Wedding Number One

Our main purpose (aside from seeing family) in going to Utah was to be a part of a couple of weddings. My cousin Kira (pictured above) got married on Saturday August 18th in Logan, UT. For those of you who know her, doesn't she just look beautiful??!! We lived just around the corner from each other in high school and she served her mission here in Portland recently, so we have remained good friends even as we live far apart. I'm so happy for her and Scott. We were able to give them our congratulations at their wedding luncheon that day.

The Mom Mobile at 25

So, back in July after going through a couple of months of cramming the three kids either in the backseat of our Rodeo, or better yet, our volvo s40 (which would fall in the category of compact sedan) we decided it was time to make the big (dreaded) leap to a minivan. We sold both of our cars and bought a Honda Odyssey for the family and a little Zuma scooter for Dave to commute to school on. We took our first family roadtrip in the van (no more flying for us for a while) to Utah. We left midday, expecting the kids to fall asleep around their seven o'clock bedtime, but this is a picture taken about 9 pm (notice it's pitch black outside). Both kids were bright eyed as they stared mindlessly at "The Never Ending Story" for the second or third time since we left. We opted to turn the dvd player off at this point and both boys quickly fell asleep. The trip wasn't pretty, but also wasn't nearly as bad as we anticipated (until the way back that is. . .which you'll hear all about in a future post). And if you are wondering, yes, I love my minivan! I'm way beyond "cool" at this point in my life . .I think of myself as more of a spectacle anytime I go out in puclic as people can't stop staring at the apparent fourteen year old toting 3 kids (with at least one generally making a scene in some manner). I'm all for anything that will make my life easier in the littlest way and no doubt the minivan does that well.

The Race Is On

We took an overnight trip to Park City/Midway with Dave's parents while in Utah during the middle of August. Opa volunteered for kid duty and watched Brooklyn and Dallas while Oma, Trenton, Dave and I took a ride down the Alpine Slides. I was proud to place first in my heat of 1. Oma was also victorious as she slid down just head of Dave and Trenton.

Three Times a Lady

Bri and her cousin Lachelle raced today in the LUNA All Women’s Sprint Triathlon. This was Bri's first go at one of these and with the Christmas Eve-like anticipation , only got 5 hours sleep. When morning finally arrrived she wasn't quite sure what she had got herself into. When all was said and done, however, Bri did spectacularly and finished in 1:26, coming in 36th out of 306. Not too shabby for someone who decided two days before hand to join in. What a woman. We are planning on doing another sprint triathlon on Sept 1st. I'm getting pretty good at the elementary backstroke and doggy paddle but have decided that the most important training I can do right now is see how long I can tread water and compare that with how long on average it takes a rescue boat to reach swimmers in need. Anyone have a snorkle?

Bri had the 25th fastest run... This made up a lot of time for her since the bike she used only had one working gear and a brake that once you broke...well, IT broke. (but that was better than no bike, thanks Nick)

Just another jog in the park for triathlon veteran Lachelle

What's surprising about this picture? They're smiling after a gruelling triathlon. What's not surprising? Dallas is eating.

Calves of Steel

My training for our upcoming triathlon

Does this count as studying?

Dave will be taking his first set of boards at some point in the next couple of months. I walked in on him "studying" one night last week and couldn't resist taking a picture. Hopefully some of his other study sessions prove to be a little more effective.

Brotherly Love

When they're not fighting, the boys do have quite a bit of fun together. Dallas, the typical little brother, has a great time following Trenton around and copying him. The boys beat the heat jumping into our pool . .only 3 feet in diamter and 6 inches deep, the pool may not be large in size, but it's still big on fun!
Proof that there really are similarities in raising children and raising a pet. This is how they chose to eat their ice cream on a warm Sunday evening.
Happy Fourth of July! Checking out their loot from the ward bike parade.Nothing like free summer movies and microwave popcorn from home. Trenton and Brooklyn lasted the whole movie, obviously Trenton watched it and Brooklyn slept. Dallas, on the other hand, got all stir crazy about halfway through- so my sister took him cruising around the mall for the duration of the film. We love when "Auntie" comes to visit!

The Brown Family Together Again

All of my siblings came to town for Kevin's "homecoming"talk in May and we took a trip to the Oregon Coast for a little family reunion. We also snapped our first family photos since Margaret and Seth's wedding nearly three years earlier. The bigger the family gets, the more difficult it is to get a decent picture . . .good thing we have Dave's photoshop skills to help us out.

Daughters. . .better than I expected

So, I must admit that I have had more fun with the whole girl thing than I anticipated. The bows, ribbons, dresses, bracelets and painting nails throws a whole new element into motherhood. That, and that fact that she just sits there nice and calm while her brothers beat the heck out of each other. Either way, it is bringing me a new source of joy in life.