Here's to the New Year

It's the start of a fresh new year. We can log 2014 in the books and continue to trudge on, right into 2015. We spent New Year's Eve with the crazy Page clan. Playing Werewolves (which, like always I tried to cheat my way through. I got killed right off the bat almost every round. When I asked, "Why do I keep getting killed?" my 4 year old niece replied, "Because you always cheat." Ahhh, touché 4 yr old, touché, eating, laughing, watching fireworks, and running around like crazy. Pretty much a normal get together with those crazy Page's

(Yes, that is the littlest Brown in Chris's arms still up at 12:00am. She's wild!) 

I should be writing about my resolutions, or Christmas, or Ever's B-day I never journaled about. But alas, not going to happen.

 

If anyone ever doubted that Chris and I were meant to be together, today will be the day your doubts will fly out the window. There must have been some magic in that tan, Rusty baseball cap and that red, Billabong shirt that Chris had on. Maybe magic in that pink shirt, jean skirt and black, steel toed, army boots I had on the very first day we met.

 That first moment "Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! for I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." (Shakespeare people, Shakespeare!)

It was meant to be! Even our hobbies intertwine together. What could be more compatible, more similar, than horses and architecture? They are one and the same. Horses needing miles and miles to roam free. Buildings sometimes taking up those much needed miles and miles. Right, one and the same. Both being equally brilliant in each of our minds eye.

Sometimes magic happens. Our 2 worlds collide. Horses and architecture. Architecture and horses. Together in perfect harmony.

This exhibit

In this amazing building

We went to the Natural History Museum. It was wonderful. I had horses, Chris had architecture, and the girls had

The museum is so fun and interactive. Even little Evers had fun

 

The museum had everything, Dinosaurs

Hands on activities

Animals

 The building of cells

Views

 

And my personal favorite, horses

What a perfect way to spend the first day of the new year!

  

 

 

     

  

 

 

 



If Wishes Were Horses

It's no secret around these parts that I am definitely trying to brainwash my little cowgirl to loving horses

 

                    

          My plan seems to be working she loves to go and feed the horses. She loves filling the hay nets with little handfuls of hay and carrying the grain buckets. Such a good little helper. I am pretty sure horses will be her calling. Show jumping here we come

 

Chris has other plans

 

 

    It's a tough argument. I mean look at that baby's pen holding form. She was only 1 in this picture.

She loves writing her name, which she has been doing for months... every once and a while needing a little help with the N and R depending on the day. 

  

Her favorite thing to draw is happy faces

 

 

Yesterday Chris was busy working on the remodeling project and I was busy deep cleaning the little artists and the new Babyloves bedroom  (can I just state, that for the record, I'm crazy and love to clean, I have baseboard day at least once a month, a lot of times 2x a month. It's a day were I sanitize and wipe the baseboards and door frames and everything else in site. Me being crazy, not just nesting)

Nory Bug came running in saying, "Look at my kitty, look at my kitty."

We didn't expect what we saw. We didn't expect what our 2 1/2 year old had come up with when left to her own devices

 

(Not only did she produce this awesome picture, she just happened to draw it on expensive transfer paper which I had left on the table. She colored on every sheet of it, but just look at that cat, definitely worth it!)

I feel I should state, we are so excited to see what this beautiful baby will have a passion for and the phases she will go in and out of. In no way will we force her to love something (well... I will force her to hate monkeys and country music because, well come on, both are just gross :)). We will just give her a world of experiences to enjoy.
Chris and I talk all the time about how excited we are to meet the new Babylove and see what she will love to do, how she will be similar to Nory and how she will be different.
Life is beautiful people. And we plan to live it!

But let it state on the record how super cute she looks in her cowgirl get up!

 

 

 

Spring

Spring and I have a love-hate relationship.

 

Who doesn't love a little sunshine, flowers (Chris hates flowers...what the? Who hates flowers), and baby animals. I like all of those things, especially the baby animals! But for me spring also means a very muddy pasture and the knowledge that in a month it will be way too hot for my body to function properly.

 

Luckily, the pasture has dried and I was able to brush away my big, blue horse's red winter coat, revealing his sleek, blue coat.

 

 

And what can beat flying a kite and watching Nory Bug repeatedly drop the kite string so Chris had to chase it across the field.

 

 

I will enjoy the spring until the temps reach a very uncomfortable 70 and after the red tickles that number on the thermometer, even though I will be enjoying my lazy summer days, I still will be counting the days down to beautiful fall weather :)



Let's Hear It For The Snow!

Ahhhh, this is the Utah that I love. It doesn't get better than those beautiful, snow covered moutain tops at sunset. One of my favorite things in the world is feeding my big, blue horse (who is less blue and more of the red variety in winter) on a blustery, clear skied, wintery day. The 4 acre pasture enveloped in a sparkling, blanket of snow. The fluffy, white cover muffling the distracting noise of the world around. Ahhhh , my happy place!

 

Before our little Snow Angel, this is how Chris and I enjoyed Utahs' wintery goodness

 



Now that we have our beautiful, miracle snow angel, this is how we like to play in the snow

 

 

This is how Nory chillaxes in the cold, Utah winters. She rolls in Grampy Page's ice fishing sled

 

 

This is Grampy enjoying the fluffy white stuff, while teaching Nory how to make a snow angel. When we tried to get her to make one she said "no, no, all done, all done"

 

 

Sledding is tiring, nothing like a nap by the fire... ha, my wild child falling asleep on the floor like this, ya right. Not going to happen.

 

 

Yay, for the snow!!!

 

 



My hubby just gets more and more romantic! I didn't think he could ever top surprising me with a birthday horse.


(First time with Blue, I had just gotten over the flu the day before this picture)

But boy did he hit it out of the ballpark this time, clearly he wasn't hitting off  Felix Hernandex.
This little gem of a story took place August 11. My very good friend Tanica was getting married. Chris and I were excited because we thought it would be so fun to get to go to the temple so close to the Anniversary of the day that we separately (he couldn't see me before hand, duh) drove to the temple with our parents, while both listening to "Going to the Chapel" on the oldies station in the car. And maybe one of us was late and the other one thought I wasn't going to show up. 10 years of us being late to things because of me would have calmed his nerves that morning. How exciting that we got to replay that amazing moment and at the same time getting to see someone I love starting her fairy tale for time and all eternity.
As we were sitting there watching Morgan slip the ring on Tanica's finger Chris slipped this little beauty on my finger. It is so perfect!


(It is on the wrong finger because it was a little too big)

Now you may ask, "Why weren't you wearing your original wedding ring?" It's simple, I'm incapable of having and maintaining really nice things. In the 10 years we've been married, I've knocked a diamond out of my ring twice. The first time I knocked it loose, we weren't even married yet. I was riding a horse that bucked and I went flying up onto his neck, luckily I didn't fall onto the really fluffy concrete below, where I'm sure a nice comfy pillow would have cradled my head. No I didn't fall but my hand smacked against the saddle horn knocking my diamond loose. I was able to get it reset and everything was okay. Unfortunately not too long ago, I was at a church meeting, I looked down and one of my diamonds was gone.

I looked all over but couldn't find it. I had fed horses that morning and think it must have fallen out in the pasture.
So I told Chris that maybe I needed a band, then I wouldn't lose another diamond. So Chris got me this ring. It is so perfect, he knows me so well. I don't like things very flashy or bulky. I like simple things and this is just that simple with a little extra sparkly bling. I absolutely love it!  Good job hubby! Awww, so sweet! I think I will kiss Chris right now!

I'm Not Telling You What This Post Is About Or You Won't Read It

I promise I'll make this short. I'm not an idiot. I know when I start to talk about horses, the crazy starts to set in. I can hardly contain my myself, I could talk for hours and hours. As I talk, I see your eyes gently and slowly start to glaze over. Your brain drifts further and further away and as soon as I'm gibber gabbering away, you've left the building...so I'll make it short.
Because I've chosen to love horses, I want to have a horse who wants to be with me and who's not afraid of me. This is a difficult thing for Blue because his previous owners have screwed him up. He tends to be a little unstable...but aren't we all?


(Blue is the crazy one rearing and running and yes, I love riding that wild beast of a thing.)

That's why I love Parelli Natural Horsemanship. I am learning to be a partner and how to get Blue to want to be my partner. Blah Blah Blah, two days of pure horse bliss!
My horse idols Pat and Linda Parelli and some random chic in the middle of them. I was too chicken to get a picture with my idols :( sad day

Caesar Millan the dog whisperer was there

Remember I'm forcing her to love all things horse...minus country music. But it looks like I don't have to do too much forcing...yet


There are many things I've learned about myself while on the back of a horse. I won't bore you with the details, but trust me, you should try it sometime. Unfortunately not on my horse, because he'll buck you off.
Two days of horse knowledge crammed into my head. Ahhh heavenly!

This concludes the horse section of The Brown Family Horse, Architecture and Beach Retreat