June

Well, obviously the thing that has taken up most of this month is the building (and kind of finishing) of the house.  It has been a long, long, long process that has taken a lot of thought, a lot of patience, and a lot of prayer.  Things were moving quickly with the house, but then there were days when nothing would get done.  We were told at the beginning of the month that they thought the home would be done by the 20th of June--wow, that would have been great and so fast!  But, that came and went with another date, then another, then another....  We thought for sure that it would happen before the end of June, when we would leave on our vacation.  We figured we would empty our pods, move the furniture in, and then take care of the rest once we got back.  But, the lender came back with a "problem"--they wanted the builder to have owned the land for 6 months before selling it (otherwise they considered it a "flip"), and our builder bought the land from his dad, and actually bought it after we signed our contract with them...  So, with that hang up, we had to start over with a different bank and we went on vacation in hopes that we would be in when we returned.  It had its positives:  we got a lower interest rate, it gives us more time to move in (less stress about getting it done quickly), and it gives the builder time to finish up the "punch list" of the little things that still need to be done (handles changed, paint touch up, etc...).  Next month you will get to read if the builder took advantage of that week of us gone and all that time to finish up (hint: we are not happy...). 

But, all in all, the house is gorgeous.  It is so beautiful and it has all that we want and more. It will be a great Brown Family Hotel for you all. :)  We are just ready to have a place to ourselves!  (Here is a link to a video of the home on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHxxR8Yg8g )

Weston turned nine at the beginning of the month.  Nine!  I can't believe it!  He chose to have a big friend party with tons of kids (I think 16 were invited!  Kind of a "send off" party to say goodbye to Herriman friends) and since we didn't have a home, we held it at the church (funny, huh?!).  They just played basketball for awhile, then ate pizza and had gatorade.  They opened presents and they were sent home with donuts.  Nice easy party!  We went to Italian Village for his birthday dinner.  Scott's parents and some of his siblings were able to be there, but Elise and I had to sit out. :(  She had a terrible fever so we just went to the house and waited for them to come home for cake (which I just ordered from the store... no being too creative this year!).  He got some big boy presents: Madden NFL wii, swiss army knife, Ute shirt, and lego stuff.

I am so proud of Weston.  He finished up third grade with high scores and with a great attitude.  His teacher, Mr. Colver, was perfect for him and really adored him.  I loved my male 3rd grade teacher (Mr. Bowen of course) and so I was so happy that Weston had a good experience with his!  He finished reading the Percy Jackson series and has started Fablehaven.  His soccer finished up and he still loves it though I think he'd like to try basketball and football.  Hmmm.. Maybe later. 

Aidan turned seven!  His birthday party with friends was the same day as Weston's--at the church as well.  His theme was Hero Factory/Bionicles.  They are toys that kind of clip together with different armor and weapons.  I saved all the cardboard I could and then cut them out in armor shapes, spray painted them different colors and attatched rubber bands.  Then for an activity, the kids made themselves into Hero Factories!  I thought it was a very clever idea.  I put tons of time into it and then only 3 or 4 kids wanted to dress up.  :(  I talked another one or two into dressing up, but they were all more interested in playing with actual HF's.  They played a few relay games and then I had a game where I had taped candy into a giant ball and they had to unwrap the candy to get it.  Again I thought it was a cute idea (stole that off of pinterest), but the kids just thought it was wierd.  But, they all played and had fun eating the candy.  Aidan opened presents (he got 6 or 7 HF's, 4 of them the same!) and ate cupcakes.  We went to Elaine and Norma's cabin the next weekend (on his actual birthday) and celebrated his birthday by having hot dogs and eating cake.  Grandma and Grandpa came and it was a fun birthday for him.  I think his favorite gift was a bunch of rocks and a box to keep them in.  He has really turned into a budding geologist and asks weekly to go looking for crystals. 

He, too, finished school on a great note.  He is not a huge reader, yet he reads really well.  It suprises me whenever he reads a big kid book!  He whipped through "rocket math" and has caught onto all the new concepts taught.  The best thing is that everyone in his class loves him--he is a favorite friend to everyone. 

Brennan and Elise are doing well.  This is probably hard on them and we don't realize how much.  But they are being good.  Brennan always keeps us laughing with his silly jokes and explanations of things--He told me that snow comes from the sky from Santa mixing up ice, water, and mix and then dumping it from his sleigh.  He says he doesn't want his own bedroom, he wants me to sleep in his room, but I think once he is in, he will be happy. 

Elise is talking like crazy now.  It is hard to believe that when we first moved into mom and dad Daw's house she only had a few words she said.  Now she has way too many to count and she talks in sentences (very demanding!).  Sometimes it is very frustrating for her--and us.  Almost every time we get in the car, she starts screaming and pointing toward the front of the car.  We can't figure out what she is saying or what she wants--it sounds like "shoulder down".  ???  What does that mean?

Father's Day was fine and my birthday was just great.  We are so tired of everything that we have no energy to put into celebrations. 

We are so grateful for all who have helped us.  I am excited to be in a home and invite people over, watch their kids, have a home to cook food to share with others...  It will be so nice.  Glad June is over and excited for summer fun to begin!