1 Week Countdown

5 Days until we leave for Casper - the girls will have eyeball appointments and haircuts; 6 Days 'til Denver - (our "fake" vacation) for some swimming, shopping, and whatever else we feel like doing (the girls know that we will be going on a vacation, but they think this is as far as we are going! Little do they know...); And we only have 7 more days until we hop on that plane that will be taking us to Orlando!! I have already talked to Mikenna's teacher so that she knows that she won't be in school for a couple days and to get some stuff together so we can do it before we leave.

Luggage tags, park maps, etc... This is our collection of Disney vacation stuff that they have been sending us over the past couple months. Awesome!

Also, I was getting really nervous about their ear hats and t-shirts coming in too late, but they got here last Saturday so no more worrying about that! Boy would that have put a damper on our surprise! Kasey and I decided to join in on the fun and even got a pair of ears for ourselves! We put their shirts in their Easter Baskets and oh my goodness are they adorable (and clueless, even though we have almost ruined the surprise about 100 times by now).

I'm really excited, can you tell?!? I just want to tell them RIGHT NOW!! I love surprises, and surprising people, but I hate the wait - IT'S SO HARD! Haha :o)

P.S. I have a slightly embarrassing confession... Kasey brought home some black shorts that he picked up when he was passing through Casper to complete their outfits and I felt like I "needed" to see how it looks all together. Sooooooo after I put the outfit on Isla, locked our bedroom door, and I blindfolded the baby (because she is less likely to put two and two together than the other girls) and slapped that Minnie Mouse hat right on her! I may be a little crazy! Haha :-)

Dead Bird

I posted this on facebook on Monday, but some of you may not have seen it. Last Sunday, I went to wash Mikenna's coat and the contents of her pockets were HORRIFYING! First, I pulled a pair of bunched up mittens out of her pocket and I get sandblasted in the face (not the first time, you would think I would learn, right? Maybe someday! haha)

Second, in the midst of a collection of normal kid stuff like bouncy balls and erasers, I pull out part of a DEAD BIRD!!! ICK! The chain of events following are kind of a blur, but I plunged my hand into her pocket without any reservation and pulled out part of a bird that had been long gone. As I held it in my hand, I yelled, "Kasey! There's a DEAD bird in Mikenna's pocket!!" I felt frozen in disbelief, staring at my palm; Kasey got up from the couch, coming into the playroom to take the carcass out of my hand. He was laughing hysterically at my reaction, and taking the bird out of my hand, he said (when he calmed down and he could breathe again - which was only a second before laughing at me again), "Yep, sure enough. It's just the wings though." He threw the wings in the garbage and started emptying out the rest of her pockets...

Third - Kasey started emptying the last little tidbits out of her pocket because I was a little gun-shy to say the least (can ya blame me?!?) but he pulled out one of those sticky hands (without the hand) that was black/brown from lint, dirt, and whatnot - and at first glance I thought it was a worm because it was "moving" and I just lost it. Screamed, then followed by actual sobs because I was so so so GROSSED out! Over-reacting? Maybe, but I don't care it was so nasty and I was not expecting it. All I wanted was for Mikenna to have a clean coat! After I pulled myself together, and sort of laughed along with Kasey he thought it would be funny to taunt me a little with the sticky hand before it landed in the trash. He said my reaction to the whole ordeal probably would have won an America's Funniest Videos grand prize if only he had caught it on tape... It's a good thing he didn't! Embarrassing! Haha ;)

When Mikenna woke up the next morning, I wanted her to sweat a little after what she put me through the night before. So I said, "Mikenna, I washed your jacket last night." Expecting her to freak out a little considering what she had in her pockets, she just said, "Thanks Mom." 'Thanks Mom', are you kidding me?!? So I said, "I emptied out your pockets so I could wash it." Again, a nonchalant "oh". I finally said, "Mikenna, you had a DEAD BIRD in your pocket! Why did you touch that let alone pick it up and take it home!?!" She looked just as grossed out as I was, and told me she thought it was just a big feather. "Um, no Mikenna, it was the bird's WINGS!" I was actually very relieved to know that she didn't do it on purpose, but I took that opportunity to tell her again that we don't touch dead things, not only is it disgusting, but they can carry diseases, etc... I think I will exercise more caution when emptying pockets for laundry, or better yet, make them all do their own!! I am scarred for life! Ew, Ew, EW! haha :)

Adiee is 5!

...and has been for almost a month! I really need to get my butt in blogging gear! So much seems to be happening and it isn't being recorded! Shame on me! :-)

Doesn't she make a gorgeous "Tangled"?? :)

It definitely doesn't feel like it has been 5 years since we brought our beautiful Adiee home from the hospital... Time is flying by and I'm a little sad about it, but she is so much fun (they all are)! And she is sure excited to start kindergarten, my heart just sank a little typing that. She is so funny - she thought that she was going to start school the day after her birthday, as opposed to waiting until fall. She was taking a bath with her sisters when Kasey got home from work and he came into the bathroom with a bouquet of colorful daisies and a tinkerbell balloon. Made. Her. Night. Not much can get that kid out of the bathtub except for cold water but she hopped out faster than he could tell her happy birthday and she didn't even want a towel! Haha :) What a cutie! Noni came to town that weekend to help us celebrate her birthday, and what a great one it was!

Look at all those presents! What a spoiled little girl!! :-)

She loved being the center of attention while we sang to her, but who doesn't?? :)

Blowing Off Steam

I hate that I haven't been blogging as much as usual lately... And I hate that "I'm busy" is my excuse - who isn't? Anyway, I have a lot going on right now! I feel kind of stressed out lately and it sucks! Kasey and I are still trying to accept that we live here in Rawlins (ridiculous, I know but it has been a long winter), I also just got my bill for my surgery last November and YUCK! It looks like we owe almost $7,000. I'm missing our old insurance right about now. Funny how one piece of mail can pretty much ruin your day... It's funny because when I opened it I was really upset about it and Kasey said "... it's a small price to pay to still have you here with me..." What a sweet man! :-) On top of all that, a couple of weeks ago I noticed Adiee's eyes would occasionally cross a little but I wasn't sure if she was just being silly or if she really couldn't help it, so I have been freaking out about that... Preschooling takes up a lot of my time; and I have been taking some time for myself and my creative outlet - hair bows and flower clips for my girls.

We took a quick little unexpected trip to Casper last weekend to go to the 4-H carnival, my grandpa's surprise "heart attack party", browsed Hobby Lobby, I also went to the health fair and got a blood chemistry panel along with some other screenings, and wanted to get the girls into the eye doctor. Unfortunately Dr. Hodgson's office couldn't squeeze us in for a full appointment, but Doug took Adiee and me back to give me some peace of mind (how nice! I got to know him real well when I worked for the vision center). It looks like she might be favoring her right eye and have slight esophoria (where her eye turns inward, but it's not all the time nor is it very often) she may need glasses, and we will go through the works when we come back. I made the appointment for the night before we leave to Denver right before our Disney World trip because I know we will be in town but I hope to be able to move that up just depending on Kasey's on-call schedule or perhaps I will go alone again, but I don't like doing that. Ugh!! So much going on I could scream!

I could really use a vacation, May can't come soon enough! 36 Days!!

Unexpected Hiatus

Wow, I haven't not posted for this long ever since I started blogging almost 2 years ago. But, I'm back and I haven't quit my blog or anything; I just have been focusing on Adiee's preschooling more than ever these last couple months. She is making such progress and I have started to look for a couple classmates for her, it was a big decision for me to open my home up to the public but I am confident I made the right decision - Adiee now has that socializing aspect she was missing out on. She is so funny, she was talking to my mom the other day and she told her, "Mommy ordered me some friends!" We order online a lot since moving here so it seems we are always are getting packages so that's where she got that! Hilarious - I ordered her some friends... Poor girl! Haha :)

Just a few highlights...

Our daily calendar activity...

Added bonus: Isla is learning a whole lot too!

Coin sorting activity for President's Day...

Anyway, other things we have been up to in the months January and February hasn't been much but here it goes...

Kasey and I were dreading tax time since we have gone through so many changes over the past year. We made an appointment with an accountant to have them done because it was so intimidating all the forms we had to file, but I ended up doing them myself as I usually do (I decided I would give it a try and if it proved to be to much then I would just back out of it and keep our appointment). Call me crazy, but I really enjoy doing them; and I also saved us a minimum of $200-$300 so win/win! :) I took an accounting class in college and not only was I really good at it, but I loved it! Anywho, we were expecting the worst but were pleasantly surprised when we didn't owe anything.

The girls spent 2 nights in Casper with my mom the weekend before Valentines Day. It was really nice to spend a little time just being a couple. We ate dinner at a little restaurant called The Aspen House and Kasey bought me a necklace that I said I wanted a little while back. Not to mention the sweetest messages he writes me on Facebook. So it was pretty great! He is so good to me!

Mikenna has been doing fantastic in school, her teacher recently sent a note home covered with "O"s for outstanding in all aspects of the classroom. We are so proud of her. Adiee is going to be FIVE at the end of the month! She is so excited; me, not so much. Kasey and I are planning to revamp her bedroom. I have been ordering and gathering all sorts of goodies for her :) And Isla is now fully potty trained which is absolutely WONDERFUL!! I still have a hard time believing that I am completely done with diapers!

And finally... Drumroll please because this is a big one!!

Oh yeah, baby! We are thrilled to be able to take our sweet girls on such a vacation. They don't even know yet! Plane tickets are bought, Disney Resort is paid for, and we have reservations at all kinds of hot spots like character dining, dinner shows, and guaranteed seats for Fantasmic! a show with over 50 costumed characters, music, water effects, pyrotechnics, etc... Sure to be a BLAST!! I was bummed that the Cinderella's Royal Table was already all booked up, but I don't even think we will notice! Also, I ordered them each one of these babies with their names embroidered on the back.

We are planning on giving them to them sometime at the airport (right before boarding the plane, perhaps?) I don't know, we are SUPER excited though. We will be spending the night in Denver the day before we leave and we will go out to eat, swim, etc... Then we will be parking the Tahoe at DIA and will be riding a yellow with black polka dot shuttle to the airport. We will be in Orlando at 4:19 pm, will be riding the Disney Magical Express to the resort and that night we will be attending a luau type dinner and show with category 2 seats! We will be spending 5 nights there, and will be leaving the 6th day at noon, and will be back to Denver at 6:30! These next 2 months can't go quick enough!! :)

Could This Be It???

I am SOOO proud to announce that ISLA has peed in the big girl potty right before bed tonight!! FINALLY!! :) I guess she got tired of fighting me on the matter and just did it! So now, I am wondering... Could this really be it?! Or is she just teasing me? I made quite the fuss over her, so I sure hope it sticks! She is my last baby, and I'm in no rush for her to get older, but I can't imagine that I will miss diapers at all (at least for a while, I do LOVE the baby stage) and especially the expense, we have been buying diapers for 1 or 2 kids at a time for 6 1/2 years now! It's hard to imagine a world that doesn't revolve around changing a yucky butt 10 times a day! Haha :) Not that I'm complaining, being a mom is what I was born to be and that's just one of the not so glamorous aspects! Well anyway, here's to a what's starting out to be a wonderful new year!

Good Grief...

Well looks like this year is going out with a bang... Missed my husband's family reunion and tonight Isla split her head open and Adiee lost tooth #2!!

Since Kasey couldn't get away from work, I was going to go without him, but everyone's plans changed last minute. I don't really feel comfortable driving all by myself across 2 snowy mountain passes in of all places, Jackson Hole which has had record-breaking amounts of snow recently to get to the lodge in Idaho, so the girls and I were going to ride down with Kasey's brother. It would have been really nice to see everyone not to mention the girls would have had a blast, but it just wouldn't have been the same without him. Plus I would have REALLY missed him! I know, ridiculous right?! Haha :)

And tonight, Isla found and picked up a guinea pig poop and I yelled "Gross! Put that down!" (So I could pick it up and throw it away). So she dropped it, and said "YUCK!" with such gusto that she swung herself around, losing her balance and smacked the back of her head on the coffee table... Split her head right open! Ouch!

About an hour after the whole Isla thing happened, Adiee came into the living room and told Kasey to pull her tooth. Her second one, and in the same month as the first! Geez! At least he was here to see and do it this time - especially since it wasn't as wiggly this time. I don't know if I would have been able to do it! Haha :-) Tomorrow morning she will be delighted to put the new piggy bank she got for Christmas to good use!

Please excuse her horribly chapped lips... The dry, cold weather has taken it's toll, and her awful habit of licking them definitely does not help the matter!

Home for the Holidays

My brother and sister flew into Casper to spend the holiday at home, so Kasey and I did our part (as much as we could)... We went on Friday, the 17th and stayed through the 26th. Kasey had to work in between so he drove to Rawlins and spent a couple nights there and drove back - what a trooper! That drive is boring!! So for the first time in 2 years my mom had all of her kids under one roof.

Third times a charm... Isla wanted nothing to do with Santa the first time she layed eyes on him this year. Then my mom had them overnight and took them to see him at the mall; she got her on his lap but only with bribery - a juicebox! Then this time was in their holiday dresses and she didn't put up much of a fuss and I think she actually kinda liked him this time... Ok, their wish lists change pretty much on a daily basis, this visit Mikenna asked for a Barbie airplane (Ummm, first time I heard about this one? and on Christmas Eve?) Adiee asked for Toothless (a dragon from one of her favorite movies, "How To Train A Dragon") and that has been a constant. And sweet little Isla asked for a coloring book - how cute is that?!Christmas Eve - we went to the mall to visit Santa, pick up the last few gifts, lunch, and playing in the play place... Proved to be a little much for Miss Adiee!
Christmas Night... Looks like our kiddos were pretty darn good this year! Santa was good to them this year! Stuffed their stockings to the brim and brought Mikenna a FurReal GoGo remote control dog; Adiee the Toothless that she had been asking for since she saw the movie; And for Isla, a baby care center.Christmas morning in their matching PJs... The five of us slept in the same room and they tried to get up at 3:30 AM! Nice try girlies! So they tried again at 7:30 - mucho better!

Toothless was a HIT! He is motion activated - 'spits fireballs', can flap his wings, makes a squealing sound when she makes him nosedive, and when she makes him fly upward he makes a wing flapping noise... She thinks he is pretty neat!
Isla is such a sweet little mommy!! She loves the bathtub part and had already tried to sit on the kitchen counter part and snapped it off... No worries though, daddy fixed it!

Mikenna loved her puppy, but was posing for a different camera in this shot. I took this picture because Isla's arms were crossed, she was just coming out of a mini-tantrum over nothing. Too funny!

Opening gifts is always a great time, but we took an intermission and had quiche and orange juice for breakfast. Delicious!
After we finished opening presents we got dressed and headed over to Kasey's brother's house. This is a picture of our beautiful princesses with their cousin Daphne. Aren't they gorgeous!?!

Adiee was all about the snacks! :)
She was and Graysen were jammin'! Her face is SO cute and it's funny that he looks so serious because he was just as into it!
Oh yeah, BABY!! Haha!
Merry Christmas Love O' My Life!After a few hours at Kyle and Windy's house, we went to my grandparent's house. They snacked a little bit and quickly fell asleep after laying down with Adiee to watch a movie. Meanwhile...
The rest of us had a Just Dance 2 Wii Party! :) What a GREAT time! Mikenna absolutely loved it! She was okay for a while without a remote, but once she got the hang of it, you would have to pry it from her little fingers! Haha
Mikenna and my brother played... So fun!
Even my grandpa and cousin Michael got up to do it!!
Action shot - look at that hair! Oh and look who's awake! :) Anywho, we went to see "Gulliver's Travels" the day after Christmas with Kyle and his family and afterwards packed up the Tahoe (what a PAIN! - 2 adults, 3 kids, 2 good-sized dogs, a guinea pig cage, and TOO many gifts including that big baby care center! How we did it, don't ask me!! We all, with the exception of the driver - Kasey (how did he get so lucky?), couldn't hardly move for 2 hours! We got home and had everything unpacked by 8 o'clock. PHEW! What a week!!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! We hope you all are having a wonderful Holiday season!

Happy Birthday Kasey

Happy 28th to my one and only!!
Your family loves you so much!

Toothless

Miss Adiee lost her first tooth! She is TOO young if you ask me - only 4 1/2 years old!! It was a bummer because Kasey left for Billings the day before it happened and tooth-pulling is usually his department!

She was playing in her room while I was picking up the living room when she came out and said, "Mom, I need you to pull my tooth out." I looked at her tooth and it was hanging on by just a thread and I knew that I had to do it... I grabbed the video camera, and I had a heck of a time trying to get ahold of her tooth and hold the camera at the same time, but I got it and on tape.

She was super excited about putting her tooth under the pillow. The toothfairy came and left her a whopping 10 dollars for her first tooth which she later spent some of it on a little Tinkerbell toy. She loved picking out her toy and counting her own money for the cashier. She's got a second loose tooth on the bottom from pushing on that first one with her tongue.

Let Us Give Thanks

This Thanksgiving the Brown Family was on their own. Kasey was on-call this weekend still so we were stuck here in Rawlins. We made the best of it though! :) I cooked my family a delicious feast, we played games, and watched Disney's "A Christmas Carol". Kind of a creepy movie! We went to the theater last year for it, and I remember it scared the pants off of Adiee (who was 3), and I didn't get to watch it, I walked up and down the hallway with a crabby Isla (who was 1 at the time). Kasey got called out right when we were getting ready to eat for 2-3 hours... But we made it work :-)

The girls and I prepared everything homemade: mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole (YUM! my favorite!), turkey stuffing, yams, pineapple stuffing, gravy (meat and non-meat for me), and 2 pumpkin pies! Thanksgiving morning, the three helped Kasey with the turkey! Everything turned out PERFECT! The kiddos cleaned their plate, they loved all the different foods!!

I am truly thankful for everyone and everything in my life...

30 things that I have to be thankful for - one for every day in November: (#1) I am so grateful to my wonderful husband, (#2) who not only works super hard so that I can be a stay-at-home mom, but also (#3) makes love and romance a big part of our marriage - so lucky *sigh*, I absolutely LOVE being your wife Kasey! We are so blessed to have (#4, #5, #6) our three sweet little girls Mikenna, Adiee, and Isla. And that (#7) we all have our health... I am thankful for (#8, #9) my mom, and mother and father-in-laws for all that they have done for us, I don't know what we would do without you. (#10, #11) My brother and sister for always being there for me, (#12) for each and every brother and sister-in-law; I love being a part of such a large family - I wish we got to see more of you more often! And (#13) for all of our extended family on both sides, EVERYONE included! I am thankful for (#14) my 12 year old cat Kleo even though I'm not really a cat person, and I suppose I should mention (#15) my two dogs, Pete and Sara, even though they tick me off pretty much everyday, Ha! I am so very fortunate to (#16) have a warm and cozy place to call home, with (#17) four bedrooms, a total sanity saver when the girls are bickering! (#18) Our comfy king-size bed... (#19) My tahoe! ;-) Is that vain? I do LOVE that car though, haha! I am thankful for (#20, #21, #22) hugs, kisses, and laughter. Speaking of laughter, I am thankful for (#23) the crazy lady in the Black Friday Target commercials, I get a kick out of them! (#24) Photography and (#25) blogging, for capturing moments, both big and small, that not only I will never forget, but my family will never forget as well. I am thankful for (#26) board games and the many entertaining times past, present, and future! :o) (#27) I love the Christmas season and all of my decorations, pulling them out year after year makes me feel so giddy! I am thankful for (#28) music and the emotions that certain tunes can tap into. And (#29) Dreams and Goals - I have so many hopes for the future! Lastly, I am extremely thankful that (#30) Kasey and I have everything that we NEED - love, eachother, our children, a roof over our heads, and food on our table. Counting your blessings is a little harder than one might think!

Capitol Christmas Tree

This year the Capitol's Christmas tree, a 67-foot Engelmann spruce, came from the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. It will be toured through Wyoming before making it's way to Washington DC. We got to see it Friday, November 12. It was pretty chilly outside, but that didn't stop very many people from coming out to see it - us included. :)

The downtown businesses were giving out these patriotic glow necklaces, the girls thought they were pretty cool!

We stood in line to go see the tree through a little plexi-glass window with that portion of it lit up with Christmas lights. They passed around markers for people to sign their names, there wasn't much room at eye level so Mikenna and Adiee wrote their names while Kasey held them up. Kasey writing "Brown Family 2010" Adiee was nervous about being held up while signing so her name came out a little funny - the 'd' looked a little like a 'g' because of where she put the line on the circle and one 'e' was backwards, while the last 'e' was left unfinished because I said "Great job, Adiee" so Kasey thought that meant that she was done :)Our Family :)