browne family camp trip

the browne family decided that the month of october is perfect for an annual camping trip. last year we headed north to Hillsborough State Park, remember that?
luckily chris was able to come along and it made it so much more enjoyable for our little group.

this year we switched things up, stayed a little closer to home, and went to 

Markham Park in sunrise, which is closer to ft. lauderdale.

my dad chose this park because it has all new facilities and some incredible mountain bike trails. seriously, these trails are so awesome that tony hawk rides there. for real, my dad saw him last weekend. so that just proves that even in south florida our mountain biking is legit!

anyway, here are some pictures that capture our great time filled with bike rides (with the kids), playing at playgrounds, messy faces, food, mountian biking, model airplane watching and of course, marshmallow roasting!

you have to watch a safety video and sign a waiver before hitting up the biking course.

its pretty hard core, as alli's legs can prove...

the park had a few great playgrounds that the kids enjoyed.

charlie man was in his element!

it was a little redneck, but chris had the genius idea to hook up a fan in our tent. we slept great thanks to that beauty.

we watched some amazing model airplanes do pretty cool tricks.

whats the matter ellie, squirrel got your buns?

yes, actually, squirrels did rip into our hotdog buns and have a few nibbles while we were on a bike ride :)

nothing like a nap in the car after an overload of camping goodness

this was the first time chris and i have tried mountain biking and we had a blast! i realize it was through the grace of my father in heaven that i didn't crash or tumble down the mountain. it was definitely luck that got me through. this stuff was crazy difficult and if it werent for the adrenaline that kicked in, i dont think i would have been able to do it. but chris was a natural and im sure if i hadnt been there slowing down his momentum he would have been really rockin it! i found a clip on youtube of one of the trails we rode. i walked down the big, steep ramp, but chris took it! we both did the "winding bridge" though and it was SO AWESOME! chris really wants to go again and i think he could get pretty good at it. i guess the next time that my dad, alli & jacob go, chris will have to go along. they are all nuts and will do all the scary obstacles. 

Jack turns 6 at DONUT FEST 2012!

our brother-in-law, jacob, has a family tradition of making homemade donuts and apple cider during the fall 

and by golly, we wanted to join in the fun!

jacob made donuts and i glazed them with regular glaze, chocolate, and maple icing. they were oh so soft and tasty. 

we combined this party with a celebration for jack's 6th birthday.

this awesome 6 year old was out of his mind excited about receiving pogs from alli and jacob. i couldnt be more proud. i was obsessed with pogs in 4th grade and would take them to school and have competitions with the boys after lunch. i have found jack organizing his pogs each morning before school and it makes me smile.

he was given so many incredible gifts, including a skim board, a bass fishing trip (his dream!), binoculars from dad, books, a ninja turtle shirt, a star wars shirt, moolah, a hawkeye toy and a leonardo ninja turtle.

i love this boy.

he invited me to have lunch with him at school and i thought i better take advantage of this stage where he still thinks im somewhat cool. before school, he splashed himself with some brute aftershave and asked me to wear something "kinda fancy" when i met him for lunch. he is hilarious. and he's growing his hair out to be like the middle school boys that "shake their head to get their bangs outta their eyes".

happy birthday to the greatest 6 year old i have ever known!

and just a few random pics of some other cute faces i get to see often.

last saturday

alli and jacob put together a family garage sale this past weekend, 

which is always a grand time

this weekend:

we are going camping and mountain biking!

yeah, you read that right. mountain biking. in florida!

my dad found a campground that has an awesome, man-built, mountain bike trail.

im sure we will have some great stories, pictures, and bruises from all the fun.

along with camping, we will also be celebrating our anniversary, jack will turn 6, and we are having a donut and apple cider party all in the next 6 days. whew, what an insane month this has been!

the gathering of the clans

on monday evening the brower clan met up with 

the thompson clan,

the call clan,

and the two browne clans

for a spooktacular halloween evening. this is the 3rd year we've been able to get together and is quite a fun tradition!

jack loves being a vampire. he walked around the house saying, "i vant to vant your blood!".

and ellie made a beautiful cinder-ellie.

 jack chose donna to be our "pot belly".

the kids threw candy corns into her cauldron and whoever had the most, won.

ev won with 10 candies!

chris and i thought it would be great fun to play the oreo on the face game.

is there a real name for this game? no clue.

but since it is halloween i dubbed it Dragon Pox.

i thought this was HILARIOUS to watch. turns out its even funnier when you are playing!

the kids also participated in grandma's fishing pond and received many wonderful prizes, including these vampire teeth that posessed me to bite these sweet, succulent children.

 we had delicious chili, larissa's corn bread (which is the best in the whole world. just ask ellie and jack. seriously, they scream and dance when the hear she's made cornbread), tasty salad, jocob's blood punch, and caramel apples.