Brown Family Christmas in Bend

It was the Brown families turn for Christmas this year. We needed to find a place big enough for all of us and our kiddos to comfortably fit under one roof. So Mom and Dad treated us all to a Bend, Oregon get away! Woo-hoo! We all drove down on Christmas Eve. Our first order of business upon arrival was decorating the tree. Vanessa, Matt and Lisa's oldest, got a hold of the tree skirt and a loose santa hat and transformed herself into "Santa Beauty." She waltzed around singing "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream!"
Grandma Brown pulled off another year of Christmas miracles by finding matching pajamas for all the guys....
...and girls!

Christmas morning, Kennedi's favorite gift was getting her own beloved Nutcracker! She really fell in love with this story this year.
Klare's favorite was her very own "Real Volcano!" Sort of a night light/bead lava lamp. Her beloved Aunt Belindee had one on her bathroom counter and Klare was mesmerized by it. So naturally, Daddy had to get her one!;) The suprise hit was Uncle Matt's He-Man dvd set! All of the kids LOVED it!

The next day we sledded in the snow....
...and enjoyed the outdoor hot tub! (Actually, this was enjoyed almost every day we were there. No pregnant ladies allowed, but I had to at least put my feet in!)
Right before check out, we got a quick cousins picture! (Klare, Kennedi, Kate, Parker, Nicole, Vanessa, Tyler)

The drive home was quite exciting! We all had to chain up to travel the pass over Mt. Hood. What a BEAUTIFUL drive!
Thankfully, even though they were packed in the van like little sardines, the girls were great for the ELEVEN HOUR drive home!! (It was only six hours on the way there with no snow.) We had so much fun with everyone! We can't wait to see all of you again ASAP! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Our Belindee

With Kennedi.....
With Klare.....
A woman who gave all she had to all she met. We miss you and
long for the day we will be together again. Families are Forever.

December First!

What a way to bring in the month of December! Snow started falling around 2 this afternoon, and as we go to sleep, it is still coming down! Right now we have about 4-5 inches! Woohoo! Poor Bessy, left out in the snow!
My favorite tree. Beautiful in every season!

The girls getting Daddy with snowballs!

What snowfall would be complete with out our standard snowman? We love December!!!

My new favorite old song...

I heard Celine sing this the other night and fell back in love with it. Had to post it so I could listen to it today!

The Hunt...

This year I was a little hesitant (okay, really hesitant!) to drag my children out in the cold, through the mud, to end the life of another innocent tree. I had my artillery ready....

Mollie: You know, I was thinking.....maybe this year we should "invest" in an artificial tree.

Karlin: (shock) Don't even go there, Kersavage.

Mollie: It's getting so "expensive" to buy live trees, and we don't even have a tree lot we like up here.....(still hopeful)

Karlin: You can't put a price on a MEMORY! It's the experience of going out and finding the perfect one!

Mollie: (Many a painful memories of childhood tree hunts that took longer than a trip to Joann's....LONG.....come rushing back (Love you Mom.:)) Fine...But wherever we go must have food to sustain me through the process.

Every time I doubt my husband, he puts me to shame. He found the perfect tree lot (cinnamon rolls, cider, the perfect star tree topper I have searched seven years for) and after only a few family votes, the perfect tree! A Turkish Fir....pretty cool.
Obviously pleased with his victory, a proud moment for Karlin. What a man! The rest of our weekend was spent eating, decorating, a fun trip to Tillicum Village, and a family theater trip to see Enchanted! and we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary today by teaching sharing time together; a special request by the primary to have a couple in the ward teach a lesson on how the priesthood blesses both men and women....how perfect is that for our anniversary! Pretty fun! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with Karlin's family, an incredible feast! A truly blessed weekend!

Sweet baby!

Miracle of miracles! Karlin and I are expecting our third child on June 22! We could not be more ecstatic! It seems as we get older, it becomes more and more apparent that bringing a child into this world is one of the greatest blessings and miracles we could hope to be a part of. So far everything has gone incredibly well, which had made me a little nervous until today. With the absence of morning sickness, I was relieved to hear that the baby is right on for size and has a great heart beat. Kennedi and Klare have made this the funnest pregnancy yet! They are just so excited! We hope and pray all will continue to go well with our newest little addition!

One Man's Dream Come True

Karlin loves football. Unfortunately for him, I do not share his passion for this sport. Football on Sundays or Monday nights (our Family Home Evening night) is strictly forbidden.....with very rare exceptions. Last night was definitely one of those exceptions! A brother in our ward is a sports photographer for the Seattle Times. Karlin has been working him for years in an attempt to acquire the highly sought after position of camera mule (someone to carry his stuff for him while he takes the pics). Of course this position is temporary and only available on a game by game basis. Well, last night Karlin's dream came true!
Not only did he get to be on the sidelines of an NFL game and enjoy all the action about as close as you can get, he also got to rub noses with some football celebs! Here is Karlin with Emmit Smith! Any of you remember him from Dancing with the Stars?
Look at all those guys in the background wishing they had been brave enough to talk to him! Way to go, Karlin! He also saw Steve Young, no pics of that though. He came home as high as a kite! My sweet, hard working hubby definitely deserved a guys night out! I'm so glad he was able to fulfill one of his dreams!

Klare's Birthday Extravaganza!

Chocolate donuts to celebrate with G & G Brown after Disney on Ice.
I made cupcakes the next day for her party with Karlin's family. She was sure she wanted chocolate cupcakes and no cake! I hope this carries over to next year, so much easier to decorate!
This picture sums up Klare at age three....(2 and 1/2 if you ask her, she WILL NOT accept that her age has changed!) She is 100% Klare 100% of the time. Genuine, independent, with a belly laugh that is beyond contagious....you just can't help but laugh yourself when she gets going! One incredible little girl!

Due to the fact that we have separate birthday parties with both or our families, and then usually celebrate with friends one way or another, birthday parties around here end up being something like unto Marti Gras. For Klare this year, we started on Thursday with a fabulous dinner at the neighborhood restaurant, Pizza Bank. We have three neighbors, not including Klare, that share an early November birthday...so we all got together and enjoyed great food and company to celebrate! Friday Grandma and Grandpa Brown came up to join us for Disney Princesses on Ice! What a show! The girls loved it! The costumes were beautiful and they had a lot of cool stunts and tricks, none of which I have been able to post! :p Then on Saturday it was down to Oly to celebrate with Karlin's family at Chuck E. Cheese. Klare was insistent that we go there, and although she was a little scared of Chuck himself, she had a lot of fun and would not take off her party hat....pretty darn cute! Thanks everyone for a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday to Klare Bear!

Klare Bear is three years old today! I so miss those chubby little cheeks and poochy tummy! We are so grateful for her and all the fun she brings to our house! She is an original! We just love that about her! Happy Birthday, my sweet baby girl!

Grandma Joan and Aunt Michelle's Visit

Michelle and her boys and Great Grandma Joan flew in for a Halloween visit! We had a wonderful week! It all started with a cousin sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Grandma made the cutest Halloween pancakes for breakfast.

Then a chilly, but fun trip to the pumpkin patch. Kennedi Joan LOVES her Great Grandma Joan.

Sunday was our Primary Program. Everyone came up to our place, and Grandma made her famous dinner in a pumpkin....YUM!

Monday night was Chuck E. Cheese for Kennedi's birthday. We had cake at Grandma's afterward.
Grandma Joan made Kennedi a BEAUTIFUL quilt with their names and the year embroidered on it.
The infamous spanking tunnel. I think Kennedi is the first family member to REQUEST this form of birthday torture.

Wednesday, Halloween, was our ward trunk-or-treat. Grandma and Grandpa were awesome! They looked great, and I could not have managed the clean up with out their help! Thanks to my amazing sister, Aunt Michelle, too!

Our last night together, Grandpa and Uncle Mark did us a great favor by watching our chickens while Mom, Michelle, and I escaped to a local craft show. We came home to find everyone happy inside quite possibly the biggest blanket fort I have ever seen! A fun-filled ten days...Love you all and we can't wait to see you again soon!

Tink and Ariel

For Uncle Cory's barn party this year, Klare Bear went as Tinkerbell....

....and Kennedi went as Ariel! It is always one of our favorite parties of the year! Cory and Lisa totally deck out their barn with a hay maze, spook alley, tons of delish food, and a giant bonfire outside! Klare was a little nervous about some of the costumes, but over all we all had a great time!

Happy Birthday to Kennedoo!

I can not believe our sweet Kennedi is six years old...we could not possibly love anything more than her and her sister. Happy Birthday, sweetheart!

Our greatest joy and blessing on earth.

Sleeping Beauties!

Over the last few months, I have caught the girls sleeping in some very curious ways....Klare, our resident Beauty Queen.

How she fell asleep like this, I will never know.
From a different angle, it still does not look the least bit comfortable!

You have to change this girls clothes quick! She LOVES to sleep naked! I took her shirt off after lunch and went to throw it in the washing machine. She disappeared down the hall and a few minutes later as I was searching for her, I came upon this scene. Totally out, right in the middle of the hall
This is how we find Kennedi LITERALLY every morning! I wonder if turning her bed sideways in the room would help?