The Browns

More "AMORE"

2010-02-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Okay so there are obviously more than just those 5 that I love....So Robyn here's more "AMORE" Ang was taking all the pictures so I don't have one of her but she is included! :) I didn't have a picture of just all the nieces and nephews together in one picture shot, but they are also included as well as ALL my in-laws!!! MI AMORES!!!! :)

Ahhhhh AMORE!!!!

2010-02-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

This is the month of "AMORE"..... LOVE.....make sure you let the ones you love know how wonderful they are and how much they mean in your life.....especially how much you LOVE them.... :) These are the people who I love more than anything else!!!! LOVE U GUYS!!!!!

21 years!!!!

2009-12-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

It's AMAZING to think that I've been with my best friend for 1/2 my life exactly. Dec. 2nd marked 21 years since the day I met Kyle. 18 days later we decided to get married and 6 months later we did. Our relationship has had it's UPS and DOWNS (believe me), I truly believe that this is how you learn to grow and develop in a relationship. May we have AT LEAST 21 more. Luv ya babe!!!! :) (pics from Karlene's wedding)

Karlene's Wedding

2009-12-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving and what topped it off even better was us being thankful for Karlene's wedding. Karlene looked AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL! We absolutely LOVE Vaughn.He is perfect for our daughter. They are very happy and we couldn't be happier for them. We had a lovely ceremony that lasted maybe 10 minutes tops. Then we had pictures and then onto the reception and dancing and FUN! I've posted some pics of Karlene dancing with her dad and then with Vaughn at the reception. I also have pics of the receiving table and their wedding cake. Hope you enjoy!:)

6 months already?????

2009-10-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've not had a lot of time lately. Quick updates -
* We moved to Jerome & live w/ Kyle's parents while he's in school @ CSI learning how to make & take care of Wind Turbines.
* I am trying to build a clientele between working @ Impressions in Jerome and Sunsations in Twin Falls. I do my own nails now. Takes a while but I AM GOOD AT IT!
* Karston is in Jerome HS. He is doing fantastic academically and seems to be adjusting okay to
life here. He wishes to be in Boise or Rexburg, but tough luck!
* KaDence is a straight A student right now also. She thought her adjustment was going to be easier but she's adapting okay.
* LASTLY...what a WONDERFUL SURPRISE....KARLENE has found the man of her dreams and is getting married on NOV. 28th. We couldn't be more excited for her and Vaughn. He is absolutely perfect! We really love him and the way he treats Karlene!
That's our news for now. Leaving you w/ some pics of my nails.

Solitaire........The Carpenters

2009-04-29T09:06:00.001-07:00

Robyn this one is just for you.......ahh the memories........check out my playlist

What is a Marriage....what is a relationship.....

2009-04-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone has their own ideas of marriage i'm sure. For me...it's being with my best friend.... who started out as my best friend, but through the years... really is the only person who i look forward to spending time with. i like hangin with friends, family, my kids and other couples...but...I long to spend my time with Kyle. I enjoy just being with him. I don't need to go out for dinner necessarily (it is a nice treat), in fact most of our dates, recently, have been driving to job sites and helping him clean up the concrete blankets or take down signs. Our relationship keeps changing...as most relationships should. We've had some really hard struggles and I have found that as time has gone on, these struggles are what takes our relationship to the next level. It has taken me 20 years to figure out that our arguments and differences are what allows us to grow in our relationship when we work through it and pray for each other. Being able to recognize certain things about yourself and taking ownership of them often helps. Things like "well I did say that...", "How would I feel if the tables were turned?", "Am I manipulating this situation.?", "Am I saying hurtful things because I'm feeling hurt and wounded?", "What am I REALLY upset about?", "I'm wrong...am I big enough to admit it and start moving forward...or am I going to be stubborn and continue to argue for the sake of being mad?", "What am I willing to give up or sacrifice for this person?" Marriage and relationships......these are just a few thoughts... I LOVE my husband.....he isn't perfect(and neither am I )...but..... he is perfect for me.

I fell off the face of the earth..........

2009-04-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

No not really. I finally finished school on March 10th, 2009, studied my "you know what" off for 9 days. Took the 110 (10 were freebies) question written state board exam(passed with a 97%). 3 days later took the practical exam in Pocatello (was fine til she said "you may start" and I could not stop shaking. This has never happened before when I've taken a test. I was a little freaked out at myself for shaking so bad.) Passed with an 85% (not bad at all, but I really wanted to pass with a 95% or higher...I blame the shakes...). Now I'm just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for the state board to send me my license. They say they did not receive the stuff from my school, my school said they sent it on the 13th of March. I asked the school to please send all my info again, so now I might actually have my license in my hand by next week sometime, we'll see. I'm just excited that i passed and I'm an officially licensed nail technician.......Yeah!!!!!
I have a picture of the first set of acrylic nails i did. I think they turned out really good. The toes are KaDences that i did at Christmas time. They are gels with glitter under them. The fingers are KaDences as well, also gels. I had some other pictures of some good nails i did, but our computer crashed and i lost those pictures.

Kids are doing pretty well right now. They are very glad I'm done with school and things are somewhat a little more normal around here. Kyle was a wonderful husband and a lot of help while i was in school and working. I could never had made it with out him. Thanks babe!

5 days and counting......

2008-12-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

Only 5 more days and I start Nail Tech school. I am soooo excited for Dec. 8th to get here!!! :) Kids are doing good right now and we are trudging along. That's it for this post. :)

"After All These Years"

2008-11-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 2nd it will be 20 years since Kyle and I first met. It's incredibly hard to believe that this much time has gone by already. It feels like yesterday sometimes and other times it feels like we've always been with each other and I don't remember being without him. We met Dec. 2nd, 1988 and became engaged 2 1/2 weeks later on Dec. 20th, 1988. We married 6 months later on June 30th, 1989. There have been times when I have wanted a divorce, but I have learned through some really hard times, that I REALLY LOVE HIM and those hard times are when we grow the most, and when we discover that, it's because we love each other that we work through it and grow closer together. I'm glad I've learned how to work out the rough times b/c I have a real GEM, he's the BEST thing that has EVER happened to me, and b/c of that..... we have 3 beautiful children who are a reflection of our love. "After All These Years" is the new Journey song. If you have a minute, listen to it on my playlist. I encourage everyone who reads this to take a minute and think about all the GOOD things about the one YOU love.... :)

Life.....

2008-11-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

I'm still at D.I., but I get to start Nail tech school Dec. 8th finally! I can't wait! We went to Kyle's niece's wedding Halloween weekend and decided to drive to Rock Springs, WY to see if we could see ourselves living there if Kyle took a job with Haliburton. It was much more urban then we had expected. I told kyle we needed to make the trip during winter when it's -50F. THAT would be the test....only problem is I don't want to try to drive there in the winter. :) Not much else going on right now.....just.........Life.

KARSTON'S 15th B-day!!!

2008-10-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

Karston finally turned 15 on the 9th of Sept. For his b-day he had asked for a punching bag with gloves. We went to Wally world and got one for him. It is now hanging in the garage where he can "release" ALL of his frustrations. He wanted a snickers cake from Alberstons so that's the cake we had. Here's a pic with the cake.

WORKING....uuugghhh!

2008-10-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted for a while. I started working at Deseret Industries the day after Labor Day (Sept. 2nd.) DI is making money and they're not supposed to b/c they are a non-profit org. So they have a scholarship program that will pay up to $3k toward schooling. I want to get my nail tech license and I have to work 30-90 days to prove my work ethics to them and then they will pay some or all of my schooling. So...I'm working 40hrs/wk to get my schooling paid for. I'm a cashier/merchandiser. Nothing major but it is exhausting on Saturdays when I'm head cashier. Hope to be in school ASAP!! and that's my update.

First year @ High School...already...really..?????

2008-08-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

All morning long Karston kept whining "I don't want to go to school". I can't believe he's starting at CHS this year....where did the time go? Funny thing is...when he got home all he could say was "High School ROCKS!!" "Can I just say that High School ROOOOOOOCKS!!" My sweet little boy who was always helping others, constantly saying "look at me mom", and just enjoying life....has officially turned into a High Schooler. I hope he has a GREAT year and continues to think that High School ROOOCKS!!! This is a pic from when he got home from school.

Last year @ Elementary

2008-08-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is it ...the last year I'll have one in elementary school. It's a little nostalgic....and hard to see that my "baby" is starting her last year of attendance at Andrus Elementary. Here's a pic of her on her way to school yesterday Monday Aug. 25th, 2008. Nothing lasts forever I guess. Hard to believe it's come sooooo fast.

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT THEM....

2008-08-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have finally entered some new posts...enjoy....:)

"Back to School Olympics WOW 104.3"

2008-08-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

On Aug. 16th Kyle competed in the Back to School Olympics held by WOW 104.3 Country. He had qualified earlier that week and was going to win a $1000 shopping spree at the outlet malls. Unfortunately he wasn't the fastest and was beat by 16 seconds. It was fun to be there and try though. He had to spell out a word with blocks, do a hopscotch, bowl, and finally push a shopping cart around an obstacle course to the finish line. He was contestant #4 and did it 46.86 seconds, not bad at all. It was fun to watch!!! :)

R FAMILY VACATION

2008-08-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Ok for our family "vacation" we hooked up with my brother-in-law and his wife. (Maurice & Tammy) We decided to go camping in the Tetons about 50 minutes from their home. We had borrowed my mother-in-laws' grizzly (4wheeler) and Reese brought his 4wheeler and motorcycle (400). When we got to our camp sight (clearing in the forest REAL camping-no toilets or showers!) and Reese asked where the key to his 4wheeler was, we discovered it had been left at his home :( . So, we had the grizzly and motorcycle for the weekend. It was a lot of fun. I had borrowed my sisters air mattress for the trip and filled it up around 8pm, by 1am I woke up to being flat on the ground. arrgghh. I got up and blew the bed up again b-cuz I WAS NOT going to sleep on the ground. This process woke up the kids who couldn't get back to sleep b-cuz they could hear "something" breathing just outside the tent by their heads. I switched Karston spots and became KaDences "squeeze" victim. She was so afraid that she was literally squeezing me all night. It rained during the night with a lot of wind. The next morning there was fresh "droppings" all around our camp site. Most likely the cows that were up there grazing. All in all we made the best of it and had fun. Here are some pics of the kids hangin' out and setting up the tents. Also, I got some pics of Kyle on the grizzly with his brother and by himself on the 400.

FAMILY VACATION

2008-08-20T14:43:00.001-07:00

So here we are on our way home after all that. The kids were a little silly and giggly that night.

BOONDOCKS!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!

2008-08-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

So at the end of July my uncle Ron & aunt LoAnn came through Boise. Their kids wanted to hang with mine, so we took Marleice and Richmond to Boondocks. The kids had a great time riding Go-Carts and playing games. Here's some pics of the kids riding the go-carts. I wasn't able to get pics of Richmond & KaDence on their individual go-carts, but I got them riding with their siblings. :)

more BOONDOCKS!!!

2008-08-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

So here are a few more pics. KaDence and Richmond went on the water bumpers boats. Us having dinner inside (the BEST cheese pizza, my kids love it!). KaDence & Richmond talking about a toy they had. Notice how Karston is giving Marleice "pointers" in the batting cages. They had a great time and got to know each other better. We REALLY want to go to Georgia next summer and hang out with them. :)

"High Adventure"

2008-08-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

So, I know it's been a while since I posted. Back in July around the 12th Kyle & Karston went to High Adventure. They camped for 3 days. The 2nd day they rode 14 miles in to where a plane had crashed in 1946 (I think) in the middle of winter. The men on the plane survived, but it's to hard to get in and get the plane out so they've left it in and have a plaque that tells the story of this plane. So on the way out it was a pretty steep ride for the bikes and Kyle & Karston both crashed on their bikes. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of their road rash. :( The 3rd day they went to one of the leaders cabin that's not too far away and went water skiing. They had a GREAT time, but were happy to be home after the third day. (P.S. no showers for 3 days, pppeewww when they got home :) )

INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

2008-07-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

This is my most favorite holiday!! I love all the flags of Red, White, & Blue!! There's just that feeling of celebration of the most fun!!! Happy 4th everyone!!!! :) :)

FINALLY!!! Double Digits!!!

2008-07-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

KaDence celebrated her 10th b-day July 3rd. She was so excited to finally be "double digits". She had asked for an Ipod nano for her b-day and said she didn't need a party. I thought "that works for me"! Karlene had bought balloons the night before for me and I put them in her room after she went to bed. When she woke up there were pink and turquoise (her favorite colors) in her room. It was a great day and when she opened her present she was very excited at what she received....the nano Ipod. Here are some pics from her dinner and cake. HAPPY B-DAY KD WE LOVE YOU!!!!! :) :)

Happy 41st B-day Kyle!!!! :)

2008-07-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

So it's Kyle's 41st B-day today! He is such a GREAT guy. Anyone who does not know this wonderful, fantastic, funny man is missing out on one of life's greatest treasures. Here are some random pics of my AWESOME, HANDSOME husband. He's also the most SUPERB dad!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE, WE LOVE YOU!

" Happy 19th Anniversary "

2008-07-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, June 30th came and went (my anniversary) with Kyle getting up at 6am and leaving to work, me receiving a phone call at 10pm and midnight rolling around with Kyle walking through the door and no "happy anniversary". A little pissed to say the least, threw a temper tantrum, realized acting like a child and feeling STUPID! July 1st wake up Kyle says be ready to go out at 4pm - a little confused, but Okay! 4pm rolls around all ready, 5pm rolls around Kyle all ready. He took me out to dinner at the RAM, GREAT food! Then we get into the truck and he tells me to close my eyes. Okay I do so. He asks me if I know where I am, I said, "NO should I?" " Nope, just want to make sure you don't know where you are because it's a surprise!" I started to get car sick from all his winding turns and told him I NEEDED to open my eyes. " No!" So I covered my eyes but had them open. The car finally stopped and Kyle got me out and walked with me a short distance and then told me to open my eyes. "Do you know where you are?" "No." " The Anniversary Inn!" I was shocked that he had pulled off a surprise getaway! We had the "Fire & Ice" room. (I thought that was kind of appropriate) It was SOOOOOOO nice!!! Apologies ALL night for the temper tantrum I threw!! I was so happy that he had surprised me, he's never done that for our anniversary. What a fantastic night!! I really do love him!!! Thank you honey for a much needed night of romance and surprise!!! (Sorry no pics, didn't have a clue about the evening.)

" GRADUATION 2008 "

2008-06-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

IT FINALLY ARRIVED!!! The day Karlene has been working towards for the last 12 years..... GRADUATION 2008!!!!!!!! Here are some pics. Karlene with her grad cake. Karlene during the ceremony, and Karlene with Karston, Karlene with KaDence, and Karlene with Kamila. I think she is excited to be done with high school. She looks happy anyway.....:)

" Hip-Hop" Dance Performance

2008-06-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

So last Wednesday KaDence had her dance performance. She was really nervous about performing in front of everyone. She and Kelsey (the other girl in her class) danced GREAT! (even though they forgot the routine half way through) I got some pictures of them. KaDence is the one in the blue shorts.

"Twilight"

2008-06-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, for those who have not visited Stephenie Meyer's website (stepheniemeyer.com), you need to. They have a link ( and if I were more computer savvy I would give it to you, but I"m not) to MTV.com that is airing the first completed scene from the movie. It's GREAT! Happy viewing!!! :)

More MEXICO

2008-05-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

So the house we were staying at was right on the beach. I decided to go out and take a picture of it from the ocean. (Dad's in the picture.) It is a traditional "mexican" home on the beach. It was built back in the 50's and is just a little bungalow with a "mother's quarters" behind it. We stayed in the "mother's quarters" and I LOVED IT! I also took some photos of Guyabitos Bay. Guyabitos is about 5 miles from Los Ayala and it is where the street markets are at. I did some shopping here and some sight seeing. We found a bread store here that produces the best bread I've ever tasted. There are a lot of small restaurants on the beach and they serve some of the best tasting fish also.It was a lot of fun to walk around and see the "motels" they have. A LOT of Canadians "winter" here. They have a bunch of buildings that are BRIGHT colors. Our last morning in Los Ayala I woke up early and took some pictures of the ocean at sunrise. I thought they turned out beautiful! You can see a very light fog and mist just as the sun was about to break. It was breath taking to see.

MEXICO

2008-05-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so now I know how to do this, these are pics from our trip to Mexico back in January. So, there's one of the "branch" that we went to church with. Elder Leavitt (from Wash.) and Elder De la Pena (from East Mex.) did the services each week. Kyle went kayaking in the ocean at Los Ayala (where we were at) and he also did some body surfing in Sayilita. I took a picture from the top of the garage where we were staying.(It's the one of the roof and palm trees with the ocean) I celebrated my b-day while we were there. We went to a pizzeria in La Penita, the guy that owned it was from New York and had a successful Restaurant in NY and then moved to La Penita and opened another down there. He sold it and opened the smaller one that we were at. They have a drink down there called a "Lemonada" IT IS SOOOOOOO GOOD! It's like squirt with lots of FRESH lime juice and jarabe (pure sugar cane, pronounced ha-rah-bay). Your first sip is so tart AND super sweet at the same time! WOW! pucker power but so addicting! I ordered the special that night (spaghetti and HUGE meatballs) YUM! There was a big group of us and after dinner we went over to the jukebox and picked some fun songs to dance to. I had a BLAST!

2008-05-16T12:02:00.001-07:00

One more pic to add. :)

PROM 2008

2008-05-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well Prom finally arrived last weekend and Karlene looked absolutely GORGEOUS! She was in a hurry to leave so I only have a few pictures. The Prom was held at the Eagle Winery. It's very beautiful out there. They were under a tent over- looking the winery. I can only imagine how romantic and fun it was with the vineyards all around the rolling mountainside.

Karlene and I made her wrist corsage and Ian's boutonniere. I think they turned out GREAT!

My Sweet Grandma

2008-04-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know, my grandmother (mom's mom) passed away yesterday morning. What a joy it was to be able to know that she was finally out of pain and with the loves of her life that have passed on, it was also a sorrowful moment for me. She was the last remnant ("umbilical cord" attachment) piece of my mother that I had left here on earth. (Although I still have her siblings here and they are FANTASTIC, it's not quite the same.) I am so glad that I was able to see and talk to her before she was sedated and passed on. Grandma was always loving and patient. She taught how to love unconditionally, she gave the best advise, always listened, was a GIANT of a tease, but most of all loved me for me. She had an unwavering testimony of the Gospel and knew that it was the key to our happiness. She and Grandpa raised a family that I'm privileged be a part of. A legacy that I embrace fully. My favorite thing that I loved about grandma was the way she would always take a little ones hand and put it to her mouth and pretend she was eating it and make "yummy" grumbling noise. :) She LOVED her 6 kids, adored her 29 grandchildren, and cherished her 43 great-grandchildren. What a woman, she is exactly how I want to be with my immediate and extended family.

Karlene's Prom Dress

2008-04-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

So Karlene and I went to "Cinderella's Closet" and found her prom dress. It only took an hour and it's absolutely GORGEOUS on her! But wait, the best part is what I paid to rent it. $10, you can't beat that anywhere. The $10 covers cleaning costs when we return it. This place is amazing. So, when I can, I'll post a picture of Karlene in her dress.

History behind songs I picked

2008-03-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, well no pics for this entry, but I thought I'd write a little about why I chose the songs that I did. For those who don't know, I met Kyle at an LDS Friday night dance. He asked me to dance about 1/2 an hour b4 the dance was over. We continued to dance with each other the rest of the night. "Kissing A Fool" was the first slow dance we danced to. That was the night I met Kyle. 18 days later we decided to get married and did so 6 months later, and we've been together now for 19 yrs. While we have our ups & downs like EVERY other marriage out there, I LOVE him! Make no mistake about that! :) "Beautiful Disaster" - reminds me of exactly how I felt around age 17, wondering about my life. While my life is far from what "I" thought it would be, it's still "my life" and not too bad. "We R Family" - I have 3 sisters & 1 brother who lip sang this song with me at a family reunion one year and I have fond memories of it because our mother actually chose the song and it was SSSSOOOOOO appropriate! :) The rest of them I just really like and hope U do to!

The Girls

2008-03-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here we are putting together my blog. I'm extremely computer savvy challenged and so Robyn, Ang, Tash, and Cala put it together for me. It was kinda funny to listen to each of them tell me what or how I should do this and that to my blog and I have no comprehension of what they were talking about. But I was game! :)