and appearing as the March Hare...

Davis Brown!! 

The kids did an amazing job with this year's production.  It was great fun to see Davis really get into his part.  He even had a small solo singing part which took me by surprise.  He sounded so professional!  It made me a bit emotional...
The after party was quite the celebration.  Davis has a wonderful friend who's mom makes cakes.  And not just any cakes but INCREDIBLE cakes.  Like the one pictured here.  She said the hours that were put into it were crazy.  And then she cut it up and served it!  How can you seperate the blood, sweat and tears of building something like this from the pure enjoyment of slicing it up and eating it??  I obviously won't be on the Ace of Cakes any time soon!!

Good times for sure : )

I love to see the temple...

 It was a wonderful morning sitting next to Brent with Maddison and Davis beside us.

Given we had the sweet opportunity to participate in the dedication of the newest temple here in Arizona...

I wanted to post a couple of pictures I took from our trip to San Deigo last fall.

A temple is a glorious sight.

And Maddison had the chance to go to an early morningside with all our Stake Youth.

They sat on blankets in the fields where our new Gilbert Temple will stand in the near future.

They heard the words of our Stake Presidency inspire them and guide them to be worthy to enter the doors of the temple that will arise from the dirt they sat upon.

What a blessed Sunday.

The Greatest

pause my playlist please : )

Kenny Rogers was my very first live concert.  I was about 10.  I cried when he came out on stage.

I've been a fan ever since.

This particular song has been a favorite of ours since it first came out.
Bet you can't guess why...

Sweet song.
Better message.

Have an amazing day : )

Thanks for reminding me of this Hailee - love you!

in the breeze on mother's day...

Because the desert won't

really allow me to
successfully have this...

I chose this to keep her close to me.

Last year I thought I might never enjoy the beauty and sweet fragance this little flower gives.  I got plenty of beautiful green vines, but hardly any blossoms.

I have been keeping my fingers crossed especially hard this year.





And it has paid off.

The


timing


 was


 perfect.

Every time I walk out to my porch a little smile crosses my lips.
And I take a deep breath.
Because in the breeze there is a whisper...
 my mom's love filling my lungs, my head, my heart
with what I miss.

is there a light at the end of the tunnel?? oh yeah - it's there! I just have to squint : )

Every year at this time I feel the same...
I can't possibly do one thing more!
And then
I give thanks that there are three reasons to love it all!

My New Life by Stephanie Nielson

I've posted about this inspiring story before.
Here is another look at this courageous and faithful latter day saint woman.
Please pause my music.

I'll take one of these please...

The homes that lined Corona Del Mar beach were nothing less than spectacular.
I'm asking for one for my next birthday.



We had a wonderful vacation.
Getting back into the swing of things was tough.
But that's what makes getting away and spending time together so wonderful.
It makes you want to do it again and again.
And we will : )

more catch up ~ PART TWO

Balboa beauties...

a great tide pool beach ~ Crystal Cove

Crystal Cove colorless

and still more : )

a Crystal Cove sunset...

a little catch up...

Spring Break was last month and I'm just getting around to looking through our pictures.
I'll get them on here eventually.

Here is PART ONE...



This is T-Rocks in Quartzsite, AZ.
If you have any rock fans in your family then this is a must stop if you are driving on to California.
We have MANY treasures from this side stop : )

where we stayed...

The Newport Coast Villas Resort was truly beautiful.  The great deal was worth the stay.  Although this is not the way our family vacations, I could handle this every now and again. 

The gorgeous pools and life size checker board were definintely attention getters.

The fragrance of sweet jasmine was heavy in the air and lucky for us, these blooming vines covered our villa.

put this on your list...

...a trip to Balboa Island.
One of my favorite parts of our vacation.
We drove the car right onto the ferry that shuttled us across the inlet.
And I was so tempted to jump ship and grab some of those chocolate covered strawberries but I stayed put.

I think we stopped at nearly every little shop.  We met a wonderful shop owner who gave us a great deal on our purchases and then recommended we eat at this little mexican joint just a stroll down the sidewalk.  We did. And boy are we glad!  Sooooo very good. Very reasonably priced. And you could tell the locals were regulars.  That's a sure sign it is gonna be yummy!  Another recommendation came from some friends in the ward (who make a habit of coming to this exact spot time after time) who said you MUST STOP at the bakery.  MY. OH. MY.

I wish I had gotten a shot of the Balboa Island Candy shop.  Candy from days gone by and barrels of every flavor salt water taffy you could imagine.  We stocked up of course : )

Opening Day for our two All Stars!

The Braves for Cooper...


and the Ironbirds for Davis... 

And we won't be around much while the boys play ball.
It begins in March and it's all we do for nearly three months straight! : )

Take us out to the ball game!!

At the Brown household, we declare Opening Day...

a National Holiday!!!

That means the kids get to be pulled out of school.

All on account of getting to celebrate...
peanuts,
cracker jacks,

and the fact that the Boys of Summer are back!!

The hunt...

We don't make the bunny part of Easter too big of a deal around our home.
But we do enjoy hunting and searching for a few of the yummy treats.
And it brings us together for fun and relaxing morning...
which I totally support!

Who doesn't love a cupcake!!

What a fun and creative take on an Easter cupcake. 

Found the darling idea here.

The Responsiblity Project...

Given that Brent works for Liberty Mutual...

Given that we LOVE baseball...

This little story is precisely fitting.
And what makes it so great is that it's true.
Watch through to the credits : )

Enjoy!

Sunday will come...

Easter is just a few days away.

There is so much peace and hope and happiness that surrounds the message of this sacred day we celebrate.

I'm always grateful to be reminded of those moments when I am blessed with a testimony building experience.

This was one of them. 

I remember clearly hearing the words the first time.  It was November 2006.  It was a time I thought my mom might leave her broken body behind and return to her heavenly home for a much deserved rest.  I hung on Elder Wirthlin's every word.

And then I remember reading those words in the Conference issue of the Ensign.


I had the same beautiful feelings wash over me again.

Today, a little over three and half years later, I found the above highlighted clip and it was no different. 

I still feel the emotion and the power of these truths and am so grateful my sweet mother's Sunday has finally come. 

Happy, Happy Easter.

Here is Elder Wirthlin's talk in its entirety.

*photo found here

Recipe #5

I can make a yummy pot roast.  I usually put it in the crock pot.  It's the perfect method when there is no time.  But if you have just a handful of minutes to spare, this is the one to try.

The Pioneer Woman's tutorial for a delicious and melt-in-your-mouth pot roast is easy and the results are so, so darn good!

The only thing I did differently turned out to be something I wouldn't do again.  I used the cute, small and ready to eat out of the bag carrots and they turned to mush.  Baby food really, so I'd stick with the full size variety and take the time to wash and cut or I would add the cute little ones half way through the cooking time.

Mmmmmmm...it was delicious!

*photo found here

simply beautiful

my sweet kristi shared this link with me.
it is a story of love.
it is not a quick read.
it will take some time.
but it will be time well spent.

feeling a bit sentimental...

As much as I love my nearly 15 year old daughter and 11 year old son...

My heart is aching for these two darlings that seemed to skip through my home just moments ago.

Life moves quickly and for some reason I want to dig my heals in and come to a complete stop.

Do I want to do it over?
Try again?
Fix the mistakes?
I don't think so...

But I know I would trade in a driving permit and receiving the priesthood for just a few stolen moments with dolls and trucks.

Recipe #4

Let's face it...
I'm not going to get these recipes posted in a timely manner.
I've faced it and I'm okay with it.

The recipe for the next week was Ree's Mac and Cheese. 
For the record ~ I don't make homemade mac and cheese.  Kraft does a lovely job with the kind in the famous blue box, don't you think??  But this recipe changed my mind in a hurry. 

The last time I tasted the homemade variety, I was a newlywed living in Eugene Oregon.  Some wonderful friends of ours invited us over for dinner one night and this is what they served up.  I so enjoyed it!  Cheesy, gooey and a crunchy top.  It was delicious but I, for whatever reason, I never ventured to try the dish on my own.  End of story. 

So here we are at the present.  The recipe was easy enough.  I'm learning through this consistant try at new recipes that the first time you make a recipe is the time to learn what works and what you need to adjust the next time.  You know ~ like the heat on my pan gravy for the Chicken Fried Steak.  This time around it was the heat and the amount of time it took to get the cheese mixture to the proper "thickened" state.  Next time around I'll turn down the heat.  I think I'm seeing a pattern here : ) I cooked up some bacon to a crispy deliciousness to add in before I tucked it in the oven to bake.

We all really liked the mac and cheese.  The bacon is a must!  I will certainly make this again with the above mentioned adjustments.  She has some other wonderful suggestions to add in too...like carmelized onion, green chilies and a variety of cheeses.  Mmm Mmm good!  Oh wait - that's Cambell's.

I'm not doing another recipe until after Spring Break, just in case you were all anxiously awaiting!
Ha Ha!  I love pretending you all care : )

*photo found here

Easy to please

Growing up there came a night every couple weeks where we opened up the fridge and pulled out all the leftovers. 

Whatever happened to be there was dinner.

We called it "clean out the fridge night".

We have carried on the tradition nicely with my children.

Only they call it "scrounge night".

I don't really like the new title but I'm pretty sure it was my husband that deemed it so when the kids were just little.

It must of had something to do with me being gone during the dinner hour and that he and the kids could scrounge something up.

When we announced last night that it was offically "scrounge night", Cooper shouted with glee and gave a fist pump.

He said that "scrounge night" is his favorite meal.

If he were always this easy to please!