August Adventures...

Unfortunately, between work and school, Jim and I haven't had much time off this summer to do anything fun with the girls. Last week we only had the two younger girls with us because Katlynne was away at Summer Camp. So - last Friday we decided to take the younger girls camping in Leavenworth!!! It was great for all of us to get away from the house and just enjoy some time outdoors. Jim and Kelsey had never been to Leavenworth, so it was a completely new experience for them. We had a lot of fun camping, but we also spent Saturday in the town going through the various shops and spending more money than we should have. We all had a blast though and didn't want to come home.

The Girls Spent A Lot Of Time Playing Uno Attack In The Tent At Night

Jim - My Handy Fire Starter!

The Girls LOVED Climing The Rocks Next To Our Campsite!

This Lovely Bear Welcomed Us To Leavenworth

Our First Experience With REAL Bavarian Food

They Thought Doing Cheers With Their Rootbeer Mugs Was The Coolest Thing

Sunday morning, we had to wake the girls up at 5:30 am so we could pack up camp and head for the ferry to pick up Katlynne by 10:00. Katlynne's birthday was August 15th but since she was at Summer Camp, we didn't get to celebrate with her on her actual birthday. So after we picked her up - we had a surprise for all the girls.....

We Made Them Close Their Eyes As We Lead Them Blindly Through Seattle

And Their Surprise Was........Ride The Duck!

They Were A Bit Excited...

Kelsey - Getting Ready.....

Entering Lake Union......

Although It Rained And Was Gray - We Got A Good Picture Of Seattle....

Duck Kisses - They Weren't Quite Sure How Ducks Kissed With Those Beaks Of Theirs....

It Was So Much Fun!!!

Happy 12th Birthday Katlynne!!!

In other news - my now 6-year-old will be starting first grade tomorrow!!! Since we moved to Kirkland, she is having to switch schools and was a little bit nervous for a while because she doesn't know anybody. However, on Thursday her school had an informal "open house" where the kids could go explore the school and meet their teachers, which was time well spent to help calm her nerves. She is now EXCITED to be starting school. She loves the school (especially the playground) and her teacher. Now if I could just somehow calm MY nerves....

Always On The Go...

Not a whole lot has been going on in our household these last couple of weeks. But I thought I'd try and give a brief update anyway.

Jim and I have both been pretty busy and stressed out with school and work these last couple of weeks. Jim has been unhappy with his job because of the new management for quite some time, but for various reasons, this last week has been extremely difficult for him. Enough so that some employment changes may be in his near future...but we'll have to wait and see and we will definitely keep you all updated on what happens there.

This last Monday at school, us Dental Assistants started clinic which means we have been working with real live patients and doctors!!! It might sound fun and exciting but it was more stressful than anything for me. I lost a lot of sleep going over the next days procedures in my head, going down my mental checklist of items needed for my operatory setup, going over the sequence of events for each procedure and just trying to calm myself down - most nights to no avail.

So my week started off with the extraction of two premolars on an 11-year-old girl, redoing a large filling on a 9-year-old boy with ADHD and tourette's, and ended with an older gentleman who felt the need to self medicate with booze and an emergency exam of a bipolar, anxiety stricken woman plagued by a seizure disorder with unknown triggers. I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my life!!! So while my stress level was already through the roof, adding to the equation each patient's individual needs, I could have powered the entire dental clinic with my nervous energy alone - phew - glad it's over!

So - going into my second week of clinic this week, I'm quite a bit more confident and feel things will go much smoother and I might actually catch a few zzzzzz's.

This weekend, Jim has been on call, so Kayla and I had a "Mommy and Kayla" weekend and we spent most of it shopping for school clothes and school supplies. We had a lot of fun and found her some new outfits that she LOVES.....okay, so we found more than a few, but I've always had a hard time saying no to her. Today, we had a makeover session - she did my makeup and painted my toenails and I did hers. I took pictures - but will have to update this post when I get the chance to download them to my computer.

All in all, this summer has been going quite well. We get the girls again in another week so we will have to try and find something fun to do with them while they are here. Hopefully next time my post will be a little more exciting and include some pictures or something.

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!