Accolades for Princess Harper

After Harper was born, we sent out a mass email to our entire email address book with pictures and brief details of her birth. We have gotten some wonderful emails from family and friends in response. In order to archive all the kind remarks we have recieved, I have copied and pasted them into the comments section below.

Dallin takes STATE!

Did you see the news? Dallin is the tennis champ for all of Utah! Here are some clippings from the newspapers. You're amazing Dallin!

DESERET NEWS

"With the state title on the line, the Thunderbirds' second doubles team of Mike Christensen and Dallin Wardrop downed Shawn Jones and Nick Vierig of Cottonwood in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. The match was as hard-fought as any in the tournament, and its conclusion set off a wild celebration by the Timpview faithful."

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660222392,00.html

DAILY HERALD

SALT LAKE CITY -- It took No. 2 to get to No. 5 for the Timpview tennis team Saturday.

Confused? Good thing the Thunderbirds' second doubles team wasn't, as it needed a 7-5, 6-4 championship win by Michael Christensen and Dallin Wardrop against a duo from Cottonwood to get their team a coveted fifth consecutive 4A title at Liberty Park.

"It feels good to be a part of helping that happen," Wardrop said in what turned out to be a tight three-squad contest vying for overall excellence.

http://www.heraldextra.com/preprally/print.php?sid=4658

You are My Sunshine

If you've passed by the Brown's house lately, chances are you've heard Holland singing "You are My Sunshine". Holland sings this to baby Harper every chance he gets (without exaggerating, he sings it to her at least 20-25 times per day). He must have learned the song at school, because we didn't teach it to him. But he knows every word and sings it perfectly.

Holland truly loves princess Harper. The other day he said to me, "Dad, I love you alot. But I love baby Harper a little bit more than you."

At Holland's last t-ball game of the season, each player got 2 tickets to a Bee's baseball game. Packer asked Holland who he was going to take with him to the game. Without hesitation, Holland responded "I'm going to take my mom, then baby sister can come with me."

Cannon shows his affection for Harper with kisses. Every time he gets near Harper, he asks "Can I kiss baby Harper?" Cannon is a very wet kisser. You can always tell exactly where Cannon last laid his lips on baby Harper.

There's always a competition among the boys to see who can hold baby Harper. When it's their turn to hold Harper, they always ask "how many HOURS do I get to hold her?" They constantly want to be holding her or laying beside her. Packer and Holland love to build forts by draping blankets over the ottoman and couch. They love it when I agree to go in the fort with Harper.

The other day Harper was sleeping on our bed upstairs. All of a sudden I heard her let out a loud cry. I ran upstairs to discover that Holland had decided Harper's nap was over. Holland had woken up Harper, carried her into her bedroom and was playing with her like she was a doll. He sat her up in a little antique high chair that is intended for a doll. Then he propped her up on the rocking chair and gently rocked her. Then he got on the floor and pretended like she was walking around the room, looking at all her decor. Of course Holly and I were alarmed that he had carried her around the house and put her in potential danger. But he was being so sweet and careful that it was hard to get mad at him. Holland is a great big brother.

Baby Harper is very loved by all her brothers. She is a lucky little girl!

Holly's Recovery

When I talked to most of you at the end of last week, I reported that Holly's recovery was going extremely well. She was feeling good and everything seemed fine.

Unfortunately, the second week of recovery has not been as rosey. I won't go into detail here on the blog, but the last 4 days have been reminisent of her recovery after Packer's birth (remember Holly in a wheel chair at Disney World...)

Everything is going to be ok and we are doing fine...it's just been a tough few days. Holly has been given good medication that appears to be working, and she is getting an ultra sound this afternoon. If the ultra sound looks good and the medication has done it's job, then hopefully we can avoid major procedures like we had to do after Packer was born.

We will keep you posted. There's no reason to be alarmed. Holly's mom has been extremely helpful (driving to our house in the middle of the night and staying with the kids). The ward/neighbors have also been very kind bringing in wonderful dinners and helping with the kids. Everything is going to be fine.

Dallin goes to State!

Dallin is competeing in the state tennis championships this weekend! He will be playing on Friday and Saturday at Liberty Park in Salt Lake.

The Daily Harold and Deseret News have both ran articles mentioning Dallin.

"Michael Christensen and Dallin Wardrop earned the T-Birds yet another feather in their collective caps by beating Aaron Pearson and Nathan Killpack at second doubles, 6-1 and 6-4."
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660219964,00.html

"In the doubles draw, it was all Thunderbirds again, with Bret Bahme and Parker Dobson knocking off the Red Devil duo of Juan Whiting and David Whiting (6-0, 6-2) and Michael Christensen and Dallin Wardrop sealing the Region 7 title with a victory over Orem's Aaron Pearson and Nathan Killpack (6-1, 6-4)."
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.heraldextra.com/preprally/print.php?sid=4611

Sheryl said there was also an aritcle saying Dallin was favored to win state, but I couldn't find it online yet. I'll post it once it is available.

GOOD LUCK DALLIN -- WAY TO GO!!!!

Book of Mormon Game

Try your hand at a little Book of Mormon Trivia game. It's based on "Millionaire"

http://www.bookofmormonbattles.com/More/BoMCgame/index.html

Pink invades the Brown house!

The Brown's have never seen this much pink! Packer, Holland & Cannon picked out this cute pink outfit. The Brown tradition is that dad and the big brothers purchase the "going home outfit." We'll have to adjust to all the PINK!

Holly and Harper have been released from the hospital. Harper needs to see her pediatrician tomorrow so they can continue to monitor the jauntis.

Proud Brothers' Stamp of Approval

Packer, Holland & Cannon approve of their new baby sister. They were so excited and extremely proud of the baby princess. They are already very protective of her.

When Harper was born, she had jaundice. She was in the "high risk" category, so she has to spend 95% of the day in an isolate under special lights. She can only be out of the isolate to eat.

That doesn't mean that her big brothers couldn't still dote on baby Harper. Each brother got a hand full of lotion and rubbed her toes, feet and hands. Holland decided she needed to wear a bracelet because she "kind of looks like a boy."

When Harper's brothers learned the name of the baby, they had some funny comments. Holland wants everyone to be completely aware that even though her name is Harper, she is NOT going to live with Grandma Harper. Harper is apart of the Brown family and she is going to LIVE with the Brown family...not the Harpers. He has explained this logic to all of our visitors and even some nurses.

When I asked Packer and Holland if they knew anyone else named "Afton." Packer quickly responded that he had a great grandma named Afton. He then told Holland that "she's the one that wouldn't let Grandpa Brown eat any of the good apples. He could only eat rotten apples."

Cannon definitley thinks he is in charge of Harper's safety. If big brothers are getting too close or too disruptive around the princess, Cannon gives them an earfull. He has had to scold Packer and Holland several times and remind them to be on their best behavior around the baby.

Holland still has a concern about baby Harper and skittles. When we went to the cafeteria, Holland picked skittles as he always does. He told me on the way back to the room that he had to eat them all before we got back to the baby. Otherwise, the baby may try to eat them.

Holland has also declared that his baby sister looks just like him. The only difference is that baby Harper doesn't have Holland's same skin. Her skin is "sooo soft...my skin has lots of owies and scrathches" (he did just go camping).

Hopefully they aren't too disappointed that Harper can't run and play yet. They have already asked to see Harper crawl. Regardless, they love their baby sister and are so happy that she is here!

Pictures of Baby Harper

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Baby Watch!

7:00 AM -- Holly just got off the phone with the hospital. They asked us to be there by 7:30 AM. We were up last night until 2:00 AM and Holly has been awake since 5:00 AM. We can't believe the day is really here. We're having a baby!

7:55 AM -- We arrived at Alta View Hospital. We are in the same room that Cannon was born in -- room 204 in the Women's Center. Our nurse is Gretchen. She just began her shift so we should have the same nurse for the delivery. She seems to be very good and is very friendly.

9:25 AM -- They have started Holly on the potossin. Our doctor, Layne Smith, came in to break her water. Holly is dialated to a 2 and 80% efaced. They have put a call into the anesthesiologist to give Holly the epidural.

10:10 AM -- The anesthesiologist gave Holly the epidural. Dr. Waterfall is off today, so we had Dr. Quell. He seems to be good, but not much personality. Holly said the procedure was the worst one ever performed (the most painful ever). The good news is that the epidural seems to be working better than ever. In the past, the epidurals have only worked on half her body. This one seems to have really done the job it is intended to do -- it's working on both sides.

12:05 PM -- No sign of the baby. We called the hospital ahead of time to see if the delivery rooms had vcr/dvd players. They said no, but we could hook up our own to one of their tvs. So we brought a small portable dvd player and rented several movies to help pass the time. Well, there are no jacks on the tv to plug in our dvd player. We tried watching the movies on my laptop, with no success. So now we're on to plan C. We're going to try watching the tv show Lost online. We're bored!

3:45 PM -- Holly is dialated to a 5. No baby yet.

4:50 PM -- The nurse came in to check Holly and she is ready to deliver! The problem is we have no doctor. He was here all morning but went to Jordan Valley (in West Jordan) to deliver another baby. Holly has been instructed to do no pushing, talking or laughing because the baby is ready to come. The slightest moving could get things going too soon.

5:07 PM -- The doctor has arrived and the baby has too. He made it right in time. Holly pushed twice and the baby was here. The baby looks perfect -- all toes and fingers are accounted for. She has lots of dark hair and chubby cheeks.

5:15 PM -- She weighs 8 lbs 4 oz and is 19 inches long. She is our biggest baby. The delivery was perfect and she is perfect, no problems at all. She is extremely mellow. She hasn't cried at all. She's gotten two shots and was given the eye drops and didn't cry at all. She let out one squeal each time then settled right down. The nurse is trying to get her to cry so she can clear out her lungs, but nothing can get her to cry. She is a very content baby.

HER NAME IS HARPER AFTON BROWN!

You can run, but you can't hide

I'm in a state of depression. Almost two years ago, Holly and I went and knocked on our Bishop's door to inform him that we would be moving out of the ward. I had to let him know that after serving as elders quorum president for only 9 weeks, I needed to be released so we could move to a neighboring ward. It was a tough conversation to have, and I felt alot of guilt that I was abandoning my responsibilities after such a short period of time. I must admit, however, that I felt a tremendous amount of relief that I could move to a new ward where we were completely unknown and could "lay low".

Well my plan worked for almost two years. I've been perfectly content working as the cub master. I was so excited that just 1 month ago, I finally had a son who was old enough to be a cub scout. Life was good.

Last night my life changed. Holly and I were asked to meet with the stake president. Our hope was that I would be called as stake building scheduler...that was the only stake calling we could think of that I could get excited about. Unfortunately, I wasn't asked to be the building scheduler. The good news is (mom and dad will be delighted to hear this) Holly is being released from the Relief Society. It’s great timing for her since we’re having a baby in two days. The bad news is that apparently President Franco doesn’t think 9 weeks as the elders quorum president was enough, so I’m signed up again.

I meet with the bishop tonight to discuss counselors and current ward issues (such as home teaching percentages being under 40%). We don’t know whether to be excited that Holly is getting a break from one of her biggest projects, or if we should be terrified that we have a much bigger project on the table.

By the way, I have not yet been sustained, so keep the news under wraps.

Sheryl - Medical Update

I feel like most of you probably know what's going on, but I've seen some requests for an update, so here goes...

I feel very grateful for all of the effort put into getting me into the Univ of Ut. I feel like my doctors there are the most knowledgeable in the state with regard to sd. They will monitor me regularly - specifically my internal organs. I will return on June 6th - they will most likely repeat my EKG as they were not happy with the findings from the Mayo report. I choose not to worry about something unless it is a confirmed "worry" item. And even then, why worry? I do my best, I'm getting to the best doctors I can find, and thankfully the Lord has blessed me with the gift of PEACE. At a time like this there is no greater gift. We feel hopeful, we feel full of faith, and we know that the Lord is aware of every detail of our lives. We feel His blessings every day. I want you each to know that prayers ARE being answered. Our Heavenly Father DOES hear our prayers. I have felt great strength from your prayers and fasting and temple attendance. Yet, we still seek a miracle and that is what we continue to pray for in faith.

Anyway...the U of U docs want me to start on a chemo drug. I'm not too eager to start this. It's technically a drug for RA. But since there is no drug specifically for sd, rheumatologists just choose to prescribe random drugs that have worked for other diseases. None of the rheumys I've been to have agreed on what drug I should go on. They all say something different.

I'm continuing with the antibiotic protocol that I started about 6 weeks ago. To me this therapy makes the most sense. It's hard to know what's coming of it, but this is the only treatment that has brought about relief or even remission in sd patients. Although studies in antibiotic therapy were conducted at Harvard Univ and it was found to be effective most of the mainstream medical community don't accept it.

I've also started acupuncture. Basically I feel like it's important to explore different areas of medicine. I'm not taking an either/or approach, but I feel like there are many things that I need to explore.

I continue with a very strict diet. I have began eating a few fruits, but mostly still veggies & protein. Definitely no dairy, no sugar, no yeast, etc. I've been on this diet for about 7 weeks. It's okay. It can be done - there's no point in cheating. Anyway... so there you have it - my latest. Thank you all so much for your interest and concern. I sure love you all!

Brandon - We the People Competition

All I can say is that all of the grandkids are doing amazing things! From the Browns to the Naylors to the Engles to the Wardrops all of these kids are fantastic! The best! I am truly in awe! How did we all get such wonderful kids??? It's humbling to think of these sweet, wonderful spirits that have been entrusted to us as parents. Each accomplishment of every one of these kids buoys me up and makes me feel so grateful for each one of them.

So, now on to Brandon... He competed in a state-wide competition today that was held at the University of Utah. It is called the "We the People" competition. Brandon and several students from his school competed as a team. They each had to give a speech in front of judges and then the judges could ask them any random question they wanted to ask. (related to the topic or not) Brandon's topic was to address the opinions the early colonists had with regard to government. Anyway, Brandon and his team won first place! State champs! It was a pretty big deal and they had a big banquet for them. We went to Jamba Juice to celebrate!

Jason's Mission President

When we saw the Wardrop's on Sunday, they mentioned that Jason's new mission president had just been profiled in the Church news (just two days after Jason received his call -- PERFECT TIMING!!)

President Tobias will begin serving in July. Here is his bio:

President Tobias, 40, Brazil Goiania Mission; Feira de Santana 2nd Ward, Feira de Santana Brazil Stake; former stake president, counselor in a branch presidency, high councilor, stake mission president, stake Sunday School president and missionary in the Brazil Brasilia Mission. Coordinator, Church Educational System. Born in Coxim, Brazil. Has three children.

A counselor in the ward Primary presidency, Sister Tobias is a former teacher improvement coordinator, ward Relief Society president, gospel essentials teacher and counselor in a stake Primary presidency. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil.


By the way....I also noticed that a different Elder Tobias was just called to serve as an Area Seventy (in the 7th Quorum). He is also from Brazil and they have the same middle initial (and they both work for CES). I'm wondering if they are brothers? Maybe "Tobias" is a common name down in Brasil. Here is his bio:

Elder Tobias, 49, Barroca, Brazil; CES regional coordinator; former mission president, stake president and counselor, high councilor, bishop and branch president. Wife, Tarcila; three children.

More Pacific Futures Photos

Left: Elder and Sister Babcock (He is the Area Medical Doctor and was the Jerome Stake President when we were in Boise. He helped to set up Sheryl's appointment at the U of U), Nephi Hannemann, David & MelRae.

Right: MelRae, Nephi, and David.

P.S. Go to Jason's mission call for a recent post regarding Brazil (click on the link <-- )

More Pacific Futures Photos

Left: Ross Cuff, David & MelRae, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Elder Condie, Anthony Wilson, Shane Ta'ala.

Right: David & MelRae, Winnie Laban (Member of New Zealand Parliament).

Naylor Family Happenings

Well, the Naylor kids have been busy. Breck traveled to CA this week with her school choir to compete at Knott's Berry Farm. They did well taking second place. She also had cheerleading tryouts and was put back on the Senior team as a flyer. She is looking forward to another great year so she can get ready for high school cheerleading next the following year.

Powell has finished up another soccer season and will be going through tryouts next month. The real excitement has come with the learning of Lacrosse (thanks to Crew getting him turned on to this). As a fifth grader he made the Middle school team on JV. He has loved learning the game and playing it. We found out this weekend that he led the team in assists. He was also named to the MIddle School All City All Star team as a Mid-Fielder (he's not in middle school yet). His two best friends on the team also made it (Powell is their John Stockton and they are Carl Malone). He also was given the MVP for the last game of the season. He received this honor four times during the season. His party and awards night is in two weeks, but we have already been told (don't tell him) that he has been rated as the BIGGEST HITTER on the team. The smallest guy with the biggest hits. He loved taking out the eighth graders!!!!

Crew is entering the High School play-offs this week for Lacrosse. He stepped up and played goalie for his team since no one else wanted to. He ended the season very strong with a goal saving percentage around 86%. Not too bad when balls are coming at you around 80 mph and your defense would rather turn and run than make a play. Parents often ask why the fastest and one of the strongest kids is playing goalie. It is fun to watch him take off down the field with the ball to try to score or make an assist. He has done very well and the coaches are excited for next year already. His team is very young and should do well next year. I think Crew will enjoy having some time off so the bruises all over his body can heal. Soon enough it will be HS soccer try outs again.

FHE Poll -- Sizzling Summer Sequels

This is the summer of "Sizzling Summer Sequels". The Draper Browns love going to movies. Infact, you can usually expect to find the Browns at the movies on the opening weekend of the big movie debut.

This summer there are a lot of exciting movies hitting the theaters. The ones we're most excited about are actually sequels. Here's a preview of some of the sequels (and non sequels) you can see in theaters this summer.

Seeing Double:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer -- June 15 (2nd Fantastic Four movie)
Evan Almighty -- June 22 (the sequel to Bruce Almighty)

Third Times a Charm:
Spider-man 3 -- May 4
Shrek the Third -- May 18
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End -- May 25 (third Pirate's movie)
Oceans Thirteen -- June 8 (sequel to Oceans 11 and Oceans 12)
Bourne Ultimatum -- August 3 (third movie in the Bourne Identity trilogy)

Number 4...Could there be any more?
Live Free or Die Hard -- June 29 (the 4th Die Hard movie)

Number 5 and Still Alive:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- July 13

And the Non-Sequels:
Surf’s Up -- June 8 (another penguin movie, but this time they're surfing)
Ratatouille -- June 29 (the new Disney Pixar movie)
Transformers -- July 4 (live action movie about a toy we all love)

So now it's time for the FHE Poll -- What "Sizzling Summer Sequel" (or non sequel) are you most excited about this summer? You can choose more than one, and it doesn't have to be on the list above.

Click on "COMMENTS" below and tell us what you'll be seeing.

Pacific Futures Trade Conference

The Church co-sponsored the Pacific Futures Trade Conference with the New Zealand Business Business Council and Auckland University. 144 business and civic leaders from all over the Pacific attended. The Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu was the special guest speaker. He did and excellent job and represented the USA and the Church very well.

This has been an annual event in New Zealand and our next "annual event" is on May 13th and 14th. Once we get these two major activities behind us, we'll be able to settle down to our normal job.

Pacific Futures Trade Conference

MelRae and I are pictured with Elder Condie and Misa Telefoni who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa. I invited him to the conference by calling directly to the Prime Minister's office. After finding that he was such an intersting guy, I invited him to be a speaker at the banquet on Thursday evening and he was the hit of the entire conference. He presented me with a gift of an official Samoan necktie, Samoa's official tourist book titled, "A gift from Samoa" and a novel that he has authored titled, "Love and Money." Now I have a permanent friend in Samoa!

"Hawaii Five O"

Can you guess who this guy is?

He's famous, from Hawaii, is the nephew of the former Hawaii Temple President, friend of Don Ho, and the brother of the current Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.

Spider-man 3 Rocks!

Film critics Travis, Weston, Packer, Holland & Cannon attended the opening weekend premier of Spider-man 3. Click on comments below to get their take on the big film!

Have you seen Spider-man 3?
Become a film critic and share your review!

"Maestro" Engle Plays

Trey received a music scholarship to Blue Lakes Music camp this summer. He has been working hard to improve his technique on the violin. He seems to be making a break-through! We love to hear him practice! Did you read that Trey - Practice?!

Nick Walks Like an Egyptian

I heard a rumor that Nick knows how to "Walk Like an Egyptian".

Shannon -- click on "comments" below to give us the details!

Holland Loves America

Holland had his kindergarten program today. The program was all about America. They sang songs like "Yankee Doodle" and "God Bless the USA." They sang songs that named all 7 continents, all 50 states and all 29 counties in Utah. I certainly couldn't name all of Utah's counties. Holland did a great job singing and dancing about the land that he loves!

The Japanese have come, now we can have a baby

This pregnancy has been a lot different from past pregnancies for Holly. The best thing about this pregnancy is that Holly has been quite healthy. She hasn't had the constant morning sickness like she has had in past pregnancies. In past pregnancies, the constant sickness made it so that by month 9, she was willing to do anything to make the pregnancy be over. She would go on long walks, do jumping jacks, go on bumpy car rides, smell strange herbs, eat weird foods or anything else that may induce labor.

With this pregnancy, Holly has felt great. She has also been extremely busy. As a result, she has tried to avoid anything that may induce labor. She's had a long checklist that she MUST complete before the baby could arrive. Last week the doctor offered to strip her membranes (which is suppose to help induce labor). She turned down the doctors offer, because her list was not yet complete.

Well today, Holly crossed off the last thing on her list of things to do before the baby arrives. A group of school administrators from Japan have been planning a trip to Utah for the past 2 months. They specifically wanted to come to Summit Academy (where Packer & Holland go to school) because Summit is teaching Franklin Covey's 7 Habits program to their students. Summit is unique in that they are teaching the program to elementary aged students. The 7 Habits program is typically not introduced until a student is a teenager.

These Japanese administrators are hoping to implement the program that Holly is teaching at Summit into their private schools in Japan. They represent over 20,000 students in Japan. The administrators came to Summit today to watch Holly teach a 7 Habit lesson. They were accompanied by Franklin Covey's general manager of operations in Japan, Franklin Covey's research analyst and executives from the Franklin Covey corporate offices. They all spent close to 4 hours at Summit Academy observing the 7 Habits program and meeting with Holly to discuss future opportunities. As would be expected of the Japanese, they video taped every minute of the meeting. They intend to take the video back to Japan and use it as an instructional training guide for all of the teachers in their school system.

They are very interested in having Holly personally go to Japan to help them develop their curriculum (a 7 Habit curriculum does not exist for grades K-6) and to train their teaching staff. They asked if it would be possible for Holly to go to Japan before having the baby. She said probably not, since the baby is due in one week. They are trying to convince her to come in September once school starts again. If she is unable, they will send their curriculum developers to Utah to meet with her here.

The Franklin Covey employees from the corporate offices were so impressed with the 7 Habit program at Summit that they have offered Summit all kinds of resources for upcoming years. They've also asked if they can do a case study on Summit Academy. They have offered to provide Summit Academy with a curriculum developer to help expand the formal K-6 program.

It was also fun for Packer because Holly used Packer's class to teach the 7 Habit lesson. All of Packer's class learned several phrases in Japanese, Japanese greetings and a Japanese song to present to the group. They had Japanese decor throughout the classroom and really made them feel welcome at their school.

So now that the Japanese have come, Holly can finally have the baby. In fact, right after the Japanese left, Holly went straight to the doctor's office to have her membranes stripped.

Jason's going to Brazil

It was so fun to all be on the conference call today when Jason opened his mission call! We had people on the phone from 4 different states and 2 different continents.

Thanks for including all of us Jason! If anyone has any interesting tidbits to share about Jason's mission call, click on "comments" below and comment away!

Trey's going to Chicago

Trey is quite the world traveler. Not only has he lived in 4 different countries and 3 different continents, he's been doing quite a bit of traveling in the last few months. He went to China last month and this weekend he is off to Chicago for an orchestra trip.

I hope you are getting frequent flier miles Trey! Be sure to let us know about your trip to Chicago!

Katie's Birthday Japanese Style

Katie is having a birthday extravaganza Friday night. She and her friends are going to Bennihanna's and then back to Katie's house for a sleep over.

Have a great party Katie! Let us know how it goes!

Vacation to AZ

Jordan and I finished Winter semester last week and decided we needed a break from the drill of school. So we flew down to the land of the heat for a few days before we had to start up school again May 1st. Our first couple of days in AZ we spent on Jordan's little 12' aluminum fishing boat that his dad brought down from St. Johns. We all met at Lake Roosevelt and fished the day away. (Actually only Jordan and his dad handled the poles, lures, and fish. I just sat back and relaxed.) We camped that night and fished the next day. Jordan caught a 3lb bass, first cast of the day, which got our hopes up for a successful fishing trip. But disappointment set in when the only other bass caught the rest of the trip were two more by his dad. But, it's the memories that count. I mean who couldn't forget 12 hours in the sun in a little fishing boat that teeters everytime you move. We had a great time!

We also spent a few days at Jordan's sister's house in Queen Creek where we wrestled the nieces and nephews all weekend long. It was a relaxing and much needed break. Now we're back to the books. Our plans are that if we stay in school spring, summer, and fall semester we can graduate in December! Woo hoo!

Sneak Peek of Summer

We got a sneak peek of summer this last weekend in Draper. Just a week earlier we had on winter coats and even got snow.

Unfortunately, the 80-degree weather is only expected to last 3 or 4 days, then the weather is supposed to turn cool again.

But we wasted no time at the Brown household. The hot sun came out and the next thing we knew, the kids had their swimsuits on and had invited the neighborhood to join them in the hot tub.
We had hoped to go out on the boat during the warm weather. The boat came out of storage last week but was being "summerized" all weekend long. We're sad because it may be a while before we can get out on the boat. With the weather turning cooler this weekend and the baby coming next weekend, it may be June before we're able to get out.

We're all excited for summer to really be here!