April Fool's Joke?

No joke, Meagan and Quinn will be moving to Las Vegas in June. They told us last night so that we would actually believe them. I guess change is inevitable.

Is it every easy to say good-bye, adios, sayonara? I don't think so. Especially when it is your first born, your amazing daughter, and fabulous son-in-law.

I have to keep reminding myself of the positive, they are only moving to Las Vegas; six hours away; easy to visit; not far from home; it's a great promotion for Quinn; and a wonderful time for them to bond away from their crazy (but way fun) family and relatives.

On the down-side, who is going to cook their meals; pick them up when their car breaks down; and provide them with unlimited entertainment? Isn't Las Vegas where Satan himself lives anyway (just kidding)?

Well....I think they'll figure it out. They are two of the most amazing people I know.

I'll miss them tons, but I'm excited for their new adventure.

Happy Easter Mike......From Ben

I was going through papers on my desk today, and this is what I found.

Ben's Bad Hair Day!

The Mix Up.

Today while I was paying bills I noticed a charge on my Marriott Visa Credit Card that I hadn't made. I looked on the back of the statement to get their phone number, and picked up the phone to call the credit card company concerning the charge in question.

When I called, a very strange "commercial" came on the phone. The things that were being said were "burning my ears". I could not believe that a commercial could be so dirty. I waited for a Marriott representative to get on the phone, so I could explain to them that they need to change the channel on their radio, so that those of us on hold could avoid such awful, and perverted "commercials."

As the "commercial" came to an end, the person said, "Now enter your credit card number for more intimate messages." I quickly hung up and called the same number that I thought I called in the first place. They answered promptly, Marriott Credit Card Services. Oops!

Once Upon A time....and they lived happily ever after.

Fairy tales are not just for the young, they are also for those of us who feel we have lived a life like a princess - a life better than we ever expected. My "once upon a time", began over 20 years ago when I married the love of my life. We started out as most newly weds, with limited monetary means, but lots of love.. We were college graduates, with great work ethics. Over the years, we were able to expand our humble adobe to a beautiful home with 6 fabulous children.

We had the opportunity each year to travel to new extraordinary destinations. We traveled the world, engaging in exquisite accommodations, in exotic places. We engaged in European travel and site-seeing , and viewing the magnificent wonders of the world.

We were all activity engaged in The Lord's work. Life was bliss.

Then came the greatest adversity I have ever experienced in my life, the passing of my husband. I began to think that my "happily ever after" wasn't going to happen.

I was reminded tonight my President Utchtdorf of how I am going to be assured a "happily ever after" ending.

"During his remarks, President Uchtdorf asked the teens to think back to their favorite fairy tale.

"In that story, the main character may be a princess or a peasant; she might be a mermaid or a milk maid, a ruler or a servant," he said. "You will find one thing all have in common — they must overcome adversity.

Sandwiched between their "once upon a time" and "happily ever after," they experienced hard times, he said.

"Why must all experience sadness and tragedy? Why could we not simply live in bliss and peace, each day filled with wonder, joy and love?" President Uchtdorf asked. "In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way."

President Uchtdorf told the young women that they will experience their own adversity.

"None is exempt. You will suffer, be tempted and make mistakes," he said. "You will learn for yourself what every heroine has learned: through overcoming challenges comes growth and strength.

"It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop."

In closing, President Uchtdorf promised that "happily ever after" is not something just found in fairy tales."(taken from Sarah Jane Weaver, Church News Staff Writer)

My favorite quote from the night is, "It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop." That is such a powerful statement, one I wish to remember often. I hope that I will react to my adversity in such a way that my life's story will be one with a "happily ever after" at the end of my life and for the eternities hereafter.

A Light In The Night

I looked out my kitchen window at 10:00 p.m. and

this is what I saw.

He had been working for 3 hours straight, with his

head-light guiding the way.

It warmed my heart.

Proud To Be An American

Today I went to Lizzy's 5th grade school program. I had not received an early morning reminder from her to come watch her program today, so I almost missed it. Thank heaven for blackberry calendar reminders.

The 5th graders were all adorn with the beautiful red, white, and blue colors that represent America. They had embellished their attire with dazzling hats and handsome bandannas. I watched as they took us on a tour through America with word and song.

The songs especially touched me. The sang about the various states and or regions of our country. As they sang about Utah, tears filled my eyes, as they reminded me of the great sacrifices that the pioneers had made for us, and the great trials they endured to make this such a great state.

I particularly enjoyed her program today because it was about America the beautiful. It tugged at my heart today, because lately it seems that there has been a lot of commotion about new legislation and government reform to say the least. There seems to me to be a lot of negativism about government, or America in essence. I have my opinions too, but hopefully we can learn to express them constructively, rather than in a hurtful, or negative manner.

I am grateful to live in this great country, and as the song goes, I am proud to be an American.

A Quandary With Grades

Tonight, was the induction of the National Honor Society students at Mueller Park Jr. High School. Michael was nominated, and accepted, but didn't want to attend the induction. He said, "Mom, you know I don't like things like that." So, no pictures, no hoopla, just a little bragging on my blog about his great accomplishment.

Mike struggled a little last year with his GPA. Rightfully so, it was an extremely difficult year for all of us. The girl's thought they were really funny when they nicknamed him Sylvan for letting his GPA drop. Sylvan has made tremendous progress this year and has maintained a 4.0 for each term except this one. In my humble opinion, I think we should re-nickname him Harvard.

This term he is .1 off from having a 4.0. I have REALLY struggled with this, especially because the class affecting his 4.0 was gym. That's right, P.E., Physical Education, whatever you want to call it. I started laughing when he first told me, because of the 3 to 4 hours of baseball per day he is playing at the high school. Not to mention the basketball comp games after baseball. If you are considered a Freshman, shouldn't the hours and hours of baseball practice and games be enough extra-credit to raise your grade .1 in gym?

My initial reaction was to call the gym teacher and give him a piece of my mind. However, I calmly asked Michael if he had talked with him. His answer was, "no". "Are you going to," I asked, "nope". The mother instinct in me wants to fix this for him, but the rational person thinks he should take care of the problem, or learn an important lesson. Maybe, it isn't even fixable at this point, but shouldn't he try? I'm in quite a quandary over this. Should I step in, or should he pay the consequence for not speaking up, or not trying to change his grade?

What Country Are We In Anyway?

Yesterday, the Bountiful Braves Sophomore baseball team battled the Granger Lancer's on Granger's home turf. It was a double header with the first game ending successfully with the Braves winning 15 to 4, and loosing in the second.

As I was cheering during the game, a friend kindly educated me on proper baseball terms. For instance, there is a ump not a ref, you score runs, not points, innings not quarters, and so on and so forth. Wow, do I have a lot to learn.

Just like there are specific terms in baseball, there is also certain "baseball foods". The most common foods are hot dogs, sodas, peanuts, cracker jacks, and spitz (if you can call them food). In high school baseball games it is VERY unusual to find a snack shack. Most treats or foods must be brought in by the spectators. The only "baseball food" I will usually pack is spitz. They can easily be thrown in a purse or bag.

We braved the weather elements (cold, wind, and a little rain) until the 4th inning and then watched the remainder of the games from the car. Ben and Meg needed to use the restroom facilities, so I drove over to the gas station on the corner. When we walked in the gas station, they had shelves of countless flavors of spitzs. WOW! Ben was so excited! He had been begging me to buy them for him for the last 3 games. He narrowed his purchase down to 3 flavors and we took the bags to the cash register. The friendly, tattooed (not that there is anything wrong with that), young cashiers began to explain to Ben why you don't need spitz, chew, or anything else like that at a baseball game. Playing the game, or watching the game should be enough. They were very animated, and gregarious about their thoughts. Ben said nothing, just observed the diversity of people, and listened to their comments. When we walked out of the store, Ben rolled his eyes and said, "What country are we in anyway."

1st Grade Writing Assignment

Processing a Loss

There's an old adage that states that a mother is only as happy as her least happy child. I can attest to that. I feel the heartache my children have endured, and if one of them is sad, hurt or unhappy, at some level, so am I.

It has been a difficult process to watch my children grieve the loss of their Father, their protector, their confidant, their best friend. Someone once said, loosing a Father is like having your leg amputated- you always know it's missing, you just learn to live without it. I have watched as they try to find peace with such tragedy.

I have learned that each child grieves differently, and grieving takes on various elements day-t0-day. I have learned to respect the way in which each child grieves. There are many different emotions such as anger, sadness, emptiness, and loneliness. Each day brings about a different emotion, a new challenge. There are daily, sometimes hourly reminders of their loss.

Little children grieve differently. Sometimes true grieving begins for them 1 year or later, after their loss. Little children are so innocent, it breaks my heart to watch them suffer and try to process such a difficult event. Some of my most emotional times are when I hear things such as, "You know I don't have a dad, or "I don't have to draw a picture of what I would look like when I'm 100 years old, we don't live that long", and the list goes on and on. There isn't a day that goes by without a comment about their Dad. Some comments are too sad to write, and some are happy memories of a wonderful life together.

I don't want to live in a state of perpetual state of loss. We have found and will continue to find joy in our new journey. We have rejoiced in supporting one another in our activities and accomplishments. We have learned the importance of family first. As a mother, I am most happy when my children are happy, and being together brings us happiness.

Leprechauns

By: Ben Brown - Good thing Ben has his priorities straight....money, sports,....oh yea, and chapter books.

"Spotting a leprechaun brings good luck, according to the Irish legend. To follow the merry mischief-maker is no small task, as they are known to vanish before humans spot them. The sound of the fairy's shoe hammer is purported to lead one to an elusive pot of gold, but the mischievous creatures will cunningly try to entice humans with riches, only to snatch it away in an act of trickery, Time magazine reported."

The St. Patrick's Day leprechaun visited our house this morning. He made mischief changing our milk from creamy white to mossy green. The pancakes were even tainted with this magical color. He left gifts of green for the kids to wear so they wouldn't be pinched at school.

Next year, I hope the leprechaun will choose Lucky Charms for breakfast with white milk. You know, they are magically delicious. There is something about turning non-green food green that is a little sick and twisted. Mike LOVES milk, but not today.

I am personally hoping that today I will spot a leprechaun. I could use some "good luck".

Happy Birthday Michael

~1995~

Michael Ryan Brown was born March 7, 1995. He weighed 7lbs 15 ozs at birth.

When I was about 4 month pregnant, we found out we were going to have a BOY! We were so excited. Finally, a boy after 3 beautiful girls. We elected not to tell ANYONE that we were having a boy until the day he was born. I warned everyone in advance not to believe anything Steve said concerning the sex of the baby during the pregnancy. He loves to tease. Grandma must not of heard my pleas. She made him a lovely PINK silky blanket and brought it to the hospital. When she realized she had been spoofed, she was kind enough to save the PINK one for another grand-baby and make Michael a beautiful BLUE one. It became his favorite blanket.

Binky Boys.

Cutest Ute fan.

Three "Brown" babies born in the same year.
Michael, Jacob, and Elizabeth.

Brown brothers with their boy's.
Steve and Jeff

Dad, Mom, and Michael.

First Year

~2010~

Mike and siblings.

Sweet Sixteen basketball tickets!

Happy 15th!

To start Michael's birthday off we went to Texas Road House Saturday night for dinner. Steak is one of his favorite foods. When the song "Our Song", by Taylor Swift came on, our entire table serenaded everyone at the restaurant. Fortunately, there was lots of noise and distractions that night. Even the little kids knew every word. Not sure that's a good thing.

Sunday was his actual birthday. I made his favorite meal, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and invited the Grandparents over. The kids decorated his room, and he opened lots of great gifts. He got some lovely plaid shorts (Steve used to refer to them as party pants) from his sisters.

Mike is an amazing young man. He is fun, charming, a great brother, and wonderful son. We love you Michael, Happy 15th.

More Pets?

Katelyn got answered to the Senate dance with a fish bowl containing two fish. In the bowl was a sign that said, "YES". The fish bowl was dropped off on the doorstep. Luckily, Sarah got the door just as the cat was ready to put his pretty little paw in the water. Whew.....saved! The nice young man even left fish food for us, to make sure both fish were well taken care of. Sarah decided one fish was hers since she answered the door. She named it Toby. The other fish.....well it didn't make it long enough to be given a name.

That night someone (we won't name who), dropped a couple kernels of canned corn in the fish bowl. This person thought fish liked corn. REALLY? Maybe this person should have given the fish a hot bath with soap and water too. Anyway, sad day, no more fish. Up two pets, down to pets, all in a days time.

Baseball Season Opener

Bountiful High School Sophomore Baseball Game

Bountiful verses Viewmont

Final Score 2-2

Slurpee or Hot Chocolate?

Molly and me.

Number 18 (Mike Brown)

Molly and I had a good laugh when the lead batter (number 18)

got up to bat and I asked her who he was.
In defense of myself refer to "Eyes On Fire" blog post.

Ricky Madrono - Pitcher, Mike Brown - Short Stop

Number One Fan

In the past year and a half, I have been to MANY basketball and baseball games for Mike. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him play sports. When he excels, I find myself wishing Steve were there watching him, cheering him on. He would be so proud of him. Steve LOVED a good ball game, especially when Mike was involved. He was a doting father, making sure Mike was on the right team, obtaining the right skills, practicing, and monitoring his schedule. His dad was his number one fan.

I also find when the game doesn't particularly go as well as you had wished, missing Steve. He always knew the right thing to say, at the right time. He knew what could be changed, and how to change it. He knew all the rules, and made sure everyone else knew them too.

Mike was so lucky to have his dad so involved with the sports he played.

Ben was only 6 when Steve passed away. In fact, it was two days after his 6th birthday that Steve died. We have great memories of Steve teaching Ben about baseball....how to swing a bat, and catch a ball. It was the summer of '08 that Steve coached his little league team. It is a very distinct memory for Ben, one that he will hopefully remember forever.

When Ben is playing basketball and I notice a very advanced move, I ask him where he learned it, and he always says, his Dad.

It makes me sad to think that Ben won't have the same experience as Mike. He will still have opportunities, but his number one fan will be missing.

Instructional Basketball League

Ben LOVES basketball!
He is still too young to play in a rec league, but enjoyed

playing in the Instructional Basketball League through South Davis

Recreational Center. The winter Instructional League ran for 6 weeks. It was

6 weeks of bliss for Ben.

Ben informed me that every basketball player absolutely must have basketball shoes. That is.... shoes that are exclusively worn for basketball. You carry them on your back in a shoe bag to change into before you enter the basketball court.

Michael and I decided to take him to Target and convince him that the boy's tennis shoes were basketball shoes. He was not easily convinced, rather his eyes overflowed with tears. These were not basketball shoes.

He begged me to take him to Big 5, I acquiesced. We looked on only the sales table and these are the shoes we found. Shaq and a basketball on them....true basketball shoes. The smile on his face as I purchased these inexpensive basketball shoes was priceless.

End of the shoe story? Nope! Ben only wore them a couple times when he found his brother's old basketball shoes. He switched between his Shaq shoes and Mike's old shoes that he wore in 6th or 7th grade. As you can see they were a few sizes too big, but that didn't bother Ben.

Basketball Highlights