President's Weekend

We had a relaxing long weekend with the kids out of school on Friday and Monday.  Dallin had soccer on Saturday, we had church on Sunday and Monday we went to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge with our friends.  After the refuge we went to pizza and Cabela's, every man's dream store.  Dallin is our outdoor man and loves fishing and the idea of hunting, he has been begging me to take him to this store for years.  It was close to the refuge so he got lucky.  I was actually happily surprised at the store, it is so cool.  They have displays inside the store that are set up like a museum.  We saw every kind of wild animal and they even had an aquarium. 

Having a sense of humor, I found it quite funny that the first place we went to was to protect and preserve wildlife, and the second place we went to was all about the hunt.  Opposite ends of the spectrum on our all inclusive nature day.  :)

Dawn P. taking my picture

while I take hers :)

the group

Dawn P. walking with the girls

Faith getting a peek at nature up close

Dallin enjoying the experience

Picture by Dawn P.

This guy found an owl's nest with the owl...we got to see it through his camera...so cool!

Found some treasures

Faith

Lucy

Kylee and Lucy

overexposed picture, the boys are not as white as this, but close:)

another opportunity to get the umbrella out ( we get alot of those)

leaves and mossy tree

Playing with my focus, wanted to have the front branch blurry and focus behind it...

fuzzy trees

Loved the barns, had some fun editing this pic.

Love the water and the barn reflection

Washington or England?

We know one taxidermist is staying busy...

grrrr

Display in the center of the store

Airplane in the middle of the store

And we even got to shop, she is a trendsetter!

Happy Valentine's DaY!

 Banner on our front door

Had this waiting for Husband when he woke up this morning

Decorating dinning room for Family Dinner tonight

Hearts & Kisses

Found a box of chocolates that says, " Sweetie Pie"  perfect for Faith

She makes some silly faces that make me happy!

She is having fun with balloons and her reflection today!

Chinese New Year Party ~ Year of the DRAGON ~

This year we switched things up a bit. Usually we go out to dinner and celebrate with our friends and their daughter Lucy. This year we decided it would be fun to share our girls culture and heritage with those closest to us.   We threw our own party! It was so much fun to share Chinese New Year with friends and family and we hope to continue this tradition from now on! We had over 60 people attend! On the menu Teriyaki Chicken Sweet and Sour Chicken Fried Rice White Rice Dumplings Egg Rolls Chinese Chicken Salad and of course everyone had their own set of chopsticks!  And for dessert Dawn and I hand made almond & cashew cookies; ordered fortune cookies and this lovely cake

In honor of the DRAGON ...isn't he something!

Chocolate cake with a wonderful cherry mousse filling ...Yummy!

Faith and Lucy

The pose

My sweet little Chinese Empress

 Smiley girl

All dressed up and ready to party!  I love how the flag is in the background.  My Chinese American Girly!

~Chinese New Year~ PaRtY~ 2012

It's the YeaR of the DraGon and we are throwing a paRtY!  We are busy prepping to entertain and feed between 60-80 people...  I can't wait :)

Happy New Year 2012 !

It's been a busy few weeks here at the Brown house.  Jeff and I celebrated New Year's quietly here at the house with Faith and the younger boys.  Jensen had a friend over.  Spencer and Kylee went to a big party/dance in Seattle and watched the fireworks at the Space Needle. 

While Jeff was home from work he and Spencer installed a new stereo into Spencer's car together.  A real MAN project they both enjoyed.  They went shopping for the stereo and speakers together, and did all the wiring and installation together.  Spencer was so excited to have the new system for the drive to school.

Spencer left for Rexburg Idaho on Monday the 2nd and started school on the 4th.  He is in a new apartment this time and is excited to be back at college.  He and Kylee will both have their associates degrees by the summer! 

Pretty NiCe !

 January 5th was our 2 year Gotcha anniversary for Faith. 

 We celebrated by going shopping, playing at Chuck E Cheese and then going out to the McDonald's Playland when Jeff got home from work.