Texas: Part 1

We were lucky enough to go to Texas for New Years/Christmas this year.  It will probably be Hyrum's last free trip on a plane.  Boy did he love watching the planes come and go.  He was also so well behaved on our flights to and from.  He would sit and read books or just talk with us and even slept some both ways.

Spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Brown always means having a good time.  They sure like to spoil us.  One of our first activities was to go the the Gaylord Ice! Show.  It's always neat to see all of the things they can do with ice.  And Hyrum was just too darn cute in his little blue parka.

We were also lucky enough to make another trip to Houston to visit Grandpa Burgess and the Joneses.  Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Annette were able to take Grandpa Burgess to the temple to seal his sister to him and his parents.  They said it was a really neat experience.

Hyrum's favorite part of the trip was playing with the balloons.  Everyone else enjoyed watching him!  He would throw them up in the air and run around catching them and hitting them.  Of course, it's all fun and games until all of that running around results in severe leg cramps...at which time nothing is fun or ever will be fun again.

Hyrum also liked pushing Grandpa Burgess' walker around.  And Dad even gave him a couple of rides.

Dad's favorite part of Houston might have been getting Freebirds for dinner.  He will be a happy boy indeed if that restaurant ever makes it's way to Arizona.

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  We have so much fun with them, whenever the opportunity arises.  We're grateful for Grandpa Burgess and the example he is to us!

Favorite Things

Little Boy has a few favorite things these days.

1. Basketball: this includes playing with the new hoop he got for Christmas, throwing any kind of ball, or watching any kind of sport.  It's all basketball.

2. Running and Crashing:  He loves to run.  He loves to say "run run running" when he runs.  He loves to purposely crash when he runs.  He loves to crash cars and trucks and tractors and boats.

3. Owies:  He is fascinated with owies.  He points at owies and hits himself and says "Owie!"

4. Apples:  He loves eating apples.  More specifically he loves eating oranges, which he calls apples.  He knows how to get them out of the fridge himself.

5. Stories:  He loves reading stories, especially "Little Blue Truck" and "Hop on Pop."

6. Holding Mom:  He loves having Mom hold him, even though he is getting too big and Mom is getting too big for all of this holding stuff.  He says, "Hold you me" when he wants held.

7.  Mater: First thing every morning he asks to watch Mater, which is Cars, Cars 2, or Mater's Tall Tales.  He asks again when it's over.  And again later when he thinks Mom has forgotten that he already watched it once (or twice) that day.

This little guy of ours is growing up.  He's going to be a big brother soon.  We're so excited to see what kind of personality this next one has.  We wouldn't mind if Baby wants to be just like Big Brother.

Busting the Binky

I am ever so grateful that my child was one of those kids that would take a binky.  They are lifesavers.  And luckily, weaning him from his binky all of the time to just at night and nap time was an easy task.  Unfortunately, getting rid of it completely has been a different story.

I tried a couple of months ago to "pull the plug."  I was in the middle of a busy semester and Husband was working nights.  Needless to say, after a couple of rough nights I gave in and decided that the binky would just have to stay.

Then, while we were in Texas (thanks to car trips to Houston and plane rides) the binky became the desired object.  The Boy would ask for his binky in the car, when he was tired, when he wasn't tired.  It got old fast. So, on our first night back, I told him that the binky was going "bye-bye."  He put up a fuss on that first night.  He wanted his binky!  But I didn't give in.  We sang songs and read stories until he fell asleep.  Yes, we had to get up a few times during the night to console him, but we were sticking to it!

Yesterday he refused to take a nap.  He was exhausted, but he just wouldn't.  So when bedtime finally came, he was ready to sleep.  We put on his new dinosaur jammies and brushed his teeth.  Into bed.  Covers on.  Let's read Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book.  He was out like a light.  AND he made it through the whole night with only a couple of love taps when he got a little fussy.

The next few nights will be the determining factor.  Husband will be back at work and as much as I'm in denial, school is in session.  But we're going to bust it.

Where Did December Go?

December flew by.

We were hardly ever home.

Luckily, I got anxious and set up the Christmas tree before Thanksgiving.

We spent a majority of December at Grannie and Pops' house it seems.

We watched the kids and drove them to and from school and fed them and did laundry etc. while Grannie and Pops drove up to Provo with Elder Shinkle.

We celebrated birthdays, complete with chips & salsa...

and ice cream cake.

We watched the aunties and uncle again while Grannie and Pops went on a little vacation.

And then stayed there for a few days before and after Christmas just because we couldn't get enough of them.

Hyrum solidified his relationship with Uncle "Haydeen" and still talks about Haydeen and how he is is "buddy" etc. etc. etc.

We love the Shinkle family and were glad for all the extra time we were able to share with them.

My Boy is Funny

Hyrum is a silly guy.  Last night we were at Grannie's and trying to have the blessing for dinner.  He folded his arms and made Grannie giggle, which made him giggle, which made her giggle, which made him...  He was just giggling because he liked the attention.

For Family Home Evening, we started singing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" and he immediately perked up.  He then would jump every time we said "sun-BEAM!"

He talks so much!  He knows exactly what he's trying to say and sometimes I can understand him, but other times not so much.

He loves his Uncle Hayden and calls him "Hadeen."  They are best buddies and enjoy playing together.  They'll play balls, they'll play cars.  They'll play outside, they'll play inside.  I love that my little guy has such a good bud.

Mother of a Teenager

Husband and I have been Mom and Dad to six children (seven if you count Baby Brown) while my parents are gone delivering Elder Shinkle to the MTC.  It's been a fun adventure.  Husband successfully got the kids to school on Monday.  I've picked them up and shuttled to an orchestra concert.  The house isn't a disaster.  The laundry isn't out of control.  We're doing good.

Except when it comes to being the mother of a teenager.

My sister Keila is a busy body.  She's in high school.  She has a job.  She's the manager for the wrestling team.  She likes to spend time with friends.  And it's been my job to keep track of her.

Last night she had to close at work.  She thought she would be done around 9:30.  I was exhausted and didn't feel well, so I told her to wake me up when she got home.  I remember getting a text from my sister Sydney at 11:10 that Keila still wasn't home.  I also remember Keila telling me (at some point) that she was home.  I asked her if she had locked the front door.

Today I was upset with myself.  Where had she been for two hours after she was scheduled to be off of work?  Why hadn't I sucked it up and waited up for her?  Why couldn't I be a responsible mother?

I asked her this afternoon when she got home.  She said 11:00.  I said, "Not according to Sydney."  Fine.  11:15.  Where had she been for two hours?  She hadn't finished at work until 10:15.  She had called me at 9:55 to tell me she was going to be late. (I checked my phone.  This is true.)  After she got off she went to Walmart to get some dinner and then came home and woke me up.

Seriously.  I remember no phone call.  I'm a terrible mother of a teenager.

Elder Bryton Shinkle

Elder Bryton Shinkle was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last night.  He reports to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT on Wednesday, December 12, 2012.  He will serve for the next two years in the Nevada, Reno mission.  We are so proud of him!

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I just wanted to share some of my favorite moments from this weekend as we spent our last couple of days with him...

On Friday night we went and did an endowment session at the temple.  As we were walking in and showing our recommends, the temple worker said, "Welcome to the temple, Sister Brown...and this must be Brother Brown."  Nope, he's my stud of a brother.  Later we giggled in the sealing room when Bryton said, "Do they really expect you to remember all of that?!"  We laughed even harder when I told my embarrassing "You're not my mom!" story.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, Husband and I took Bryton to the temple again to perform sealings for some of our ancestors.  We were glad he was able to have "the whole temple experience" before he left. This time, the sealer thought Bryton and I were married, even though Tony was there with us.  Our hard-of-hearing-sealer was a hoot!  When he learned that Bryton would be serving in Reno, he said "Wow.  That will be...interesting."

Saturday was Bryton's 19th birthday.  He was the bomb-diggity and filled in on a Big Boy Mover move even though he really didn't want to.  We went out to eat at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant that night.  It was yummy.

Sunday was an action packed day.  Bryton spoke in church.  He was stellar.  He seriously sounded like he had just returned from his mission, rather than being ready to head out.  I loved how he used personal experience and testimony, supported by scripture application to teach the principle of missionary work.  He talked about how when people would ask about his mission he would tell them he was going to go teach for two years.  Later on he was disappointed with his explanation because really he will be doing so much more than that!  He will be bringing people unto Christ.  He told the story of the woman at the well who was taught by Christ.  Bryton knows that as a missionary, he represents the Savior.  After being taught by Christ, the woman went and shared what she had been taught and invited others to learn of Christ.  This is the goal of missionary work.  To bring individuals and families to Christ and for them to bring others unto Christ.  We too, must share what we know!

After church we had lots of family over.  Grams and Papa, Casey and Jeff, Trym and Emily, Teonna and Luke, Rocki and Brett, Marlene and a whole slew of children.  We ate lots of yummy food and treats and had a great time visiting. The best entertainment came when Hyrum was caught throwing rocks into the pool. Much to our dismay, we realized he probably wasn't the only one who had done it and they had been at it for a while.  There were eight golf balls and a ton of rocks and limes from the tree at the bottom of the pool.  The uncles in all their glory told the kids they would pay them for retrieving the rocks and things.  So four or five of the cousins started diving in the freezing cold pool.  It was so cold they couldn't even finish (and they were being troopers)!  So then Jeff and Trym decided since they put their kids up to it so they had better show them they could do it too!  So they finished it off.  The pool was free of rocks, golf balls, and limes.   We all had a good laugh!  And yes, warm showers and hot chocolate was provided for the martyrs.

On Sunday evening, President Reader came over to set Bryton apart.  We were able to sit together as a family, give Bryton our advice, bear our testimonies, and learn from President Reader.  Bryton was then set apart as a missionary.  We all were pretty emotional.  I think for the first time I realized that my brother was leaving for two years--really leaving!  He is going to be awesome!

We love you, Bryton!  Be exactly obedient and remember that the Lord loves you!  He will strengthen you!

I'll be keeping up Bryton's blog with letters and updates.  If you'd like to write him, here are his addresses!

MTC Address:
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle
MTC Mailbox #211
NV-RNO 0101
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Mission Address:
Elder Bryton Dane Shinkle
Nevada Reno Mission
1146 Prayer Way
Sparks, NV 89431
United States