Family...Family...Everywhere!

My family moved from Utah to Washington when I was almost 7 years old. Since that time, I can remember traveling all over the Northwest attending family reunions every year. It's something I have always looked forward to - and this year was no exception. Every year, a different family is in charge of the planning and this year, my parents took on the huge responsibility of finding a great location, making a menu and doing the grocery shopping and cooking to go along with it, planning fun activities, and most importantly - getting as many people to come as possible!!!

This year our family reunion was about an hour and a half North of Spokane in a small town called Cusick. We stayed at the Ruby Creek Lodge which is located right on a very slow moving river - so the kids were able to play in the water and they had a great time. My parents were generous enough to take all three kids over with them on Wednesday so they could get as much out of this vacation as possible (since it's our ONLY vacation this summer). Unfortunately, since Jim and I had work and school, we weren't able make the journey over until Friday night and ended up arriving around 1:00 am Saturday morning.

The River Where The Kids Lived All Week

My Dad brought over his little boat and pulled the girls around the river on an inner tube. We weren't there to see it - but apparently that was the highlight of the weekend for them. Thanks Dad!!!

While we were there - we also decided to celebrate my Dad's birthday (July 17th) and Kayla's birthday (July 11th). So we got a cake and some presents and we were able to celebrate with the whole family. Our birthday pictures didn't turn out so well - Jim's camera decided to focus on the people in the background and/or the grass so the people/objects we were trying to get in the pictures were blurred out, except for this one:


While I LOVED spending time with my family and relaxing on the river, one of the best parts of our trip is that Jim's brother and his family just recently moved from Illinois to Spokane in May. It had been many years since Jim was able to see them and I had never met them, so we invited them to come out and join us Saturday. They have the most adorable 3-year-old little girl named Miranda (I asked her if I could pack her in my suitcase and take her home - after thinking for a second, she told me "no" because I would squish her!) and a 9-month-old son named Matthew. They all came out to the river and we had a great time - Miranda especially loved the water. On Sunday, we had to check out of the lodge by 11:00 am, so on our way home, we stopped in Spokane and spent the afternoon with Jim's brother and their family some more. We took the kids to Riverfront Park where we fried, but had a great time!

Pictures Of The Kids At The Park

Family Picture - Summer 2008

This Is The Other Brown Family - From Left To Right:
Matthew, Jenny, Miranda, David

Overall, we had a great weekend and wish it could have lasted much longer. It was quite a long drive for only a couple of days - but looking back, I would have to say it was well worth it. It's definitely a trip we'll have to make more often in the future!

Happy Birthday Kayla!

Friday was Kayla's birthday and our not-so-little girl turned six years old! It makes me both happy and sad to see her grow up. Sometimes I wish she would stay little forever so I could cuddle snuggle with her in the mornings - but I know those days are numbered and will eventually come to an end. On the other hand, I love that she is becoming more confident and self sufficient. It's a nice feeling when you see her attempt something on her own and actually have success. She's growing up so quick!

On Friday, we weren't able to do much with her for her birthday because she has been at Grandma and Grandpa Startin's all summer since Jim and I are both occupied during the day with school and work. So, by the time we both got home and actually got to see her after dinner, we didn't have time for any big festivities.

But we did let her "open" her big birthday present and Kayla is now pleased to announce the addition of two new members to the Brown / Osborne family: Blueberry and Strawberry!!!

This One Above Is Strawberry

This One Above Is Blueberry

This Is Their Home

Blueberry and Strawberry are two totally cute and adorable "Blueberry Dwarf Hamsters". They are actually a lot of fun and pretty active in the early evening hours. They sleep during the day but usually by the time we get home, they are awake and ready to be played with (as much as hamsters can really be played with). Kayla just LOVES them!!! Last summer we attempted adopting two guinea pigs but quickly found out they aren't that much fun and just create a big mess. So we found them new homes and have decided to give the hamsters a try and so far - so good. I think we'll keep 'em.

Next weekend we are going over to Eastern Washington for a family reunion and have decided to really celebrate her birthday then. So - more birthday pictures to follow!

Current Happenings...

To start this thing off, I just thought I would give a brief update on current happenings with the Brown Family:

The most recent and biggest news is that we recently moved! We hadn't really planned on moving again until I was completely done with school - but when water pipes started breaking and the dryer in our old apartment started eating and burning our clothes - we decided it was time to start looking around. I have to say it was the best decision we ever made! We are now living in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, bottom floor apartment located in Kirkland. We love the location (right across the street from my school) and love the extra space we have in our new place (including a garage). It's definitely an upgrade from where we were and I don't imagine we will be leaving this place any time soon. Here are just a few pictures of our new place:

The Living Room:

The Girls' Froggy Bathroom:

The Kitchen:

The Best Part...My Walk-In Closet:

And The Office / Work-Out Room:

And So We Begin...

Yes - it's true. We have officially hopped on the Blogger bandwagon! We attempted this once before - but ended up being unsuccessful at keeping our posts up to date. Here's our second attempt at success. We hope you enjoy our ramblings as this journey begins!