Minus Fifteen

Sunday Mike said, "Do you know that I have lost 15 pounds in the last two months." My silent thoughts were, "Well you may have lost them, but I have found them," but I refrained from expressing my woes.

Since I know Mike eats lunch and dinner, changing his breakfast pattern is one of my solutions to helping him gain weight.

My kids had been complaining about me serving 'hot breakfasts' too frequently, so I went on strike. Instead of getting up early for scriptures and breakfast, we have been reading in the evening and breakfast has been on your own.

Mornings have been Mike rolling out of bed 10 minutes before he leaves for school with no breakfast. The other two kids have been scrambling for cold cereal or toast.

Monday I began making breakfast again, hoping that these 15 pounds can find their way back from me to Mike.

Harp Ensemble 2012

The Harp Ensemble is a recital that I look forward to each year. Twenty-three students participated, with 15 harps available. Students perform their favorite songs with Julie Keyes, their famous, most talented teacher leading the group.

The Harp Ensemble begins with Triptic Dance and ends with the same piece. The songs range from modern to contemporary, also including religious songs.

These are two on the songs Lizzy played, Triptic Dance, and "I See the Light" from Tangeled. They are fabulous!

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Movies are a self indulgence that I enjoy. Usually evenings are busy with the kid’s activities, so I occasionally take a day here and there to enjoy a movie with a friend. This week’s attraction was Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

I was prepared for a tear- jerker, since the movie is about the death of a father during 9-11. I was pleased that the movie wasn’t exclusively about 9-11 or death.

I was touched by the love, strength, and perseverance shown by many in this movie. There are so many phrases and feelings that I could relate to. It made me realize that there are many who grieve terrible losses of loved ones in their lives. There are also many that share the difficult feelings, and situations that grief brings. I am not alone.

Thumbs up to the movie Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

The Help

Friday’s are cleaning days at my house. I have two women (who are sisters), who are originally from Mexico, who come help us clean. They clean the bathrooms and kitchen, and the kids and I do the rest.

Today, I was surprised when only one person came to clean. When I inquired as to where the other one was, Garceilia answered, “Oh, she had a baby last Friday.” I was shocked since I didn't even notice that she was pregnant, and also because she had a baby on the same day that she cleaned for me.

Garceilia mentioned that while I was at a meeting last Friday, her sister's water broke while she was cleaning my house. Instead of rushing to the hospital (like I would have done), she continued cleaning. She cleaned another house after mine, before finally deciding to check into the hospital. She had the baby at eight that night.

I’m feeling a little bad for obvious reasons. Am I totally oblivious, or is the language barrier excuse enough for not noticing obvious things?

Gracilia's sister wanted to come clean today (one week later), but she insisted that she wait at least another week.

After cleaning all morning, I left to run some errands. I left Kate in charge and this is the list she devised for my little helpers.

ATTENTION SOLDIERS AND SLAVES OF THE BROWN HOUSEHOLD::

The Commander in Chief has DEMANDED that the following duties be done in T minus 4 hours. (Since Sergeant Mike has to go to battle tonight his tasks are do no later than 13:00 tomorrow)

NOTICE: Failure to complete the following tasks will result in automatic eviction out of Camp Brown and death by an automatic firearm of Commander-in-Chief/ President Kate’s choosing.

Private Benjamin:

Clean out locker

Assist Sergeant Mike in cleaning out the bomb shelter (aka storage room)

Assist Mike in cleaning out the garage including the blood on the floor (spilt popsicle)

Corporal Liz:

Clean out Locker

Dust the Chief’s bunk room

Practice harp

Clean out three drawers of your picking

Sergeant Mike:

Clean out Locker

Clean out the bomb shelter (storage room) and the garage

Boss Private Ben around and make him do something

Finish your bunk room

Mentors

Ben has been playing on both a rec and comp basketball team this year. In comp, team names, team colors, and team uniforms are chosen by the crew. Ben was able to choose his favorite number for his jersey, number 2. He said he chose the number Mike had while playing on the Rebel's team, and the number Mike is for Bountiful High this year. He loves to follow in Mike's footsteps. I can't think of a greater mentor.

(If you think Ben looks small, it's because they are playing on a 5th-6th grade comp team. Ben usually has to guard the "big" guy since he is one of the tallest on his team.)

To The Rescue

Missing car keys are becoming a regular occurrence for me. Sometimes they end up at the bottom of a lake, or a child slams a locked car door shut. This time it was entirely my fault, AGAIN!

I had just worked out at the gym (not my favorite thing lately, but something's gotta change), and headed home to my less than tidy house. I started cleaning up and making my soup for dinner when I noticed I didn't have a few key ingredients.

I decided to quickly run to the grocery store for the few items. I was hoping I wouldn't run into anyone I knew in my current condition.

As luck would have it, as I was loading the groceries, I locked my keys and cell phone in the car. What to do? I knew I had a spare key, and I knew right where it was, but who is home during the day, and whom do you ask to enter your very dirty house.

I quickly called Becky Parry. She laughed as I told her my predicament. I told her not to mind my dirty house as she retrieved the spare key.

Becky to the rescue! I was only stranded 10 minutes, thanks Becky! When she pulled up she said, "Two things, (1) Your dog is out, (2) Your house is a disaster!" Nothing like pure honesty.

Special Delivery

Proud parents-to-be

We couldn't be more excited in the Brown household tonight! Meagan and Quinn announced that a baby is in the oven! The first ultrasound was inside a small baby bottle, in a box full of pink and blue mints, with balloons attached. The due date was printed on the inside of the box.

They told me on Friday, so I have been keeping a secret for a very long time. Well, its seems a long time when it is exciting news that you want to share.

They are full of surprises! On Friday, they tricked me into going to their house to look at a new desk that they had purchased. On the desk, was a framed copy of the ultrasound with the due date written on it.

We are so thrilled! Can't wait for August 3rd!

Bountiful High School Pre-season Basketball

Basketball season is off to a great start. Non-conference games have been played, leaving the Braves varsity team 6 wins out of 8 games, and JV 5 wins out of 7 games.

Below are the final scores (or if I couldn't remember the score a Win or Loss):

Varsity:

11/22 Braves 57 North Ridge 42

11/29 Braves 50 Bingham 46

12/03 Braves 54 AF 53

12/09 Braves 50 Viewmont 55

12/16 Braves 48 Judge 42

12/30 Braves 57 Olympus 60

01/03 Braves 76 Layton 61

01/06 Braves 59 Cottonwood 41

JV:

11/22 No JV Game

11/29 Braves L Bingham W

12/03 Braves 57 American Fork 42

12/09 Braves W Viewmont L

12/16 Braves 70 Judge 60

12/30 Braves W Olympus L

01/03 Braves 23 Layton 46

01/06 Braves 51 Cottonwood 50

Team captions: Brock, Brit, Mike

Mike's best pre-season game was against Bingham. He had 14 points, 6 steals, and many rebounds. Mike is a great defender as well as offensive player. He continues to be a dominant player in the games.

The game against American Fork was played during the time of Bountiful's HUGE wind storm. Game time was changed from Friday to Saturday. The Varsity game was an intense and exciting game with Bountiful up by one, and 1.15 seconds left in the game. An American Fork player was fouled, at the line, shooting 2 when the power went out. After waiting about 30 minutes in the dark, the game was called.

The Bingham game was intense. The flaring temper of the basketball coach along with the incredible spectacle he made of himself, made you appreciate our coaches. It has been rumored that Steve Brown may have encounter this coach during the Rebel's days. They may or may not have had words, and made arrangements to meet after the game to continue your heated discussion in the hall.

Off to a rough start!

North ridge

Olympus

Judge

American Fork

Cottonwood

My patient

My cute little patient was dropped off to me my her dotting husband last Friday morning. She had her wisdom teeth removed..... ouch! Jordan wanted to make sure someone was watching her while he was at work, so I got the honor.

I was happy to have an excuse to relax a little and watch some movies. One of our favs was the re-make of Jane Eyre. If you haven't seen it yet, it's a must see.

If you wonder why she has pillow cases wrapped around her head, well, I was trying to keep ice on her jaw without having to hold it on, or have it slip off. Mighty ingenious if you ask me.

Christmas on the Sabbath

President Eyring, who is in our ward, was the guest speaker in Sacrament Meeting on Christmas morning. He spoke about, “Remembering Him.” He said, and I am paraphrasing, “You may not remember everything you hear today, but you will remember how you felt.” I will remember the strong spirit I felt that morning. I will also remember learning of Christ, and learning to become more like him. We were taught that It is through serving others that we can emulate our Savior.

I was very emotional this morning. As I sat on the pew with all my children, their spouses, and my in-laws, I especially missed Steve today. We are just not complete without him. Sometimes my heart still feels like it is broken in a thousand pieces. Today is one of those days. Wow, how we miss you, and wish you were here, Steve Brown.

Christmas brunch brought lots of smiles, as everyone enjoyed feasting on the yummy food and visiting. We had a new breakfast casserole that Sarah brought, and the traditional Denmark ableskibers.

Jodi and Jon had a new little addition this year. One week old, Emery Brooke, graced our presence 3 weeks early. My girl’s dotted over her and couldn't put her down. We love those cute little Fulk girls!

Lizzy received Just Dance 3, a video game, for Christmas. It was the funnest gift of all. You and a partner have a “dance off” to a song of your choice. As you are dancing you are being scored, at the end one score is higher than the other, thus the winner.

If you want to have a great work out, this is the game to play. I challenged Lizzy, with a no photography of any kind rule. I got a few “perfects” as I was being scored throughout the game, but was not the winner. Lizzy is hard to beat!

We had a fun, relaxing day, with family and friends.

Opening Christmas gifts.

Brunch, and working off all those calories with Just Dance 3.

Meg and Quinn

Emery Brooke

Sarah and Jordan - dotting over the baby.

Lizzy, Tyli, Maddie, and Jodi.