Tricia's commericial

Check out Tricia's 'commercial' she made for her Therapeutic Recreation class. It-is-awe-some!

Skxawngs

Saturday Tricia and I went to see Avatar.  They say that Avatar is "an Event, one of those films you feel you must see to keep up with the conversation."  They say that it is "entertainment of the highest order. It's the best movie of 2009. In 3D, it's immersive."  They say it is "Created to conquer hearts, minds, history books and box-office records, the movie — one of the most expensive in history, the jungle drums thump — is glorious and goofy and blissfully deranged."

I say that Tricia and I look like Skxawngs (AKA Na'vi for Morons) in our 3D glasses but we sure captured that 'glorious and goofy and blissfully deranged' part :).

Raise a cup of good cheer!

Chris and I had a mini va-ca for New Years: movies, hotel (and ALL their amenities!), dinner out, and even a Spa day!

First, we each tried out a stone therapy massage at Fran Brown's.  Opps, I mean Marinello's. They changed their name and I keep calling it Fran Brown since that's where Tricia went to school.  The massage was fanFREAKINGtastic!  I also got the Euro facial and felt thoroughly indulged.  It was a great way to get the weekend started!  Later that day, we shopped, shopped, shopped.  You gotta love the 60% off everything nearly everywhere we went as stores were clearing out their winter line to make room for their spring arrivals.  I've never been so happy that winter lasts another four months in Idaho since I got a couple of cute, cute sweaters for eight dollars :).  We stopped for a break and for dinner at Red Robin. Tasty!

Then, we checked into our hotel.  New Years Eve was all about movies since we got to watch How to Marry a Millionaire and Penelope on Chris's laptop. Have I mentioned how much I love Netflix?  It was great even if it was a struggle to keep my eyes open.  We switched to watch Dick Clark's Rocking New Years Eve and popped the cork on our Welch's sparkling cider at 12 midnight.  Then, I think we were lights out by 12:02!

New Years day was a sleep in day.  I haven't had a sleep in day really all vacation because we were up early for Christmas morning and up early for Church and up early for work, so while Chris went out for some more shopping I slept in... until past noon.  [Insert contented sigh]. Now that's vacation!  Later, we went to the theater for a matinee showing off Sherlock Holmes and stopped for dinner at Boston's.  I had the ribs.  Yummy!

Saturday we needed to head back to Burley, but we managed to squeeze one more trip to the theater and watched Disney's the Princess and the Frog. It was a wonderfully relaxing vacation. And as we start this new year, I will raise a glass to you and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Heidi-ho, It's Christmas Day!

Christmas day started bright and early at Trevor and Erica's house this year.  I loved it when Alex went in to wake Tricia, "Heidi-ho, It's Christmas Day!"

Today was quite the extravaganza!  We started off checking out our stockings and the loot from Santa.  I was most excited for Rock Band that the family found on Black Friday for a ripping good deal. Sometimes the sale is as great as the gift :).

Later, we met all together for brunch and took turns playing Rock Band. It felt like a new twist on the family game for Christmas because everyone got involved.  Brings a whole new meaning to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," doesn't it? :) Check out some of these pics Tricia took!

The Reason for the Season (Part 4)

I love Christmas songs!  I think I would start playing them after Halloween if I didn't think people would shoot me :).  I signed up this year for Stake Choir for the Stake Christmas Fireside.  We sang six songs and many were accompanied by a small six piece orchestra, so they sounded really cool.  We also had a wide variety of performances like a children's choir and a solo by Janine Taylor and a song on the organ and ten teenagers on violins.  It was quite the night! 

I keep thinking of something someone said today.  He said that he hoped we could sing like herald angels to help people remember the meaning of Christmas.  I think in my quest to remember The Reason for the Season that was my goal.  I hope that Christmas can stay with us for a little longer.  That we really can remember the meaning of Christmas and keep that gentleness and love with us.  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and God bless us everyone!

The Brown Family Christmas Party

Welcome to the 44th Annual
Brown Family Christmas Party!

For our party this Saturday we sent invitations.  They were cards Chris had made and that I was able to change from "Thank you" cards to "You're invited". Gotta love paper scraps and a little glue :). It's rather embarrassing, but I was tired and had to get them in the mail the next day or the Party would be over before people got them, but there were SEVERAL typos :). Dad wrote the poem. It was kind of a funny story because I called him looking for a easy Roses are Red poem and he said he couldn't think of anything, but then called me back ten minutes later with this poem. I wrote it in all caps because that's what his handwriting looks like, but did you know that spell check doesn't check words in all caps?! Grrr. Oh well, it is still a funny poem and pretty impressive that he wrote it in only ten minutes! I'll attach it, and then you can laugh with me :).

Today's party started out with some delicious food!  Erica made tasty potstickers. Grandma brought crackers and cheese in a can (we're really up-town!).  Cindy and Chris brought Spinach Artichoke dip with yummy breads and veggies to dip. Grandma brought hot Little Smokies. Ian and Alex decorated cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. Lisa brought Pumpkin Chiffon pie (See, I knew we had some class in here somewhere!). Elaine brought donuts. Chris brought Christmas cups and plates and napkins (they say, "Naughty" and "Nice"). Loriel brought chocolate suckers that she made and decorated... I assure you they were as delicious as they looked (Alex, "Hmmm. Choclaty!).

 

For the skit portion we started out first with a hilarious dance skit that Tricia orchestrated for the grandkids. Thanks Daniel and Loriel for participating!  It makes all the difference when the little kids and the medium kids know that the big kids like to be silly :).  Here a few of my favorite shots:

Next, the Brad VonTrap Family singers sang, "Angels We Have Heard on High" in four-part harmony!  Beautiful, you guys!

Then, Erica, Ian and Alex sang, "Bissley, the Red-nosed Reindeer."

I wanted to be sure to give a shout out to Josh who was our backstage hand today. Note the black shirt and headset :).  He was a real big help letting everyone know when it was their turn to go on.

And after that, we heard from the Miss Harmonies singing, "I'm Dreaming of a Red-Neck Christmas."  So, so funny!  The only line I can remember is "Where tractors glisten and moo cows listen."  Of course, you are never paying attention to the WORDS when the Miss Harmonies sing!  he he he :)

We finished the program portion with a sing along Nativity.  There are about five scripture passages we read and Chris plays a Christmas song for each of them.  And as always, we finish with "I Wonder When He Comes Again," a song special to our family.

After the program, Ian and Alex and Joshua passed out gifts for the Christmas exchange.  Mom had the youngest child start and we worked our way up, so that she could watch everyone's expression.  And I assure you, some of them were priceless!

For me the family Christmas party means all the things that go with a party: skits and fiffybagillion conversations at once and lots and lots of food. But mostly, it means family.  There was a moment during one of the songs that I looked around and knew a perfect moment. Happiness and laughter and love.  That's the family Christmas party.  That's Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

The Reason for the Season (Part 3)

I love the giving part of Christmas! It’s so much fun to find the perfect gift, to surprise someone, to share some Christmas cheer or to give back to the community. I've been looking for ways to contribute and provide service during this Christmas season and at our Christmas Relief Society dinner they had cleaned out the RS closet and found all sorts of stuff including fabric and yarn for quilts. They had the quilts done up in kits, and all we needed was the batting. I picked a cute little blanket that is small enough that I could do most of the work myself and make it a personal Christmas project. Mom helped me get my baby blanket up on the frames, and it took me a little less than two hours to tie it. During the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Mom pinned the edges and I was able to hand stitch the finishing edge. I finished it this week and feel pretty excited about it! This was a great experience for me not only because I was able to participate in the Blanket Drive for the Helping Hands Mission, but also because I got to work with my Mom.  She's a pretty special lady that is willing to give her time and experience in helping me develop the Reason for the Season this Christmas holiday.  Thanks Mom!