Better Late Than Never...Christmas Letter

So I wrote our Christmas letter and even had them printed on cute Santa paper (visualize how cute here) but that is as far as they got. I thought I'd post it on our blog because I have been a slacker at putting anything on here and want to be better again...So here it is (remember this was written in December)...

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! I absolutely love this time of year. The birth of our Savior, Christmas lights, music, goodies, and traditions don't hurt either!

Anyway, 2014 has been an emotional rollercoaster for us for two main reasons. The first, is that in April my dad was acting very unlike himself and discovered he had a brain tumor, then went through brain surgery and was diagnosed with stage 4 Glioblastoma. Phew...that's still hard to write or think about. He went through a round of radiation and chemotherapy and is now on a 5 day of chemo and 23 days off cycle. Eating is not his favorite thing and he still doesn't have all his energy, but sure does have his sense of humor:). The MRIs have shown no growth so far since the surgery which is quite a blessing. I pray that we will continue to get that news!!!

On the flip side to that news, is that we are expecting baby Brown #3 in April!!! We go through moments of, "What are we doing?" to super excited! We recently found out that we are having another boy and that is exactly what Sophia and Kenton both wanted. Of course we had a girl name picked out, but have no name for this little guy yet. Boy names are so hard! He is a movin' and a groovin' in my belly and we can't wait to meet this little guy and have him a part of our family!

Now on to Sophia and Kenton...Sophia will be 7 next month and is a big 1st grader. She is diggin' school and is a leader in her class. It's fun to have her on the same schedule as me so I get to see her at lunch and recess. She played T-ball for her last year (next year is fast pitch), tried water skiing for the first time this summer and got good at riding her two wheel bike. This fall she played soccer and what a difference from last year! She is currently playing basketball (her daddy is the coach) with all the girls from her soccer team so that's a fun group. And all she wants for Christmas is her 2 front teem (and she adds in wanting toys too):)!

Mr.Kenton boy is in the "I'm a big boy" stage and sometimes a little too much for his own good. He will be 4 in January. He is such a sweet and cuddly boy, but knows exactly how and when to push buttons too. Kenton is going to a new preschool this year with a lot more kids so it was quite the adjustment at first. He still doesn't want me to leave, but once I'm gone he does well. He loves to do what his sister is doing and loves anything sports, plains, trains, cars, etc. He asks every day when our baby is going to comes, so I can't wait to see him as a big brother!

TJ is still working at his same job and is still enjoying it. This summer he played softball of course and moved right into referring football. He reffed a lot of games and this year, but that paid off because he was asked to ref a high school state football game. Can you imagine his excitement? He got a pin and everything to make it official and I'm very proud of him. He is now coaching Sophia's basketball team which is primarily girls (super cute to watch) until February, will have a little break, and then start coaching baseball in the spring. This new baby will come out, get bundled up, packed up, and will be off to sporting events from the get go...

I love my family, I love my Savior who blesses me and my family daily and pray for a healthy and happy 2015 for all!!!

                                                                                    Love, The Browns

I Promise: Last post on birthdays

We do monthly birthday dinners at my parents house and there are 3 birthdays to celebrate in my family, 2 of which are mine (sorry Mindy). So they each got more presents to open. So spoiled and blessed!

When the kids turn 3, my mom always gives them an "Over night" theme present: little suitcase, sleeping bag, big blanket. She made Kenton a Thomas blanket and pillow and it has been on his bed ever since.

Yay more clothes! I swear she grows so fast and so often, so I love it when she gets clothes!!!

Who says you can't do a pinata in January! My parents have a loft up above which is perfect for pinatas!

Dig in!

This year wasn't cake, it was yummy bakery donuts! Donuts are one of Mindy's favorite.

We then celebrated both kids at Red Robin:
They have to use their free burger coupon!!! My parents, mother-n-law, and the Bergdahl family joined us after Sophia and Jackson's bball game for a late dinner!

Sophia covered her ears (She would have cried a couple years ago, haha and Kenton was shy and laid his head on the table while they sang.

But he was all about the ice cream!

My Baby is 3

KENTON IS 3!!!

We had been watching this four wheeler at Costco for months now. Every couple weeks the price would lower and then on a fluke we were there and it was the lowest we've seen it and wouldn't ever be able to match that price. TJ is also re-living his childhood through his own son, hahaha. He always wanted one, but never got one, haha!

Watch out, crazy driver!

 BIRTHDAY PARTY: 

For his birthday party he wanted to have a Mickey Mouse bowling party. He takes after his sister when it comes to knowing how he wants to celebrate his day. We rented two lanes for an hour at the base bowling alley, which was perfect.

Kenton didn't get bored the whole time. He was ready to bowl every time and lasted through 2  games.

 This is his friend Mack from church:

 And this is his friend Olivia (I've been friends with her mom since junior high)

 Seriously people, get past the skin color and look at how much they look alike? I love these boys:)

 After bowling it was time for Mickey mouse cupcakes:

This boy loves blowing out candles. 

 A couple friends couldn't come, but here is the group that helped celebrate Kenton's day:

Sophia, Miles, Jackson, Olivia, Kenton, Mack, and Quincy

 Kenton is pure joy in our family. He is the greatest mixture of crazy boy, one who tests, one who cracks us up all the time and one who loves and cuddles so much!

Here is his 3 year old interview with me:

1. What is your favorite color?  Blue

2. What is your favorite food?  Cereal (he seriously has been on a cereal kick lately)

3. What is your favorite toy?  My train

4. What is your favorite sport?  Soccer ball

5. Who watches you?  Ms. Sarah

6. Who is your best friend?  Tyler

7. What is your favorite song?  Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam

8. What are you scared of?  Nothing

9. What is your favorite TV show?  Bob the Builder

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?  Santa

Phrases that he says that I love:

* Mickey Donalds (for McDonalds)

* Hangaburger (hamburger)

* Oop-see-daisies

* It's coldy (for cold- that one is thanks to Ms. Sarah;)

* Sorry mom

* He uses /w/ sound for /r/ sound (so really is wheelie)

* He uses /s/ sound for /c/ sound (so cars are sars)

And many more but that's all my brain can think of right now...

Sophia is 6

Sophia had a couple ideas for her birthday party this year, which she came up with all on her own, but this one was the winner. This idea was inspired by "BLUEBERRY" frozen yogurt place and was so easy for me to put together.

ICE CREAM SUNDAE PARTY!!!

 She invited Miles, Mollie, Jackson, Quincy, Averie, Tyler, Jackson, and Kendall. We played a couple ice cream games.  Here is "catch the scoop on the cone."

 Then we played "pin the cherry on the sundae" and then they threw darts and tried to pop the balloons on the sundae (no picture of that game).

 Then it was ice cream time. We had toppings galore...gummy bears, nerds, captain crunch cereal, m&ms, reeses, chocolate chips, cherries, oreos, all types of sauces, and more

Sophia is 6 and that's hard to believe. She is learning so much and it's fun to be a part of.

 Here is her 6 year old interview with me:

1. What is your favorite color?  Hot pink

2. What is your favorite food?  Lasagna

3. What is your favorite toy?  My stuffed animals

4. What do you like to do outside?  Play in the snow

5. What is your favorite sport?  Baseball

6. Who is your best friend? Tyler and Jackson Bergdahl

7. What is your favorite song?  Families Can Be Together Forever

8. What are you scared of?  Dogs

9. Favorite Movie?  Strawberry Shortcake

10. What do you want to get better at?  Playing basketball

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?  An artist or waitress

Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS 2013

Sophia and Kenton got the cookies for Santa and the carrots for the reindeers ready and then off to bed they went!

 Did Santa visit our house? We waited at the top of the stairs to find out while Daddy got the camera ready. Ready, Set, Go and down the stairs we ran!!

 Holy moly...a Barbie house!

 And a train set!

 We each got each other gifts which was my favorite part because Kenton and Sophia seriously thought about what to give each other, shopped for it, and then wrapped it. It was so fun!

 After our morning at home, we headed over to my parents house to do Christmas morning with them. Christmas morning at my parents is still seriously one of my favorite things. We always pile on my parents bed (this year was the guest bed). This always make me think of Todd because even though he hated his little sister getting him out of bed, I think he did truly love this tradition!

 And then we run down the hallway!

 We are truly spoiled and blessed!

I love, love, love Christmas!!!

Christmas with the Browns

We usually do Christmas Eve with TJ's family, but this year we celebrated together on Sunday. We had dinner, play time, gift exchange (cousins pull names and then all the adults do too), and then games. It was a fun night!

The girl table

The boy table

 Wrestle time with Uncle Zac

 And Uncle Caleb couldn't stay out of it

 Gift exchange: Mollie had Sophia, Kenton had Miles, Miles had Kenton, Jackson had Mollie, Averie had Jackson, Quincy had Averie and Sophia had Quincy.

 Here's their loot:

 Then...We all went over to GG and GGpa's house for the big surprise. They got them ALL new bikes. Talk about being spoiled, holy cow. They were in heaven and immediately rode them around the driveway.  GG was not feeling well, so I felt bad that the kids couldn't give her a hug.

Kenton got on Averie's bike at first because it's like the one he already has. He didn't care about he pink, ha!

 This was a great night to start the Christmas festivities with family! Love you Brown's and GG and GGpa. We are blessed to have you as family:)!