awwwwww

I love the feeling of a new year. I love a new start and change. Today has been a gorgeous day. It snowed for the most part, Tuesday and Wednesday so today is blanketed in snow and the skies are blue. I wish i could have gone snow shoeing but I didn't want to take the chitlins and didn't have a babysitter. So I enjoyed it the best I could by looking out the window often :)
On this blog I read, she chooses a word for the year. For this year, she chose GROW. So I don't look like a copy cat (because I like that word), my word for the new year seems to be change. I'd like to change to a bigger house, change my waistline to a smaller size (although I'm not making ANY goals that have to do with weight loss), change the way I save and spend money, change my prayer and scripture reading habits including family (it has become so hit and miss during the week with our family prayer and scriptures), change my hair color, change the way "I" run Ryan's business. Just to name a few for starters. And when I write it down on something as public as my blog, I tend to stick to it. But because I enjoy change and I also enjoy setting goals, I've already started some of these changes because I just couldn't wait for tomorrow. We've moved to a larger home. huh, j/k. I'm thinking maybe a reflections post on the last year??

A merry time on Christmas

I love Christmas. I love waking up and seeing the kids excitement, watching them open presents and they get even more excited, hanging out in pj's all day, the kids playing nicely with all of their new toys and just doing nothing.

For Christmas eve, we went to Ryan's parents house and did our usual, dinner, "program" then swapping presents. On our way to SLC, the sunset was gorgeous

I was pretty lucky this year and got some good gifts, this being one of my favorites!


darn, we missed the big fat man, but here's what it looked like after he left.



We take turns opening presents, to make Christmas last longer.


Charlotte kept finding the chocolate from everyone's stockings. While we were busy ooohing and awwing over each others gifts, she was stuffing her mouth.


This was Charlotte's "big" present, I knew she would like it :)




One of our family traditions is to open jammies on Christmas eve. That's why they are so coordinating. I know, you thought we always dressed like we were straight out of a land's end magazine.



Brody with his stuff





My mom made all the grandkids these cute super hero capes. We were just checking out how well Charlotte's worked.

Christmas recital

I enjoy going to kids piano recitals because it is so cute to see them concentrating and almost all of them mess up. Its' quite possible that only 3 or 4 kids out of 15, played their songs right. But that is what makes it cute, seeing them learn and grow as they are developing a new talent. Brody started lessons in October and Cloe has been playing for a year.

the foolish man built his house with frosting

building gingerbread houses, fun tradition right? Not this year my friends, I was so irritated. Okay, a bit of exhaustion (it's saturday and I always stay up too late on Friday night) and frustration, I was more pissed than irritated. I looked up the recipe for Royal frosting and I thought it would also be fun to make a house out of rice crispy treat. The frosting never really hardened and I didn't spray the baking pan with Pam so the walls of crispy treat were stuck. (I had to bake them to harden them up) After Brodys house crumbled I ran to wal mart and bought a kit for $7. The roof keeps sliding off. Maybe my house is too humid. This is not the year. No Christmas miracles on ginger lane.



Abbey was upset that Brody got a real house and hers was now a garage because the pitched roof kept falling.

our e-card ??? wishing our blog viewers a wonderful Christmas season!

The Brown’s 2009 top 9 – Because we couldn’t come up with 10

9. Ryan’s private art school, the Center for Academic Study & Naturalist Painting (CAS), continues to be successful.

8. We spent the 4th of July in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. A gorgeous place and a lot of fun for our family.

7. Cloe started 2nd grade and enjoys reading, Brody started 1st and loves recess (and girls a little too much) Abbey is in pre school and likes going on field trips.

6. Ryan curated and participated in the “Hudson River Revival” exhibition at the Springville Museum. He and other artists spent 2 summers painting in Hunter, New York in preparation for this show. Ryan spent another 7 months completing the large painting.

5. I (Courtney) finished 2 triathlons and 6 other running races this year and am addicted to beating my own time.

4. Cloe ran her first 5k!

3. Brody competed in the “muttin bustin” in the Rodeo on his birthday. He stayed on the sheep for 10 seconds and thought it was so cool.

2. I had the pleasure of coaching Cloe’s softball team this year. She dominated in soccer and continues to play the piano. Brody played t-ball and soccer but sat 2 weeks of the season due to his 3rd broken clavicle! He also just started piano lessons. Abbey played her first year of soccer and was so fun to watch. She makes cute faces when she plays.

1. Charlotte turned one November 5th. She is so fun and such a sweetie. She also recently turned into a biped and it is fun to watch her wobble around.

We have been blessed this year in so many different ways. We are grateful to be celebrating this time of year with family and wish you all a Merry Christmas and an even better 2010!!

we had a great Thanksgiving and started it out right with a Turkey Trot. I did the 4 mile race with some friends from CA and then Ryan broght the kids to run the kids race.

Cloe was sick with a chest cold and started the race out too fast. She felt sick to her stomach so I walked with her to make sure she finished the race. I'm not raising any quitters ;)



Brody checking out his shadow. He got 2nd in his age group




The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to watch the Christmas parade in Spanish Fork. It was fun because they turned off all the lights on main street and all the floats were lit up with lights. The kids loved it especially Brody, he told me to look at every float because he thought they were so cool.







We also went to Provo's lights on where Santa turned the lights on. No photos because it was freezing and we lost Abbey. We finally found her sitting on the grass in the crowd, watching Santa and counting down for the magical lights on.


Saturday, we did family pictures with Ryan's family up in Salt Lake and then went and saw the lights at Temple Square. I loved it! All the
trees covered in lights and there was a small blanket of snow on the ground. It felt so Christmasy and festive.

it's official

Charlotte liked to walk back and forth from Ryan and I at about a 3 foot distance but the other day I noticed her standing up in the middle of the room and walking on her own. Everyone was doing their own thing and she was doing it on her own! I had to contain my excitement because I didn't want to 'spook' her and make her fall.

where's the love?

Got my hair cut today and finally did what I've been wanting to do for a looooong time! I've felt too chubby to have short hair, but I just wanted a change.
I like it. The kids all said I looked cute when they saw me, love them! And Ryan didn't say anything. nothing. So....he doesn't like it.
what do you think?

just wondering

Do you have this? or at least have you seen it? I like her website and have tried a few recipe's and enjoyed them. I'm picky when it comes to cook books so I'm looking for a thumbs up or down from a trusted blog world friend.

a little bit of a sass mouth

So many thoughts but are they really worth your time? Do you ever find yourself doing odds and ends a.k.a. chores, around the house and think of some great clever blog post? oh, you don't? I do. But when it comes to posting it, it just seems so far less interesting when read and re read.
My mom is always nagging me that I need to assign certain tasks to certain days to make my house cleaning easier. But I never thought it was good idea. Until I realized that I already have a laundry day and a clean out the car day and I love the routine. I've only been doing it 3 measly weeks and I have to say, Mom was right. Such a world of difference, I suggest you try it out. I'm done with my house duties by 10 and I feel more on top of things rather than constantly chasing the mess.

Well look what I scored for free at Wal Mart yesterday...

regular $20. I went through a bit of a hassle to make this work and then it ended up being way to easy. Background that you don't really care about, smile and nod. Apparently, the deal was suppose to be done at Target. They now price match and Toys R Us was having a doorbuster for $10.49 and Target happened to have a current coupon for $10 off this toy. I ended up having to walk around TRU, while my kids sat in the car, searching people's carts for the door buster ad because the service desk was out of them. finally found one but when I got to Target, they were OUT of the caterpillar. bummer. Then one day while at Wal Mart I thought I'd ask if they took other stores coupons and lo and behold, they do. They were also out of the caterpillar. So I have "my" checker that I go to when I'm price matching because I know he's cool and doesn't ask questions and trusts me if I don't have the add. When i went to wally world last night, they had the caterpillar but my guy wasn't there, so I had to carefully judge all the checkers and press my luck that they were cool. To make a boring and long story short, the toy was now on sale at wal mart for $9, and they took my $10 off Target coupon.
But now the problem is, I want to find awesome deals on all the toys I get the kids for Christmas. I did get a Leapster game for $10 regular $25. Paying full price kills me. I think that's why I don't buy new clothes very often, I don't have time to look through the sale racks.


I'm feeling quite festive this Holiday season. I have good intentions, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here Courtney. On Little Birdie Secrets they have a cookie exchange "party" and I think that sounds like such a fun way to start out December with friends and not just online. But sometimes I feel like I have to make it all cutsie and I just don't want to. And then who to invite? I hate feeling obligated to invite people. If you get offended, then we wouldn't make good friends anyways. And my third problem, I just don't have that many friends. I'm not saying that because I need pity, I'm saying it because I don't. I have acquaintances but not a lot of real friends. I'd go into it deeper but I'd end up offending neighbors and people from church. Not because I'd be mean, but because I'd keep it real and some people have a hard time accepting reality. Which brings me to another tangent, baby showers in my neighborhood. I have been invited to way too many baby showers this year and all of them were people that I would never have bought a baby gift for, except one who is one of my good friends. What happen to inviting your friends and family? Are they trying to get more gifts or are they trying to be politically correct? I don't want to buy them a gift but then I feel like an ass if I don't and I feel guilty if i don't go, what if no one else goes? I'll just have to be an Eeyore and stop going.

I got this super cute idea from my friend who got it from Potter Barn Kids. I've lost interest in crafting in the last few years so it's kind of fun to have something to do after the kids go to bed.
wow, no friends and losing interest in hobbies. Am I depressed? I started to feel like I was throwing away money and I got sick of finding storage for all that craaaap in my little house! but most people probably think paying for races is a waste of money. Oh and my sewing machine broke over a year ago and i haven't bothered getting it fixed. By the way, after looking back on my friends advent calendar, I think I'm going to throw mine away, hers is adorable. mine, ghetto.

my kids deserve a much happier positive post because Charlotte hit a new milestone! For another time, when I'm not feeling so sassy.

fun in ponyville

Abbey wanted to make boats for them with the empty boxes from the pantry organizing fest. That explains the cones box.

It's the time to give, I give you a good deal

you know when I find a post worthy good deal, I like to pass it on to you. I was telling my friend that I was having a hard time finding Christmas cards because I couldn't find one that I thought was really cute for the money and she then told me about free ones! At Fuji you can get 50 for free including envelopes! They aren't the cutest I have seen but when it's free, I'm not nearly as picky!
first go here www.seehere.com then design your card. It's kind of cool because you can edit it a little more than other places. (I mean walmart, and costco. not the fancy photoshoping some of you do)
then at checkout, enter freebies4mom-1109
I didn't have to enter a credit card or anything and this morning I got my confirmation e-mail sayingt they had been sent. But I think the deal ends at the end of the month.
Have any good deals, you think I might want?? I heard that Wendy's kids meals have coupons for $5 off Leapster. Do you know if it's true? I don't really like Wendy's, too salty, so I don't really want to go there to find out.









And also, did you forget that I occasionally talk about me and only me and my weight loss? Right here my friend

phew

Thursday is my "project day", and this was a LONG over due project. I kept putting it off because as you can plainly see, it was a beast. It was getting worse and I could no longer stand it. I still need to get more boxes/baskets to make things a little more organized.

BEFORE

AFTER

(the top shelf looks messy in the picture but it isn't this bad in "real life") plus, Ryan's pastries have stay up top so the kids can't get to them.

clutter costs you money, I didn't realize we had so much hot chocolate.





p.s. Ryan always gets bugged when I organize things???? A few months ago I moved our silverware, plates and bowels to a cupboard by the dishwasher and he still talks about how annoying it is. I guess he doesn't like change.

ME after one year of having Charlotte in my life

Let just cut to the chase, this post is for me to brag and be proud of my accomplishment. First off, my weight. By the time she was 8 months old, I had lost all my baby weight plus 5 more. woot woot. I'd still like to see 5 more take a hike. I've done 2 triathlons, run a mile 2 minutes faster than I have in years and I all around feel stronger. now this leads me into my weekend, on Saturday I competed in the Telos Triathlon. I've decided it is one of me least favorite triathlons because the swim is last but on a difficulty scale, it's pretty tough but I like the challenge. I placed 10th in my age group and 197th overall (there were at least 500 participants because I remember seeing someone with a number in the 500's on their calf). I should also add that the first triathlon I ever did was this one back in 2006, I improved my time by 10 minutes. The course is 5k run, 10 mile bike and 350 meter swim, my overall time was 1:16:23. My proudest time is the run, 27:47, schweet baby. Okay, I was also surprised on my transition times, I guess having 4 kids has been good practice to get in get out and do things quick ;) I try not to think about it but my time could have been even faster had I not had my chain fall of (took at least 1:30 to fix) and then the swim was obnoxious and I spent most of my time trying to pass people that were floating or walking down the middle of the lane!! But the swim has to be last because it would be too cold to run and bike with wet hair. After running hard and biking hard, both courses had steep hills, having to swim around people was exhausting. It always feels awesome to finish a triathlon and I enjoy the lifestyle.
Ryan asked me how long it would take and I told him to plan on about hour and 30 minutes because I thought he was wondering what time to tell his student to be at the studio. Well he showed up one hour and 30 minutes after the race started to see my cross the finish line. Apparently he isn't very familiar with how a triathlon works, he assumed he wouldn't be able to see me? The only picture he got of me was me dressed, carrying my bag and retrieving my bike. oops.

But luckily my mom was there and got me in my "uniform". Two of my good friends also competed. I need to learn how to stand when a photo is taken of me in my swimsuit! Especially next to skinny girls.

365 days old

Little Miss Charlotte Faye turned one on the 5th! I could've sworn she still looked like this


I won't bore you with how much I loved her the first day I met her but if you'd like a refresher go here. Because personally, I love to read it, but that's just me.

Her birthday was about as eventful as it can get on a school day when your turning one. She loved her cake and told Abbey " you gotta try this, seriously, try it, it's so good." She loves animals from cats to the seagulls in the parking lot, so she got a fur real baby puppy that barks and whimpers and moves when you pet it. She also got a sippy cup because the weaning from nursing has begun.


I know I"m her mom, but I love this little her and I always want to bite her fat cheeks off and I'm so glad she is part of our family. She makes us all so happy.

the kids being artsie

Every once in a while, Ryan will have the kids lay in a painting for him and then he finishes it because they enjoy it and it saves him time. He draws in some lines which are the horizon and basic outlines of a river or trees and then he tells them which color goes where, gives them a couple of brushes and their own mini pallet. They love doing it and he said he would put money in their savings account when "their" painting sales.






At their school the art competition is called Inspirations but seems to normally be called Reflections. I think. But one of the categories they wanted to enter was the photography with the theme "the power of one" and this is what they came up with.