Contest & Giveaway

Hey You Guys (in my best Electric Company yell), we need your help! Brett has been working on several t-shirt designs for his practice. He'll hand them out to his new patients and if they wear them on days they have appointments they get extra tokens that can be turned in for prizes. The only problem is, we now have so many designs we can't decide which one to go with! We may end up doing 2 or 3 different styles, but we need your help to choose. I'm posting the designs here, and you can leave a comment with your vote for which one you like the best. We will take the top 2 and have them printed up, and 2 lucky voters will win a shirt! We'll choose the winners at random from those who voted for the most popular. are you confused yet? I am a little, but that's not new! SO just vote and you could win a BB original design t-shirt. I'll put a number above each picture for your convenience. Here they are:
#1#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

Now go out there and vote! Contest will end on Monday, May 17th!

Couldn't Be Better!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and it was really a great day. I got to sleep in as long as I wanted (until Kody woke me up with cards he made) in my big comfy bed.Brett made a delicious breakfast. The kids all made pictures and cards for me.

Mollie wrote "Mother I love you" all by herself!

Kody's card says "I love my mom because she gives me good birthday." Can you tell what's on his mind?

We went to church, were I got even more cards and some chocolate! As I was coming out of my classes, the kids were right there to surround me with tokens of love they had put together in primary.

When we came home, I got to relax while Brett made a delicious dinner of Asian chicken salad with homemade wontons and my favorite asparagus.

After dinner, I called my mom and wished her a happy Mother's day, we called Brett's mom to do the same, and then he went back in to the kitchen and made dutch oven peach cobbler while I just relaxed and snuggled/wrestled with my babies. I feel so lucky to be the mom of these beautiful children, and the wife of such a loving husband. My life couldn't be better!

Ten and Two

Before it gets too far past these events, I want to post some pictures. On April 22 Brett and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. The very next day was Madi's 2nd birthday! Auntie B came all the way from Maryland to be here for the birthday celebration, and I took the opportunity to sneak Brett away for a surprise trip to the coast! We had such a great time, and the kids loved having Auntie B with them. I'm pretty sure they didn't even miss us! Here are a few pictures of all the fun.

The cake. Made by Auntie B, devoured by all!Presents!

Bridge

Yaquina Head lighthouse, we walked up all 111 steps to the top!

To Die For

For my birthday, Brett made me such a fancy cake I just had to share it with you! See how he spelled my name in chocolate? Now that's love!

Oh, and here's a picture of the kids saying "Happy Easter" in their new Sunday clothes.Before you ask: yes, this is the best we could get. These kids absolutely hate getting their picture taken unless they are acting silly. Maybe we should have weekly photo shoots, just for the practice!

A Birthday Story

It all happened many years ago. You see, I love my birthday. I have always loved my birthday, and I have always been too impatient to wait for opening presents. The year I turned 8, I begged and begged to open a present a day early. My mom was pretty firm that I had to wait, but my 2 sisters took it upon themselves to bring me a beautifully wrapped present. I took the present in my hands, and just couldn't resist. It was so heavy and wonderful, I just had to open it! I could not believe my luck! I hurried and ripped the paper off, opened the box and there it was - a big, heavy, dirty brick that they had found outside. It was even a little wet still because of the April shower (much like today). I was furious. Why, oh why did my birthday have to be the day after April Fool's Day?! And why were my sisters so mean?The next day I had a great 8th birthday, here I am showing off my new wallet and the money that was inside. And do you see that lovely microscope my sister Alison is holding? That's right, all mine!

I'll never forget that birthday, and if I did my sisters would take it upon themselves to remind me. I was humbled just a little that day, but I still love my birthday (even though I stopped getting older) and occasionally still peek just a little.

Happy Birthday to me!!

You Never Know

I've always been taught to be nice and kind to everyone, with the knowledge that you never know when a smile from you will brighten someone else's day. Today I was on the receiving end. After a rough time at the DMV this morning (I won't go into details, let's just say I still don't have an Oregon license and our car is still sporting Michigan tags), I headed into Staples to make a return for Brett and buy a few supplies for the office. Have I menitoned how much I love office supplies? It's really almost an illness with me. Anyway, I am an emotional wreck when I walk in the store and start fighting with Madi to get her into the cart. The store is pretty empty, and the 2 girls at the front register both smile at me and say hi and welcome to the store. They talked with my girls, and when I realized I didn't have the receipt they looked up our rewards account and then searched for the right transaction so that I could make my return and not have to come back later. It's hard for me to put into words how much they did for me, you really just needed to be there. But these 2 Staples girls really made my day, and I wish I would have told them how much that meant to me. They helped me to feel like a real person instead of just another customer, and I really needed that. I have really tried to be that person to compliment someone or give a smile when I feel like someone is down. I don't always succeed, but after today I will try a little harder, because you never know when you'll make a difference in someone's life!

For the Ducks

No, I don't mean those Ducks! We went to the park by our house today to feed the ducks. I was able to snap a few pictures before Madi did a perfect somersault right into the water. When I pulled her out there was duck poop touching her lip. Poor little thing, at least I restrained myself and didn't take any pictures before running to her aide. She was in the water about chest deep and I imagine it was pretty cold. Brrr! She lived to feed the ducks another day, and for that I am grateful. Too bad I didn't take an "after" picture, though. Guess I'm more Mom than blogger?

You Would Think...

It would be easy to find raincoats for children in Oregon. You'd be wrong though.

Ready or Not...

The practice is now ours (actually 2 practices and 1 building)! And it only took 12 years, 3 universities each in a different part of the country, 10 years of marriage, 3 kids and a. lot. of. debt. the day has finally arrived.Brett signed all the papers yesterday and was in meetings with the staff all the rest of the day.

Out with the old, in with the new! Dr. L will be greatly missed, but we hope the patients will like our Dr. B just as much if not more.

On a side note, Madi is trying to give up her naps. This is what no naps looks like! Timing isn't always the best, but I'll take what I can get.

Madi Madness

That's what we say around here when Madi goes into destruction mode. When I hear Grandma say "MM Alert!" I know to come running. She is so fast, and goes from one drawer/cupboard/electronic to the next in less time than it takes for me to clean up behind her. I don't know why I was surprised one night last week when she climbed out of her bed and joined me in tucking the other kids into their beds upstairs. It was only later when I went to put her back to bed when I realized just how crazy her acrobatics were. Let me explain:This is Madi's bedroom for the past 8 months. She falls asleep quite well to the gentle hum of the dryer (can we get a noise machine to replace it?) usually. In this picture, you see the open cupboard doors and the open washer. Not only did she climb out of her bed, she climbed up onto the open washer, stood there long enough to pull out the laundry soap scoop (thank goodness she didn't dump the whole box) and a bar of soap and throw them into the washer. Then somehow she shimmied down (without falling into the washer), opened the door and made her escape!
This past Sunday I wasn't fast enough getting in to get her up from a nap and went in to find her like this. Don't you just love that "who, me?" look? I found her in the sink again last night when she was supposed to be sleeping. Oh, and did I mention that she does all this in the pitch darkness of the laundry room?! This little girl is definitely giving me a run for my money, it's a good thing she's so darn cute!

P.S. We now make sure the washer is closed at all times, just in case.

Not-so Picture Perfect

Okay, here are a few of the better pictures we got from our photo shoot yesterday.

Happy Heart Day!

I should have known I would never get an awesome picture of all the kids together, but we did our best and a video will have to be good enough for now. Grandma B. made matching dresses for the girls and a tie to match for Kody. So adorable! Maybe I'll post a few of the not-so-perfect pictures so you can at least see them. Hope you have a great day full of love and chocolate!

Boys Will Be Boys

I was getting the kids ready for bed tonight, and Mollie went in to use the bathroom after Kody. This is the conversation I heard:

M: "Kody, you should always put this toilet thing down when you're done."

K: " But Mollie, boys don't really use that part at all, well not very much anyway."

Poor Mollie, she is starting the toilet seat war so early in life!

Or - y - gun

I've been keeping a secret, and I'm so sorry! We have been working on a deal to buy a practice in Oregon, and until now I haven't been able to talk about it. Brett had to sign a non-disclosure agreement until we were 100% sure it was going to work out. Also, it's all so surreal I haven't wanted to talk about it just in case something falls through. We have signed the contracts, gotten a bank loan and found a house to rent, so it looks like it's going to happen! Because of privacy issues, I won't give the exact location (feel free to drop me an email to get the details), but it is near Corvallis which I guess makes us Beaver fans instead of Ducks! I tried to get a few pictures up here from the internet, but I'm suffering from a lack of sleep and a killer sore throat so they are a little wonky. Needless to say, we are very excited for this new life adventure and feel like this is where we need to be. After 8 months of partying it up with Brett's parents (thanks Mom & Dad B, you guys are the best!) it is time to spread our wings and get a real life. Wish us luck, and come visit once we're settled in!!!

Dear, Neglected Blog

They say the road to h*** (censored just for you, Mom!) is paved with good intentions. Oh, I've had such good intentions with writing new posts and witty updates but alas, I have failed miserably. There are so many events that I never posted. Important events, and I do feel guilty now. The world will never see Kody as "star of the week", a trip to the truck pulls, the magic of Christmas morning and many other fabulous festivities. I can't go back now and play catch up, so I will just have to start from now and say I'm so sorry you missed all that other fun stuff. To make up just a little for my slacking, I am posting - a little bit late - a birthday video for my big sis. Jul turned 2 years older than me a few weeks ago, and I am finally saying "Happy Birthday Jul!" This was from this summer when we had a fun kareoke party at my mom's. Jul and her kids were quite the entertainment!

Infinite Power of Hope

I know that I have been MIA for a while now, and I have a lot of catching up to do. Now is not the time, though. I was just looking up some information for a talk I'm giving in church next week, and this is something I found on lds.org. I hope it touches you as it did me. I'd like to wish eveyone a New Year filled with Hope. Please click on the words below for a beautiful message from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Infinite Power of Hope

Need Info!

Hello to all my faithful readers (and those who stumbled in to my blog by mistake and have nothing better to do)! It's that time of year again, when I become one big ball of stress. I'm working on my Christmas cards, and if you want one I need your address. If you like privacy as much as I do, please feel free to email it to me at kimbrown22@gmail.com or send it to me as a message on Facebook. Also, if you want my address for your Christmas list, please let me know. Thanks for your help! I'll try to post some fun Thanksgiving pictures this week, but don't hold your breath!

Party On!

We just celebrated Mollie and Brett's birthdays, with very different celebrations. For Mollie we had a "Fancy Nancy"-esque tea partyWe invited 2 of her little friends to come and bring their moms

of course they had to wear their fanciest attire!

Here's the group sitting down to "tea" (little sandwiches, fruit & pink lemonade)

we played a fun dress up game, where everyone won a tu-tu

these were the goody bags, filled with hair clips nail polish and sunglasses

fancy place settings (Grandma B made the butterfly placemats)

doesn't the table look nice? what yummy cupcakes!Daddy's celebration was quite a bit different. He had 2 special dinners and here he is blowing out the candles on his pumpkin cake. Madi was a great little helper!

Hallo-week

Last week was great. We packed all kinds of Halloween festivities into the week, including the acquisition of dumptruck loads of candy. I think we'll be working on this candy for years! Some of the fun activities included... (warning, there are a ton of pictures in this post)a fun Halloween dinner with Vampire blood, apple bites and of course

Mummy dogs!

a playgroup costume party complete with trick-or-treating

cookie decorating and delivering

Madi even got in on the frosting fun!

spooky story time

here are the kids in all their finery: a cheerleader, a clone trooper and Jessie the yodeling cowgirl (if this costume looks familiar, you're right! I made a red yarn wig to change it up a little, but she wouldn't wear it. boo hoo.)

They had a great time trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, then we headed over to the church for some trunk-or-treating action. Madi loved putting the candy in her little bag and wouldn't move on until it was safely secured. So funny!

Just in case you needed more, here's another cute picture of my little monsters! Hey, did I mention that Kody won a costume contest at a little festival we went to? I'm glad, because Grandma B and I worked real hard on getting his costume just right. What was the prize you ask? More candy! I hope you all had a great Halloween, because we did!

Movie Monday

For your entertainment, here's a classic Madi video clip, circa sometime after Christmas and before we moved. Hope you get a bit of a smile from her laugh!

Happy Monday