The Brownies at the Ponderosa

We had an early Brown family reunion (my great grandparents and their descendants) at the Ponderosa the weekend before Memorial Day.  I love that area of Southern Utah and it brings back a lot of happy memories for me and my family.  We were able to make some new happy memories in the short weekend trip.  One of my favorite things was watching my kids enjoy running around and playing with their cousins.  It was a bit crazy at times trying to keep track of both of them, but they had a great time and if we weren't in the house they could usually be found at the little waterfall, the playground, or the tennis courts.

We enjoyed a little family dance the first night we were there.  Lexi was helping Uncle Johnny be DJ.

The next day the kids enjoyed a fun carnival with games, prizes, a bounce house, and clowns.  Neither one of them wanted anything to do with the cotton candy.  But they were pretty excited about the slinky and twisty straw they got in their prize bag.

Grandma gave Brigham a headlamp and he was a big fan.  He didn't want to take that thing off either night we were there.  He wore it out at the campfire and all around the house and was fascinated watching how he could make the light on the wall move by moving his head.

Julia, Brandy, and I hosted an updated version of our family reunion game that was lots of fun.  Our last morning there we heard stories about Great Grandma and Grandpa Brown and Brigham got to play Great Uncle Ray as a little boy in one of the skits.

I was on the committee to plan this reunion and it ended up being a lot of work, but it was worth it.  We had a great time.  I sure am grateful for this big crazy family that I have. 

Our Lexi Girl

This little girl is showing more and more personality and makes us smile and laugh every day.  She loves to wander around in the backyard with bare feet.  When we sit down to eat this is how she folds her arms.

She has awesome bed head in the mornings and after naps (see both pics below), especially now that we attempt pig tails.  The way we usually get her to sit still long enough to put the pig tails in her hair, is by bribing her with marshmallows.  This girls has a serious sweet tooth.

 

She loves to play in the rain or in any kind of water.  She splashes around and then sticks her hands in her mouth to slurp it out of her hands.  She gets a little mischievous look in her eyes when she is trying to take one of Brigham's toys or climb up the stairs when she isn't supposed to.

 She is getting pretty good at blowing kisses, waving goodbye, and acting like a monkey.  She is working on throwing a good tantrum when she doesn't get what she want by throwing herself on the floor and burying her face in the ground.   She loves to laugh when other people are laughing. She likes to dance to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but has little interest in watching the actual show, or any other TV.  She is an adventurous climber with little fear of anything, except maybe being left with strangers.  We sure do love her a lot.

Oh the Barnyard is Busy

We took a trip to see the baby animals at "This is the Place" farm.  

Brigham was a big fan of the goats.  Lexi, not so much.

She was a bigger fan of the baby chicks.

And she loved the little playhouses.

 Not sure what is going on here.  But it looks like fun.  

The kiddos loved the train ride.  One ride was not enough for Brigham, so grandma kindly took him on a second ride and they made a stop to pan for gold.  Pretty fun day.

The Roommates go to Milwaukee

 I was blessed to have awesome roommates in college.  These girls are the very best kind of friends.

The three of us living in Utah decided to take a trip to visit Katie in Milwaukee before she moves this summer.  The first day we were there we got a great tour of the city and ended the day with some famous Wisconsin frozen custard.  That stuff is delicious.

The next day we headed off to Chicago!  After getting a bit lost while trying to find our Marriott, we spent some time exploring Michigan Avenue.  We had Chicago style pizza at Giordanos and delicious carmel/chocolate popcorn from Garrett's Popcorn.  We spent the evening at the top of the Hancock Tower enjoying the view, sunset, and great conversation of course. 

The next day we explored some more of the city.  We went on a boat architecture tour that was really interesting.  I loved seeing all the cool buildings in Chicago and hearing stories about them.

We walked down near Navy Pier and then along the water to get to Millenium Park.

 Millenium Park has this cool giant mirror Jelly Bean sculpture thing that people love to take pictures with.  So we had to join them.

These signs were all over the place in Chicago.  We felt so loved.

We spent part of our last day going to Katie's branch, visiting the Joan of Arc Chapel at Marquette, eating more custard, and walking along Lake Michigan.  It is so beautiful there.

We had the best time together.  There was never a dull moment and we easily kept the conversation flowing for our four days together.  We reminisced about our time in Jerusalem and the Regency and laughed a lot.  I don't get to see these girls as much as I wish, but I sure am grateful for the times that we do get together.  They are the best.

5 under 5

 We a fun week in April with these five kids under the age of 5.  We took them swimming one day, and they loved it.  Brigham appears to have overcome his fear of water.

One day I got a little bit crazy and added one more nephew to the mix and babysat six kids ages 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, and 1.  I had a line of sippy cups on the counter labeled with masking tape and had to make two boxes of mac and cheese to feed them all.  We survived the day with no major mishaps, and the kids seemed to have a good time with each other.

We took a trip to temple square and let the kids play at the Church History Museum children's exhibit.  They loved it!  Especially the play kitchen and fishing boat.  They also enjoyed walking around and seeing the "popcorn trees", temple, and reflecting pool.

We took a trip to story time at the library.  Brigham was so excited to see all those books and pick out two to bring home.  He had us read one of them so many times that he memorized a lot of it.  The kids also loved playing with the kitchen and grandma's instruments.  They made some interesting music.