The Truth Hurts

I have a confession {or two, or a hundred} to make. My family is not perfect. Nor am I. In fact, we have bad days. Sometimes I am a bad mom. And sometimes my kids are bad kids {and hubby a bad hubby, you get it, right?}. Sometimes we eat cereal for dinner, surrounded by a messy house. Sometimes I let myself do what I want to do, instead of what my mommy list tells me to do. There are times when my doorbell or phone rings, and I don't answer. Every so often, I covet my neighbors/family members possessions. There are people that I know that I don't really care to ever talk to--they annoy me. If I feel overworked, used or abused, I complain {like, say, church callings}. Sometimes I look in the mirror and wish I looked like anybody else. I don't get up at 6 a.m. like all the good mommies do. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Many of you have commented about how this little blogworld we live in seems to paint everybody in a better than realistic light. We sit to post and everything comes out 10 times better than it actually was/is. My friend Angie said in her last post that honesty in blogging is very important to her. I couldn't agree more. While I think it's great that we share all of life's greatest blessings with each other, I feel that it is profoundly important that we also be real, and share the sad, disappointing, boring and mundane realities that each of us face. That way, I don't feel like hanging myself after I read through my GoogleReader...

Some creative guy/girl out there decided that enough was enough with this little blog obsession. Check out this blog to see what some "outsiders" think of all of us bloggers. I guarantee you'll recognize several of your own little quirks/habits. It might make you think twice before you post anything. Also, you just might laugh so hard you'll pee a little.

Sidenote: My OCD is having a really difficult time allowing this post to remain. I tried and tried to get the whole border to appear around the family illustration. I almost deleted the whole thing, but I didn't want to come up with a new post. Because I'm lazy. I apologize that it looks so amateurish. I won't allow it to happen again. Unless I can't sleep over it tonight and I have it all changed by morning. I know, I have problems.

Remember the time...

There is nothing better than a picnic in the park on a hot summer day {with an ice cold Coca-Cola}. We ventured out last month to what my sister Chrissy called the perfect park. It has the steepest slide you've ever seen, and lots of area to run around.

Carly is such a fun little friend. She loves to have a good time and almost always has a giggly-smile on her face. It doesn't take much for her to convince us to "go and play".

We were lucky to have Aunt Rachael with us that day. She and Uncle Norm were here for a week in June and we miss them so much already. Now that she has informed us that she's a real, true life baby maker, we're not sure when we'll see them next.

Remember that oh-so-steep slide I was telling you about. I forgot for a moment how old I am and decided to go down with the girls. Bad. Idea. The slide curved way before my body was ready to, and I ended up getting most of the skin on both of my ankles ripped off. It was not pleasant or fun. At. All. The greatest part was that my sister just happened to take a picture of our jumbled mess of bodies as we came out. Hilarious!

Freedom Rocks {and so does Miley}

The Fourth of July was perfect! We started the day at home, just relaxing and enjoying each other {aside from being totally excited and anxious for Miley}. I had gotten the girls some patriotic little gifts like t-shirts and flips flops {and of course the customary flags}, so we went outside and snapped some pictures. It was fun because the girls were actually quite willing and giggly. Then, in the evening, Grandma and Grandpa came to get us for the Stadium of Fire. We got there in plenty of time, got some snacks and settled in.
My opinion of the show--Miley was my favorite. For all of the moms and girls she was great. Dads and grandparents maybe not so much because they didn't know the songs. I think Ashlyn was a little confused because she was expecting Hannah Montana's songs. Carly bounced and danced and sang the entire time. And they both loved the fireworks! Overall it was lots of fun and it's always great to be part of something patriotic. I was glad that my girls got to experience seeing the jets and soldiers and flags. It's what the 4th of July is all about! Thank you Mom and Dad for taking us!

Here's a little taste of Miley. I'm sorry it's a little out of focus and shaky. The stadium was literally bouncing all around me from people jumping. If you want to watch you'll have to pause my blog music.

Firecracker Flashback

It seemed only fitting that today's flashback celebrated Independence Day. And since we're looking at July 4, I chose 2004. This was the first year we got to celebrate with two little cuties. I remember this day so well. We had so much fun just taking pictures and being together.
Looking at these pictures only makes me realize how fast the time goes. Over a few years these girlies have changed and grown so much! It only goes to show that we should never wish away the present. Cherish every moment because before you know it that moment will be a memory. So, with that, go out and enjoy this holiday with your loved ones. Celebrate our freedom and this great country that we have all been blessed with. Happy Independence Day!

Let's Get This Party Started

Following in the footsteps of Flashback Friday, I'm going to start 2 x Tuesday. That means, my lucky readers, that when I post on a Tuesday, you're going to get a double dose. I can hear the shouts of excitement! And I know what you all are thinking. You're thinking "but that's such a great idea, I want to do 2 x Tuesday, too!". Well, my friends, you can. Just copy the logo and use it on your own blogs on Tuesdays. And you don't even have to tell me that I'm awesome, because I already know!

Miley Makes us Smiley

While we were in Las Vegas, my sister called to tell us that my dad, {yeah, that great ol' daddy of mine} had pulled another trick out of his hat and scored us all some Stadium of Fire tickets. Miley Cyrus, a.k.a. Hannah Montana, is a star around here. I had my brother in law in New Jersey and my sister in Colorado helping me in my quest for tickets the minute they went on sale a few months ago. None of us got any. I was so disappointed and mad for like a month. And then Dad surprised us. Again. He always comes through and now we are on Miley countdown. My mom has brought several new Hannah Montana t-shirts over so the girls "have their pick" of which to wear on Friday. We can't wait! What is everybody else doing to celebrate the 4th?

Birthday Reunion

Shane's Grandma Brown turned 90 this year. So everybody decided to meet in the desert and have a party. It was hot, and it was a very long drive, but it was worth it to see how excited she was. I'm fairly certain that we'll be doing it again in 10 years to celebrate 100. Grandma hasn't slowed down a bit.

No event in the Brown family would be complete without schedules and pictures. So we got plenty of both. There was even a schedule for the taking of the pictures. And a copy of the schedule for each and every person. Grandma should have plenty of photos of grandkids and great-grandkids. The cousin picture was one of the first taken, so everybody is still smiling.

At the close of the event, Shane decided that Grandma had been spoiled with the spotlight enough for one day. He wanted a turn. So he decided to make an appearance as the fun-loving, attention-seeking grandson that he is and surprise Grandma with a dance. And he got all the
looks and laughs that he was after. Oh, and it made Grandma quite happy, too.

Las Vegas, Baby

We made our way down to Arizona for a family reunion a few weeks ago. Since we were driving the dreadful distance, we decided to stop in Vegas for a little family time. The girls were so excited to go to Las Vegas, as we had told them of the many fun things we could do while there. We wanted to stay at the Golden Nugget because Mitch and Tavi had taken us there a while back to show us the fun pool. There is a big shark tank right in the middle so you can swim right up to them and take a peek. There is also a waterslide that goes right through the tank. We ended up spending all of our time at the pool because the girls couldn't get enough. They even got me into the pool to see the sharks.

Ashlyn has turned into a fabulous little swimmer. She loves to play in the water. She stayed in the pool long after the rest of us were finished. I think she was the last person in the pool when they finally came and told us we had to leave. Good times, good times.

One Year Older and Wiser, Too

Okay, one more tribute to Ashlyn and her first grade year--from the first day to the last day.

**Disclaimer** The above video may be extremely boring to anybody who is not a grandma, grandpa, or auntie of this cute girl...

You've Got Talent

Ashlyn's class did a talent show the day before school got out. When we asked Ashlyn what she wanted to do for her talent she said "I'm really good at tennis". So we thought it would be so unique and cute for her to "serve" wiffle balls into the crowd. She thought this sounded great and was really excited. She went outside that morning while waiting for the bus and practiced, which I loved because I got to take some pictures of her--which has been a tough task lately.
I was a little nervous when I found out that the talent show was in the library. I was sure that we were going to break something but it was great! She did such a good job! She stood up when it was her turn and said "For my talent I'm going to show tennis skills. If you catch it, you keep it!". This was a hit as all the kids thought it was so fun to try and catch the balls. It was fun to see something unique and she hit her serves perfectly. The first two serves hit the same little old ladies right in the head, but everybody got a good laugh and Ashlyn made sure to move it around after that.

I was once again the proud mommy who was sad to see the year coming to an end. But as I watched all the kids do their talents and sing their songs, I couldn't help but notice how far they have all come during the school year. They were looking like "big kids" and feeling so confident in what they can do. Ashlyn's teacher has done such a great job and Ashlyn has really grown so much. {And, just in case you're wondering, I cried--a little bit}.