This is the cute, tan, curley haired boy that I fell in love with 6 years ago. . .

This is the handsome, wonderful father and husband that I'm still in love with today. . .

Here's to five years sweetie!

Words from the Toddler

While driving in the car today Liv said:

"I don't don't like skeetos, I like ants".

Pause.

"I like to go inside and put on my sparky shoes and then smash them."

Pause.

"With my feet".

Pause.

"I like bumbabees too".

Later on in the car, after passing by a smashed and bloody mouse in the road the following conversation took place.

Me- "Eeeew!!"

Liv- "Whot happened?"

Me- "A mouse got smashed in the road"

Liv- "Ohhh. In the road?" "A mouse got smashed?"

Me- "Yep"

Liv- "Ohhh."

Liv- "And then he got sad?"

Aaaah I suppose he probably was a little sad. . .

I really need to get a double running stroller. . .

My morning power walk would be much easier. . .

Olivia's conversation continued. . .

(This morning I ran upstairs to get something and when I came back above picture is what I found)

Today I loaded up the kids in the car to go to Lake Meridian to swim. I buckled Liv in first, then Warner. Then, I jumped in my seat, and just seconds after I started the engine and started pulling out of the garage, I hear Olivia say

"Ok.
So.
Warner, tell me about it."

(Pause)

"Do you like Raccoons?"

I laughed pretty hard at that one.

I'm happy to say that I think these two are finally becoming quite good friends. In spite of all of the smashing and poking that has gone on. :)

Funny Sayings From Liv This Week

1. Today just after getting home from church Olivia said she needed to go potty. So I sat her up on the toilet and she held herself from falling into the toilet by placing both hands around the edges. She was totally silent while she was going potty and then when the "tinkle noise" finished she exclaimed "It worked!".

2. Yesterday as we were driving in the car, both the kids were happy in the back seat. Warner was cooing and smiling at Liv and she was chatting to him softly. I didn't realize she was chatting to him until I turned around and responded to something she said only to be told "No Mommy, you can't, I talking to Warner". Then she carried on with her conversation and this is what I heard from the back seat. . . from a sister to a brother:

"We like fingamingo's, and we like snakes, and we like beaches".

Brown Happenings

(Newcastle beach. Picture found online)

Some day's I feel like my life is full of solving riddles. Do you remember that riddle about . . hmm. . .lets see it seems like there was a boat and a man who had to take a fox, a chicken, and some chicken food across a river, but he could only take one thing at a time. He couldn't leave the chicken alone with the fox, and he couldn't leave the chicken alone with the bird food on either side of the river so in what order does he take the animals and food across?

Well, on fun days like today, when we have had a gloriously fun play group at a beach (pictured above), but come home with a lot of needs, my riddle is which needs do I meet first? 5 minutes away from home my thoughts are focused on Warner who is crying, because he is hungry. He probably needs a diaper change too. Olivia needs a nap in a major way, but she is also covered in a whole lot of sand and needs a rinse in the tub before hopping into her freshly washed bed sheets. I'm starving and have to go to the bathroom really bad.

So here's what happened:
Unbuckle Liv first. She hops down and runs towards the door.
Unbuckle and carry Warner into the house. Let Liv in the door.
Walk upstairs, turn on the bath water. It starts to fill.
Set a really sad warner down, because when a girls gotta go she just has to go.
Go to the bathroom.
Pick warner back up, and
one handedly undress Liv and get her in the tub.
Feed warner.
Set Warner down happy and full.
Get liv out.
Get liv dressed.
Get Liv down for a nap.
Go downstairs to eat and clean some dishes first, because I just don't eat well when I'm looking at a dirty counter.

Ahhh finally. . . eat and blog about it at the same time.

I find that the most challenging thing about having two, is when they both break down at the same time, whose needs do you meet first? I take it by a case to case basis, but I'll say that nine times out of ten Liv usually comes first. Poor Warner.

We have had a really fun summer so far. I just haven't blogged about it very much and have taken way less pictures than is typical for my liking. We took Warner on his first camp out about a month ago, when we went to Zions Camp, which is about an hour and a half away. He didn't sleep too well, but it was fun inspite of how tired I was the next day.

(Photo found online)

We have been visiting lots of beach parks and been getting our money's worth out of our beach cruisers in this wonderful weather. This weekend Jaron and I went on a date and for our date we rode our bikes on the boardwalks in down town Seattle, exploring the pier's, the train tracks, and even the Olympic Sculpture Park, ending the night off with some real good seafood at a restaurant on the pier.

Jaron is hard at work as always and is anxious to get in his wet suit and go for a surf down at west port in the near future. He's wonderful. And I'm so grateful for him. This morning in my drowsy state of sleepy drunkenness I caught a gimps of him quietly sneaking around our room like a little elf on Christmas eve collecting all of our trash bags around the house so that he could distribute them in our garbage can, which he then moved to the curb for pick up today. He does this every single Tuesday morning with out being asked and without seeking for any thanks for doing it. He really is pretty alright.

Olivia is as sassy and cute as ever. She is still figuring out how to give love in a gentle way, and how to be gentle in general, but she has a great zeal for life that I admire. She talks and sings all the time, and its so fun to hear her say funny things. Today she said "I need to sing!". She says "I need to. . ." a lot. "I need to swim!". "I need to poke Warner". You get the idea. Pink is still her most favorite color.

Warner is a dream. He is still my solace at the end of a long day. I curl up in my bed and talk to him as he coos and smiles at me.

I have been trying to get back into working out the last couple of days. Yesterday I actually did some lunges and squats for the first time in a long time. I haven't been feeling good for awhile so I haven't been able to work out, but I'm starting to feel good again so am starting to pick up where I left off. I have some new goals for this summer, one of which is memorizing the scripture mastery scriptures in the book of Mormon. I somehow weaseled out of doing this in seminary, maybe, because I never really took seminary too seriously, but I figure its never too late to do anything right? I'm half way through already, because I just work on it while I'm nursing Warner and have nothing else to do, but sit there. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Brown's at a family reunion at the end of this month down in Colorado.

And there you have it. Update on us.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer. Happy Tuesday Afternoon!

Sending our Love to the Wrights

Jaron has now had three 'three-day weekends' in the last month, and I think I could get used to this.
Two weekends ago our good friends Nicole and Casey came out to visit us. They were officially our first visitors in our new place. We made sure to jam pack their vacation to the northwest full of fun adventures with beautiful scenery to convince them that Seattle is the place to be.

Did it work Nicole? Ha now you have to comment! :)

From paddling all around in the Pudget Sound, to hiking to beautiful waterfalls, there was lots of fun to be had here in the northwest with such fun friends.

We love you Nicole and Casey. Come visit again soon. Or just move here :). Done and done.