busy, busy

this week has been busy. not the fun kind of busy either. 

i'm the ward camp director and girls camp is next week. eek! very excited and also very glad that it will be over soon too :) 

so i've been busy busy busy getting girls certified this week, paperwork completed for last minute add-ons, packed, devotionals ready, arranging rides, etc... all those things that should have already been done, but gets left till the last minute for one reason or another. 

we've also been trying to give the ol' homestead a good wipe down because the day after i get back from camp, mi familia is coming!!! everyone but rikki will be staying at our house over the weekend before we head north for a big browne family reunion in Rogers. 

The kids have been doing extra chores for the past two weeks to earn some spending money while we are visiting florida the first two weeks of august. 

did i mention we've got a busy few weeks coming up?!

whew!

we are SO EXCITED! 

but i'm also SO EXHAUSTED! 

because we are...

... SO PREGNANT!

this little brower bundle is coming around thanksgiving and we couldn't be happier. the kids wanted to wait to find out what it is, and so did i, so thats what we are doing. it was a little strange not finding out at the ultrasound on monday, and i'll admit, it could have been so easy to sneak a peek and just not tell, but i didn't. it's going to be so fun to find out when the babe is born! jack and ellie are sure its a girl while charlie is positive he's having a baby brother (he's also positive the baby is in HIS tummy). either way, all three kids are extremely happy. and chris and i couldn't be more grateful.

He Said She Said (part 5)

we've interviewed each of the kids to find out more about them, from their point of view, just like we have every july for the past 5 years. i switched up some of the questions this year, just for fun.

Whats your favorite and least favorite foods?

Jack- i still love sushi and i always will. i hate broccoli!

Ellie- vanilla bean ice cream is my favorite. my least is fish, fish, fish.

Charlie- strawberries. i don't like to eat pickles. nope, i don't.

Whats your favorite and least favorite things to do?

Jack- mountain biking with daddy and i like to golf and of course fish and i like to be with all my grandmas and grandpas and all my family. i don't really like going to school.

Ellie- jumping on the tramp with the sprinkler because its just my favorite! going to school is not fun.

Charlie- eat some marshmallows is my favorite. i don't like broccolis.

What are your talents?

Jack- I have many, but one is running fast and being able to dodge people at the same time. i'm also a smart kid.

Ellie- swimming, soccer, painting, braiding hair, and eating candy- you know I'm good at that!

charlie- I good at eating marshmallows.

What's something you're not good at, but want to improve?

Jack- I want to try to be braver.

Ellie- drawing and roller blading

Charlie- be a good friend to brynnie, cause cause cause she's sick today.

What's your favorite thing about your family?

Jack- They play with me.

Ellie- wrestling with daddy before bedtime.

Charlie- having a baby sometime.

What are you looking forward to the most this summer?

Jack- all the family stuff we're doing, like the family reunion.

Ellie- going to FL and playing with cousins.

Charlie- be with ashie. and bubbalou. and sophie too.

Do you have a least favorite thing about your family?

Jack- Sometimes they're mean to me, and i'm talking about everybody! but it's only sometimes, not all the time. mostly ellie and charlie.

Ellie- Sometimes daddy isn't home when i want him home.

Charlie- that they don't give me lots and lots of marshmallows.

What are you looking forward to when you're an adult?

Jack- there's so much, i just can't even choose!

Ellie- be a mom and a dentist.

Charlie- cookin' hot dogs.

If you could tell your future self a piece of advice, what would it be?

Jack- DON'T EAT THE BROCCOLI!!!

Ellie- Don't turn on the fan when you don't need it.

Charlie- eat marshmallows.

the 4th

we are proud to be americans!

independence day is right up there with the best holidays to celebrate. 

we had a great day and evening, complete with our very own fireworks show by chris.

we went to one of those fireworks stands on the side of the road for FHE the monday before and he let us pick out whatever we wanted!!! 

it was a dream come true for me!

the grand finale of our show was a huge firework that was called

"dirty dancing... in the sky".

it did NOT disappoint! 

this was one of those nights that i hope our kids remember for ever and ever. 

jumping on the trampoline with friends while wearing glowsticks, having a bbq complete with ice cream cones, watching the colorful fireworks all around us in the night sky, catching fireflies-

it was perfect.

birthday weekend

this special man had a birthday on the 29th.

oh daddy,

how we love you!

we didn't do anything too crazy in celebration of his special day... unless you count receiving a blender as crazy, than it was a wild one! i did make him some homemade double chocolate peanut butter oreo ice cream that was quite tasty that we served with a couple confetti cannons. we'll use any excuse to shoot some confetti around here :)

he bought a mountain bike and some new sunglasses for his birthday a little while ago, which he has been enjoying immensely. and so has jack. they've been riding a ton. they even entered the True Grit race on the 21st. they rode 11.64 miles of mountain bike trails!! so proud of our boys.

about 20 minutes in, jack fell in a little river and was soaked through. what a trooper.

 the friday before chris's special day, we went to the drive-in theater in Poteau, OK. we saw How to Train your Dragon 2 with the smith gang and stuffed our face with a ton of candy. the weather could not have been any more perfect. it was a blast!

 daddy-o also taught this kid how to mow the lawn, which was trickier than jack thought it would be!