How blessed we are to live during the administration and ministry of President Gordon B. Hinckley

January just started looking better

besides that it's now over. I don't think I have been more grateful to be in Italy than I am now. After reading friends blogs and getting updates from family, I'm not so anxious to come back to Utah this winter. Last night I had to ride my bike home from the train station (about a 20 minute ride) and it was starting to rain. All I had on was a long sleeve shirt and a goose down vest coat. My hands were so cold and I was getting soaked. And then this morning it was still raining while the kids and I stood at the bus stop waiting for the late bus to school. The way home wasn't so bad cause Abbey and I got a ride. As i rode and stood in the rain, I thought this isn't so bad and it could be much worse, I could be trying to drive my big beast car in the crazy snow! One thing I remember about the snow in my neighborhood is, the street gets plowed and then all the snow piles up behind my car, so I have to floor it to get over the mound of snow and then try to keep control when I hit the ice so I don't hit the cars parked behind mine! I was sad to not have your white Christmas but I think I'm over it.



*yes Liz, I stole your picture. It wasn't copyrighted with Dilly Dally :)

I had a few requests

So here are the boots. Nothing too special but I'm sick of having myself stare at me every time I go to the blog! But I do have to point out the sassy nylons I got for 3 euros. When I bought the boots a few weeks ago, I zipped them up Sunday morning and the zipper split! I was pissed. That's what you get for 29 euros. Since living here I've learned you get what you pay for. But I was able to exchange them and so far this pair has lasted longer :)

adventures in language barrier's

i always go to Fabio for my haircuts, and always love them. But I always have my friend Annie with me who speaks Italian. Since my last hair cut, she has moved back to the states (moment of silence please), sigh. I needed a haircut. The only thing I could really get across to him in Italian was, I always like what you do. And I always just tell him to "do whatever, I trust you". yikes. I feel like a dyke. Io non piace. I hate it. Cloe told me I look like Starbuck from "Battlestar Galactica".
The thing I really wanted to tell him before the cut began, "Right now I want to grow it out a little more, so just style and trim it please."
Thank goodness hair grows back!!

I can't help but cry

In November my little sister had a baby and today my sister-in-law had her baby. And I'm missing it. I just want to hold my little niece and nephew and give them kisses and smell their necks. A year has been long enough, I'm ready to come home and see those babies and just be happy for my sisters!

*pictures soon to come of the little guy and I mean little, 3 weeks early!

this week the kids have been home from school about every other day with a nasty virus. They seem to be doing fine and then it hits them again. And I have come to realize, I will never home school my children. Once you've tasted the sweet nectar of those precious hours to get things done with a limited number of children, you can never go back. One of those sick days included an Enrichment meeting at church. I am the Enrichment leader, yes you heard me right, me. I've enjoyed sitting back and letting everyone else do the hard work long enough. But the problem/intimidating thing is that because I'm from Utah, they expect me to have these grandiose ideas and so much to contribute. Oh and they want me to teach the lessons at Enrichment. Reminder: Io parlo pocco Italiano. I'm sure I'll have plenty of posts about my adventures in language barrier mixed with church callings. And I could use some ideas!
So after the meeting, I proceeded to pick up as many greasy smashed chips as I could off the ground (thank you Brody) and went to one more appointment. Waited for a half hour late bus that was jammed pack and in major traffic the entire way. If you've ever rode the 14 in Florence, I'm sure you can relate. My kids were good considering they all had to share one seat while I hovered over them because I just couldn't stand up straight. Oh my aching back. My point of all these side stories is, come Saturday I needed some mom time. We played in the morning and after grocery shopping and Ryan got home, I rode the bike into the city. It was a wonderful ride, and I'm quite sore because I haven't rode the bike for weeks. I ran a few errands and then went browsing through the sales. Oh the sales. I went to this little unique boutique that is expensive but everything was an additional 50% off of the 30% off. I got a cute black wrap dress, regular 99 euros for 32 euros. And after trying on clothes I also realized, dang, I've gained way too much weight lately. Linsey, I need you to train me! I Hit up some more stores but still on a mission for boots. I have found some cute ones but just can't quite get them all the way up my calf with the zipper! I haven't found any that I love and I can't bring myself to paying 100 euros for boots on sale (yet) so to make up for he extra dress and being gone for 3 hours, I found a black pair of knee high boot for 29 euros. Lets hope they last longer than 2 months! So it was a wonderful afternoon and when I came home and tried on the dress with the boots the kids said with lit up faces "mom! you look so pretty, I like that. Is that for when you get a baby?" Thanks guys, you made my day :)


This is the view from our bedroom window. Behind the building is the Arno River. Irrelevant information. The other day, Abbey was sitting on our dresser looking out the window and said "can we go to the farm?"
me: "where's the farm?"
her: "right there. I want to ride a horse and Brody can ride a cow and Cloe can ride a horse."
me: "the building with the red roof, is that what your talking about?"
her: "yeah, it's a farm."
Hopefully she forgets about it because she will be very disappointed when I take her over there.

January Book Club book

And I recommend it!

Thanks Meghan for your recommendation



Now I can get back to reading my Michael Moore book.

the newest recruit

Forget about all of Ryan's progress at school, his one-man-shows, and upcoming workshops. He has a much bigger accomplishment in my eyes... he got recruited for the city of Florence basketball team! This isn't a city team, this is THE city team. They play other cities and actually practice 3 times a week and do conditioning. Not to mention it's all in Italian, so Ryan is learning all the important words like "pick" "right" "left" "switch" and a few swear words of course. And he's also learning how to play European style basketball. He keeps saying he wants to get into shape and now he will.
So as if he weren't busy enough with going to school full time and trying to paint for the galleries here is his new insane schedule:
Mondays -
8:30 - 4 - Figure and Portrait Painting
5-7:00 Anatomy
8-9 - Basketball practice
Tuesday - 8:30-4 - Figure and Portrait painting
5-7 - Figure Drawing
9-11 - Basketball practice
Wednesday - 8:30-12 - Figure painting
12:30-5 - Architecture paintings in the city
5:30-9 - Ecorche (This class is anatomy on steroids. They sculpt the figure by first sculpting every bone, and then every muscle, which they put over the bones, and then the skin over the muscles. On top of that they have to take their figure sketches and draw on tracing paper over the top of their figures the skeleton and the muscles from memory!)
Thursday - 8:30-4 - Figure and Portrait painting
9-11 - Basketball practice
Friday - 8:30-4 - Figure and portrait painting
5-7:30 - Art History and composition lectures (Ryan is helping design the composition course and lectures)
Saturday - 10-3:30 - Portrait painting
Sunday - Church, if we're lucky (just kidding) and then still-life painting at home.

I don't know how he does it all and still finds time to be a good Dad and Husband, but he does. After so many posts about the kids and many silly little things, it's good to finally put a little brag package together about Ryan. He's the reason we're here in the first place, and he's getting so much better all the time. We're very proud of him and all his accomplishments!
Enjoy this glory post while it lasts, love you sweetie :)

Christmas Break is over

Sunday, to the rest of Europe was "Epiphany", which is the day they celebrate for the 3 wise men arriving at the stable to see baby Jesus. But the Italians have added a
different twist, it is also the holiday, Befana. A witch brings a stocking for all the children full of candy and what not. The legend goes that the Three Kings on their way to visit the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem called at La Befana's hut for hospitality. They asked if she wanted to join them, but she said she would rather not go because she was too busy. Later she changed her mind, so she hastily gathered a few gifts and tried following the Wise Men, but could not catch up with them, nor could she find the Christ Child. Ever since, each Twelfth Night she travels from house to house leaving presents for the children, just in case one of them is Baby Jesus. So I thought, "oh, cute. But not going to celebrate it for no particular reason, just why bother?" Sunday we come home from church and find 3 stockings and a small witch hanging on our door knob! The kids were thrilled and I said a quick prayer in my head that went something like this: "Thank you so much for blessing us with the such thoughtful neighbors." Yes, the neighbors that I have spoken of in previous posts, left 3 FULL stockings for my kids on Befana!

Abbs with the discovery


Please just sit together and look at mom so I can see your stockings.


She likes the witch.


Monday the kids went back to school which meant I had to turn my alarm back on. We had a great break and now the questions have started again "When do we get to stop going to Italian school?" "In Utah will the suora's (nun) and teachers speak English?" "Can I stay home with you?" "How come Abbey doesn't have to go to school?" It's nice to feel back on a set schedule again and to have a clean house for 3/4 of the day.
And the biggest highlight of my week so far, Monday was the beginning of the big sales!! Tomorrow I'm going to go scope some things out namely some knee high suede boots, a new wool coat, sassy nylons and maybe if I have time I'll hit the kids stores as well. And then begins the bartering with Ryan. Those are just the items on my "needs" list ;)


Ryan and I discovered a new television series, thanks to the Isaac Wait family, that I highly recommend you get addicted to. "Battlestar Galactica". I thought "are you kidding me, Battlestar galactica? (said in a voice like "whaaaaat?")" But I was totally wrong and cannot wait for season 4!
So far 2008 has been a good year and will continue to be as long as I can keep my craving for Target in the way back of my mind for 6 more months or so!

A Knight's Tale

is a movie my kids enjoy watching and often. On Saturday I told the kids to clean up their coloring mess and Cloe later asked for tape. And if I could tape this piece here, and this one there. She later came in and said
"Look, I'm knight's tale", including her joust, shield and horse. And then the knight had to tinkle.

I love a fresh start

I always love the feeling of a new year. Or the beginning of Spring, the start of a new diet when I'm totally motivated (if only I could stick to it!) or just when I make a new goal. This time of year, I like to look back in my journal and now of course, past blogs and realize the things that I have accomplished, progress I have made and new talents that I have developed. But with the "fresh start", I enjoy thinking of what I want the new year to bring. For Christmas I got a really good book that I recommend to all mothers, "Mothering with Spiritual Power" by Debra Sansing Woods, it has made a difference in my focus this year. My goals are much more Christ centered and I'm more focused on mothering with the spirits influence. Some of my past goals have been to do a triathlon, become an aerobics instructor, lose weight and learn Italians. I think they are all great goals and it felt good to achieve them but for some reason this year, I felt more incline to focus on my children and the type of instrument I am in their life. What a great goal to post about following the last post of my sons comment! But that was last year ;) And I would like to have a baby this year so why bother with a weight loss goal?



Nothing can be less eventful than our New Year's eve last year spent on a plane on our way to Florence but you know your lacking in friends when you have 8 missionaries over. The 4 sisters had to leave at 7:15 to catch the last bus of the night and the elders left at 9. Woo-hoo we picked the party animals! We gave the kids naps earlier in the day and they had no problem staying up until midnight. We had tons of food. We did a burrito bar with Ryan's salsa, con queso dip, spinach artichoke dip, cheese ball, and Swedish coffee cake. The missionaries were in heaven. Go figure, you can find heaven at the Brown's!?? For the whole month of December we have heard fireworks but about 2 hours prior to midnight it was a non-stop sound of explosions. Then at midnight, they went CRAZY! had it not been new years, I would have thought the Nazi's were invading again. The kids loved it and went outside to blow there horns and yell "happy new year!"


I never payed attention to how they say it in Italian so we stuck with English. Again, another good holiday but I'm glad it will be celebrated next time with family.