BOYS!!!!!

Saturday we went to play with cousins and early that day we had a wonderful August, Utah, rainstorm. When it let up, the kids went outside to play. A couple hours into it, Katelynn was making a big deal about the boys being gross. We went outside to find them covered in mud. By where the mud ended up, it looked like there was a mud fight, some rolling and some lathering of mud on their arms. And as punishment, Uncle Jeremy hosed them off.





and a little triathlon update, early that morning I went on a 8 mile bike ride then ran 3 miles to practice. I went with my bud Lindsay (who talked me into doing this tri) and she kicked my butt! It was freakin hard, what am I getting myself into? But it's gonna feel awesome when I cross that finish line. 5 more days!!!

a cool park

the other day we went to the park with some friends and all I was expecting was a playground. I'd seen the park before and assumed the fountains were just decoration but soon found out they are little wading pools. The kids loved them. First they started with their clothes on and were soon down to the bare necessities, which left them with cute little tan lines that evening. Then we went over to this cool swing contraption. It had six swings and they spun around like a carousel. It seemed really cool until us moms attempted to push the thing while our kids yelled "faster!!" The thing would barely move. But watching Addie and Abbey giggle with enjoyment was worth the effort. They swam some more until us mom's could not stand the sun any longer. It was a gorgeous park and good company.

not only does she hike!

my mom is an amazing seamstress, which i did NOT inherit, and she whipped up these aprons the other day. She's deciding on what to do with them and the money hungry girl that I am told her to sale them! Any one in the market for a good quality, reversible apron? $20 plus shipping :)
and they come in different prints

two thumbs up

to my mom! She hiked mount timpanogas last week! I have no desire to do it and don't think I ever will. I am very proud of her and wanted everyone to know. Yeah Nonna!

some great painting posts to come

Ryan left on Sunday to go to New York for a 3 week session at the Hudson River School of Art. If you know much about the art world then you will be impressed to know that it is being put on by Jacob Collins. I'm excited to hear how it goes. The whole thing has been quite unorganized but he's there and it looks gorgeous and if anything, he gets 3 weeks of uninterrupted time to paint!

So I just registered for a triathlon on the 25th of this month. Now I'm committed. No, I haven't trained and am not in tip top shape, don't you look at the pictures of me on the blog? Oh, wait, I don't post them for that exact reason. But I have been experiencing a bit of a chest cold that leaves me exhausted after running up the stairs so let's pray that goes away soon, like tomorrow. If you want to join me, it's in Orem and you register at active.com, they are actually a lot easier than they seem. And I have fun doing them. Hopefully an event post to follow of the big event :)

we came all the way from Italy for this!!!

This has been the highlight of our trip. My friend Liz recently started a photo business and I couldn't wait for her to shoot my kids! She has the cutest little studio and the kids loved it. here is a sample, you'll have to go to her site to see more. www.dillydallyart.blogspot.com and of course you can always contact her and get a booking ;)

Ryan' s first one man show!!

Wednesday Ryan and I drove up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the much anticipated show. He's been working all year and plus some for this show and we were excited to see it pay off.
It was a 5 hour drive and when we got there we picked Ryan's mom and Grandma up from the airport, the poor things had to fly for a whole 30 minutes! We checked into the little Bed and Breakfast we were staying at and it was so cute and the beds were awesome!
That evening we went over to the gallery for the show and Ryan had a good time doing "meet and greet" with collectors and I loved seeing red stickers on paintings. That means more shopping at target! He got a lot of good feed back from his show. You can see it better at www.astoriafineart.com and of course they are all for sale ;)









After the show, the gallery owner's, who we have become good friends with, took us out to dinner. The food was so good! We ate at the Rendezvous Bistro and I had wild Alaskan salmon that was to die for and Ryan had roasted duck. And you don't even know the excitement I felt when they ordered the dessert! We got back to our room and I was on a major sugar low and crashed. Thursday, we did some sight seeing and then drove back home to get the kids.

the brown's camp Payson Lakes

Thursday morning we went up to Payson lakes to camp with Ryan's family and stayed until Saturday night. by Saturday morning I was so ready for a shower but looking back could have gone a couple more days only because of how much fun the kids had. We all had fun but the kids especially love being in the mountains and playing all day and night with their cousins. I loved when we first got up there and I opened the door and could smell that mountain smell, fresh air and the scent of pine trees. mmmmm love it! We got rained on Thursday evening and we were the ghetto ones in a tent, probably the last time we will be sleeping in a tent while camping ;) But then again I also love summer rain storms in the mountains. Friday we went down to payson lakes and went fishing. Actually Jeremy and Kelly fished and the kids held the line once the fish was brought in. But they enjoyed throwing stuff and digging more anyways. After lunch we went 4 wheeling. All the kids loved it. My kids preferred going with dad rather than Mom because dad went faster. Sorry I carried you for 9 months and nursed you after that, i care more about your life! j/k. The kids ran around and played after that and once the fire was lit, they couldn't get enough of throwing things in the fire. "mom is this branch dead? can I throw it in the fire?" "no, if you have to pick it and it's green, it's not dead!" Saturday morning was more fishing and then after lunch we all went to Payson Lake to swim. Freezing cold!! But the kids didn't seem to mind. I got in to swim with them a little and also to rinse off the filth a little bit. We had the last supper that night and headed home. I love camping and I got my fix for the year. Ryan has a great family and it was so much fun to be able to spend this kind of time with them. I don't know how I'm going to be able to get these kids back to Italy!

the big boys loved throwin gasoline in the fire and the little boys love watching it

payson lake and the view ryan was painting

brody's fish. and cloe's, and abbey's and gavin's and sage's. they all got a photo op. with the same fish, but that's how we roll.

fish guts are always so interesting


of course Ryan painted. Gotta make sure this whole trip is a business write off. and it was a pretty awesome painting for only 2 hours



does he look like he's having fun?




uncle Kelly was the popular one to ride with because he would take them up the steep hill

Abbey and Sage loved this game together

Abbey likes sage :)

Brody and Gavin playing, and they thought it was a very intense game

it's my birthday and i'll post if i want to

today was a good day to turn 27. yes, i have 3 kids and I'm only 27. i actually hope to have 2 more in the next 3 years but I'll make you question my sanity later.
i met my best friend Lisa and her kids and mom, Betty at temple square. luckily they were in town the same time as us because I'm still not sure if we will make it down to CA during our trip. we walked around and the kids walked ever so reverently through temple square. Lisa and i are just amazing moms with such spiritual children, snapped some photos, which are on Lisa's camera, and chit chatted. then we came home and just did odds and ends around the house and for dinner Ryan and i went to pf Chang's, cue the heavenly music. it was wonderful and it would not have been complete with out the great wall of chocolate cake! yes, i think tomorrow demands a 5 mile run! one thing i love about my birthday is i can tell Ryan "please, it's my birthday."
tomorrow, camping.