Camping...in the backyard

Andy and Paxton have spent a few nights this week camping out in the backyard...I will admit I was a bit skeptical that they would make it though the night...but they did!! I think Paxton got a lot more sleep than Andy did because Andy worried all night that Pax would escape or fall off the air mattress or kick off all his blankets and get too cold...but they made it!!

The camp out will continue at the family reunion this coming weekend and maybe eventually they will make it up the canyon for a real camping trip!!

Summer Fun

I finally caved in this week and blew up the little swimming pool to put in the backyard. I kept putting it off because i knew once it was out there that is where Paxton would want to be all of the time...and I was right!! Now he sits by the door all day everyday ready to go outside to his "water." Unfortunately we can't stay out there for long or we would both be very sunburned!!

Paxton is very helpful to fill up the pool after he splashes all the water out of it! This was the first time we had filled up the pool and he was so excited he didn't even wait until I put his swimming suit on to get into the pool...who needs a swimming suit anyway? He will swim fully clothed, diaper only, or naked...as long as he has his sandals on so he won't slip! He had to bring out his "guys" to play in the pool with him!
Loving his swimming pool!!

He also discovered the sprinkler...I tried to get him to run through it but he wouldn't...he just likes to feel the water! Today we were out in the pool (fully clothed again) and Andy decided Tegan needed to go for a swim! Surprisingly he wasn't too phased by the water...until Paxton decided to teach him to splash by splashing him in the face!

I think we will be spending a lot of time outside in our little pool...hopefully it will make it through the summer!!

The Grotto

There is a great little hike we like to go on up Payson Canyon called The Grotto. It is a pretty easy hike (I even like it and I hate hiking) that leads to a cave and a waterfall. We hiked it several times last year and Paxton loved it...apparently this year he is not so into it!

He was walking fine until he heard the water and then he decided he needed to be carried. As soon as we reached the grotto he started crying and carrying on. He wouldn't even go close to the water...except to throw a few rock in of course!
Tegan, meanwhile, was happy and content being carried around by Mom!! Oh well...even though Paxton didn't like it we will probably try it again a few more times this summer...maybe eventually he will decide he likes it again!!

Happy Birthday Jalizabeth!

I celebrated my 30th birthday on June 17th...the weekend started off with a surprise birthday cake from my boys. Andy was messing around in the kitchen and I kept asking him what he was doing...he told me he was "cleaning out the match drawer." Of course Paxton had to go investigate...once he say the cake he kept saying Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!! We sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed some delicious Cold Stone ice cream cake!! My pre-birthday celebration with Tegan and Paxton!!
The next day (my actual birthday) we traveled up to Ogden for my Grandma Brown's viewing and funeral. On the way up we stopped at Andy's sister Lisa's house for a quick visit. Paxton and Tegan enjoyed playing with their cousins!
Tegan (2 months), Jonah (5), Evan (10 months), Paxton (23 months)

My parents were nice enough to rent us a hotel room in Ogden. As soon as we got there Paxton went crazy...he found the complimentary pen and notepad and drew a few pictures...found the phone and tried to make a few phone calls, discovered the bathroom and that he could turn on the tub, found the remote and tried to find his favorite shows Charlie or Gabba, and finally discovered that he could open the door and take off down the hall...and that was all in about 10 minutes!!

I have become one of those moms who buys her boys matching shirts...they were just so cute i couldn't resist!!After the viewing we went back to my Grandma's house and the birthday celebration continued! Even though it was sad having my grandma's viewing on my birthday...it was nice to be able to celebrate with my entire family!!

The cakes!

The Family (at least the ones i got pictures of)...

My brother-in-law Nick, my brother Jeffrey, My cousin Morgan and her fiance Raul

My sisters Jamie and Jessica and my nephew Mana

My brother Jake and sisters Janelle and Jerika

The Hamberlin Family...minus Tegan who was sleeping in the other room!!

Thank you to everyone for the fun birthday weekend!!

Payson Lakes

The other night we made a quick trip up to Payson Lakes to enjoy a walk around the lake. Little did we know Paxton would discover his new favorite hobby...throwing rocks in water. He sat and threw rocks into the lake for at least 20 minutes until we forced him to get in the car...if we would have given him a choice he probably would have stayed there and threw in rock after rock until it got too dark to see!
All of my boys...

Tegan*2 Months Old

Tegan tuned 2 months old on June 13th...it is amazing how fast these past 2 months have flown by! We took Tegan to his 2 month check up and he weighed in at 12 pounds 5 ounces (67%) and was 24.75 inches long (96%). Andy and I are still wondering how we got such a tall healthy boy!
Tegan is such a sweet baby...here are some things about him at 2 months:
*He is just starting to smile...he is at his best first thing in the morning and around lunch time.
*He LOVES to cuddle
*He loves to eat...every 2 hours in fact...no wonder he is so healthy
*He loves his vibrating chair and spends a lot of time in there escaping from his brother
*He is wearing size 3 month clothes and size 2 diapers
*He has a lot of nicknames already including Tia (that's what Paxton calls him), T, Teeg, Little Man, and Stinker
WE LOVE YOU BUDDY!!

Tegan's Blessing

We had Tegan's blessing on June 5th. He was given a wonderful blessing by his dad and was blessed with many things including: a love of the gospel, charity towards others, and a good sense of humor. We were lucky to have about 65 of our closest friends and family come to celebrate this special day with us!

Tegan wore the same blessing outfit that Paxton did as well as a special blanket that was given to Paxton from their Great Grandma Brown.
After the blessing we had a great lunch at the park that included: chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, chips, fruit, and enough cookies to feed the masses! It was a perfect day and everyone enjoyed being together and eating lots of food!

Once the kids got bored with the playground, they managed to keep themselves busy by "washing" the walls of the pavilion! What a fun day!Thanks to everyone who was able to come down to celebrate with us...having so many people there to support us made the day that much more special!

Confessions of a Coupon Lady

I confess...I cave easily to peer pressure to try things that are trendy. For example...Facebook...I swore I would never join, that I didn't have a need for Facebook or the time to check it...I caved, I joined and now I am on Facebook daily.

Now I have been taken over by couponing...my sister started couponing before couponing was even cool. Again I claimed I didn't have the need or the time for couponing. The TLC starts showing extreme couponers and I spend more time with Jamie and learn more about it and now I must confess...I love to coupon!!

Last weekend while my family was here we decided to do a little dumpster diving to see if we could get some more coupons. Behold the results of a half an hour of driving around and maybe almost getting stopped by the police...but it was totally worth it! This week my couponing adventures scored me this great deal at Walgreens...

6 Bottles of body wash, 5 bottles of shaving cream, 4 deodorants, 4 packages of razors, 2 tubes of toothpaste, as well as some candy for fillers...all for a grand total of $30!!! That is a $90 saving from the retail price of $120.00!
So i came away with a years supply of products for Andy as well as a thrilling victory for me for getting such a great deal!! I love to shop and if i can do it for cheap and get things we need and will use...well so be it!! Thanks Jamie for getting me to cave in to the peer pressure...I definitely needed a new hobby!
*I also scored a great deal at Walmart that night...$60 worth of groceries for about $18.00*

Family Pictures 2011

My youngest brother Jake graduated from high school last weekend so we spent part of the weekend in Richfield. Since my whole family was together we decided to take some family pictures.

Here is the whole Brown family!! I got this car right after I turned 16...each one of us drove it through high school. It actually made it through all 7 kids! It died a few months ago but we couldn't send it to the junkyard until we got a picture with all of the kids and the "grey car."
Here is a sister picture in order from oldest to youngest!

And now...

The Hamberlin Family!

Just me and Andy!

And of course no blog post would be complete without another cute picture of Paxton!