of them and for the amazing job they did. The missionary's were lucky to have them.
I remember that bleak day in November when mom told me that they had been called. I started bawling and said, "Mom, do you realize how much you are going to miss? You are going to miss Ali's first Prom and Brayden's big games, and how will I ever raise the Trax without you?"
Mom cried too, and dad might have had secret tears, but all is well.
They are home. They are finally back!
We love you.

Where did it go?

I think that because I am in the....RAISING KID STAGE of life, that I sometimes get wierded out by how fast things seem to happen. It is crazy how quickly time passes. As adults, we don't actually SEE changes, even if they ARE happenning somewhere in our aging process. Weren't these moments just yesterday? Where does the time go? One of my dearest friends told me, "The days go slow but the years go fast."
Oh so true!
Yesterday, I had all my kids around me all the time. I used to just pray they would go play and get out of my hair for an hour or two,
Today....
Ali is teaching a Cheer workshop at Xcite
Brayden left for Youth Conference with our OLD Stake
Matt is just leaving to go fishing
Cole is having Need for Speed marathon with Austin. They seriously need to breathe!

and OK, yes, Trax is here, at this moment by my side, asking for "Hotmeal" for breakfast.

I am lucky. I am blessed. I actully KNOW these are the good times......but it took be a bit to figure it out.

Moab Madness #1

I am having to do 2 different posts on our Moab trip because it only let me upload 5 pics at at time! You will see dad digging out a sliver from mom's foot....nasty! Also, when we pulled up to the river to eat our lunch, there was the loudest buzzing sound. When we got out of our cars, we discovered some wierd, huge bugs that were flying all around. There's a pic of Matt with one on his arm. They were big and kind of freaked us out.
There are some of the sistas at Delicate Arch and a really ugly pic of us with dad.

Moab Madness

Our annual Brown family trip was to Moab this year. We stayed at the same fabulous hotel in Green River again (thanks mom and dad) and had so much fun! It was awesome because it was just me, Bray, Matt and Cole. It was so nice and rare to get some time alone with them. I loved it.
In the last picture, you'll see Tyler riding his big boy bike. It was cute and it made us laugh, so I had to post it!
You'll also see Brayden driving Brian's car....which will soon be his. I let him drive on the way home on this dirt road for about 35 minutes. He did pretty good, but now he thinks he's all that.

When did that happen?

Brayden and I had a little disagreement yesterday. He told me I looked short.
Where does he get off? I am 5 foot 10!
How many women do you know who are that height? Ok...except for my sisters....and sis-in-law?
Anyway, it is really strange having one of your kids be taller than you. I feel like it undermines my authority and it bugs the crap out of me.

Ali is WAY shorter, and Matt is pretty darn close. He's got about 1 inch left.

They are kind of cute though. Dontcha think?

Trax is 4 today!

Today my babies turned 4.

4 years ago today, I was at St. Marks with B, laughing and crying. We were so unbelievably happy and felt so blessed. We were each of us holding a boy, deciding for sure which one should be Daxton and which should be Treyden. I was recovering from a v and a c-section but could have cared less. They were here! They were healthy and oh so alive.

We considered them to be a gift from God.

It's been a long journey; more than anything of self discovery and finding out who we really are.

Tonight we feel....strangely...sad? But more than anything, maybe we just feel a bit more grown up. We've made it this far, and even though we worry that we're not good parents and that we're somehow gonna mess up big, we're not going to quit.

Our kids are our life. All six of them. B and I are actually doing exactly what we always wanted to do in life. Raise a big family.

But tonight we honor Trax.

We love you boys.

Joy is coming...

Ah the dog days of summer! I can hardly wait! For me, it means no getting up at 6:52 to start breakfast and carpools and life and more time with Ali, Bray and Matt that I rarely see these days!

One more week and it will be here.

B is out of town until Thursday and even though I miss him, and I absolutely HATE being alone, it is kind of easier! No big dinners or schedules or hidden adgendas...haha.

We worked on the yard ALL day yesterday, raking and bagging wheelbarrows full of wood chips so we can lay our sod. With the help our our neighbor....who we didn't even think was nice, B finished our sprinkling system. The guy stayed for 4 1/2 hours and even busted his power drill that drills through cement to help us. Well, I guess that repays us for when his kid stabbed holes in BOTH of our tramps!

Ok....so Trey supplied the knife and the know how.

But still! Karma. I do believe in Karma.
I also believe that Joy is just around the corner!

Been Awhile

Well....I haven't posted in a while because I haven't been able to find my camera. The last time I remember having it was when I caught Trey and Dax taking pictures. There were over 110 new pictures and they were of the most random things! Light switches, walls, the carpet, doors, their noses REALLY close up etc.... I grabbed it and said NO! I showed the pic's to Big B that night. "Mist, do you think something is wrong with our kids? Like seriously, are our kids are mentally disturbed?" I just answered, "probably." Anyhoo, I haven't seen my camera since that day.

However,
life has gone on.

We went camping at Scoffield over Memorial Day Weekend and it was definetly memorable. Cole shot two potguts and Trey (thinks) he shot a bird. He was "shooting" with one of those Bic lighters that are long and you start fires with. It was really B shooting at the exact same time with a REAL gun. Brayden shot the 30-Ot Shotgun, and REALLY wants one for his birthday. Matt finally shot the 30-Ot without it kicking him back too far. Last time his shoulder hurt for a week. Me and Ali steered clear and played Uno and Speed and thought of happier times.
Times where there is no rain and no mud and no smoke and no dead birds with their heads blown off and no ...oh wait when there IS a freakin toilet to sit on!

Mother's Day Love

On Thursday, a couple of us met mom down at Thanksgiving Point for lunch and to see the tulips which are in full fabulous bloom. It wasn't meant to be a Mother's Day activity, but since it was with all my favorite mothers and friends in the world and it was the weekend before the big day, it ended up starting an awesome weekend full of sister love. (Mom you know this means you too!)
On Thursday, I was in desperate need of a break. Dax had taken an unopenned gallon of Buspar and thrown it down on my front porch for no reason but to see if it would explode.

It did.

One FULL gallon sprayed my day before stained alder door and porch and rock work on the house. I spent almost 2 hours filling pitchers and pans to pour over it to get it all off. (Apparently we don't have a hose in the front).

I called Brooke in the middle of it all and told her I had reached my point.
She knew just what to do. She called K and asked her to take the Trax for the day and took care of everything. Brooke is the best because she will never, EVER judge me. She will calmly listen, assess and act. I love her for that!

So I think I appreciated the tulips a little more that day. it was calm and lovely and we had oh so much fun. Me and mom were witnesses of an old lady falling down and had to help her and then be witnesses to Thanksgiving Point about what happenned. It was awesome!

Here are some pics.....notice the Brown sister chest thrust that always seems to happen on the count of 3!

ooops...I didn't mean to do 2 with Tawn but I can't get it off. I thought it was Ang!
Oh! And AMBEr was there, she just took all the pics. Sad.

A Night to Remember

So Big B and I had a big night on Saturday. We went to the Eagles concert at Rio Tinto Stadium and it was so fab. We had the best seats in the house (thanks BK) and sat by Gary, our new realator friend and his wife. We never sat down, and the wierd thing is that we didn't care! Every song was so good. B's too shy to dance (even tho he wants to) so he put his arms around me and let me dance for him. We went to Raphael's first and got the new item on the menu: Taco's Sabore and then our server, Juan gave me a carnation for Mother's Day. Here's Big B:

Easter morn

How in the world do you add 2 pictures to ONE blog post? I still don't get it!
Where is Brayden?

Easter Morn

Devils

Even though Treyden and Daxton are Devils, I can't help but love them. They keep my life busy, happy, frustrated, spontaneous, dirty, weighed down, anxiety ridden and full. I love my boys!

Why do I do things I know I shouldn't?

There are a few things in my life that never change. One of them is the fact that every so often, I do things that I know I shouldn't. Case in point:

On Tuesday, I picked up Cole from Tawny's and he told me he had found the cutest stinkin kitty ever. He begged for it, and I thought, why not? Brian's out of town all week....lets do it. We went and got the cat and bought all the fixins for it as well.

Within 30 minutes of us walking in the door, the phone rang. It was Brian in Chicago.

"I heard you got a cat." Silence. "Wow Misty."

How does he know everything....all the time? He knows EVERY SINGLE MOVE I make.

But that's not the issue. The real question is why did I get the cat in the first place? No! I am seriouly asking? Why, when I knew Brian would ABSOLUTELY hate it and make us get rid of it did I allow it in the first place? I am 37 years old and I am wondering why?

Do I let my impulsiveness take over my common sense? Or do I have some anger issue with Brian because he has so many phobias? Or did I just not think it through?....Brian won't be home for a whole week,....I can totally get away with a cat for a few years?

I honestly don't know why I do stuff like that, but I do know that for 24 hours, my kids were so HAPPY! Cole named her snowflake and the twins carried her around for hours. They kissed her and adored her every move.

However the story ends just how I knew it would. We gave the cat away (thanks Ang) and now we are all sad and resentful of Bri. Hmmmm....not really fair I know, but I still did it, and continue to in my life.

Why?

Bunched up love

Bunched up Love

This morning my doorbell rang...early. Too early, I realized as I padded down the steps in my cinched up pink robe. Who does that? Who would ring my doorbell at 9 AM on a Tuesday? I opened the door, and to my surprise, no one was there. I looked up and down the street, but I couldn't see a soul. Who doorbell ditches a mom? I started back up the stairs and it rang again. This time I was fast! I spun around and flew open the door, and again....no one was there! What the...?
It was then that I looked down.
There, bunched up in a little wad were 7 or 8 dandelions sitting on my step.
I knew right away who it was. It was Dax.
Dax is my secret little admirer and he is constantly surprising me with random gifts and pictures and insects that he has caught....always JUST for me.
Tears filled my eyes when I caught sight of his bare feet, covered in excema and unmistakably his, hiding around the corner.
"Dax" I called, and he came out beaming. His smile melted my heart. It always does, with his funny little teeth and his eager to please expression. "It was me," he said.
I held him and picked him up just for a minute on the stoop and thanked God for him and his present.
His present of bunched up love.

you have to love my g's

Isn't it funny how sometimes you think you look sort of cute, maybe even just for a minute, and then someone snaps a photo of you unsuspecting and you can't believe how truly wrong you were? Ya, that's me.....here. Why are my g's always somewhere they shouldn't be? Lindsey and I had a conversation about this just last night, and it's always a high priority topic with my sisters as well. Face it, I'm classy.