Sheff and Jelley's Blog

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2011-11-16T21:20:00.002-07:00

The Little red boots that he always wants to wear:)

Halloween Elephant

A visit from the Yergensens. Ethan is helping Jeff mow the lawn.

Isacc and Ethan as spidermen

Spending time with the lovely Brown's at Time Out For Women in St. George. Special thanks to the Yergs for hosting us and Momma B for the tickets.

Mowhawk

2011-11-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

Just enough for a mowhawk

:)

2011-10-22T16:05:00.001-06:00

I love this little guy! His newest words are, "whats that?"

Also pics of the latest project coming up... Can't wait to paint these beauties!!

Family times!

2011-10-09T15:21:00.003-06:00

We attended the Relief Society General Broadcast

Corbo the cowboy! We had a baby shower for Wyatt (Shanny's baby.) He had these cute chaps that I just had to put C in. He was such a cute little cowboy.

Beautiful sisters. Do we all look so alike! Shannon (in red) and Stacey (in stripes) are Twins even

One of these things is not like the other. "Big dog" heard that we were taking a pic of our feet and she came and sat with us. We tried to make her move but thought it would make for a funny picture.

The whole clan together!

Provo peeps

2011-10-06T19:58:00.003-06:00

Hey peeps so many of you that view my blog know this gal. Her b-day is coming up and we are having a party for her. We want you to come have some cake and catch up. If you want details friend me on facebook or comment that you want the info e-mailed to you.

Browns Browns Browns

2011-10-02T07:58:00.001-06:00

Jeff and Quentin had a popcorn poping contest to see who could get the bag with the least kernels without burning the popcorn. (FYI: Jeff had the least kernels, but Q had the better tasting popcorn)

Yard sale find for a quarter

Jeff and the boys decided it was time to cut down the dead pine tree in the front yard. When we moved in it seemed to be a fine healthy tree. I had mentioned how much I hate pine tree unless they are in the mountains. The tree must have heard me and it up and died. Darn (sarcastically said)

Corbin loves to pretend he is driving the car, loves to dance to music videos, goes down the slides at the park on his tummy, tries to jump, says Dad, and ball really well.

Updates

2011-09-23T23:30:00.001-06:00

Loves to wear my glasses

VISIT TO TEMPLE SQUARE

Checking out the horses at temple square

We headed to the pool when we went to meet C's new cousin Wyatt

Riding the horses at Uncle Owen and Aunt Shanny's

Visit with the Browns for our cousin Nicholes Baptism weekend

Bridal Veil Falls Hike

Celeste and I braved the cold water and hiked up the falls. We are so brave!

D and Q are now dwelling with us and we had to dress up to get free yogurt. Dr. Q and Dr. D What good sports!

C put a towel, the bathroom mat and toilet paper in the toilet. Good thing he doesn't know how to flush yet:)

Brought me these boots the other day and wanted to wear them around.

A visit to Thanksgiving point farm

Meeting Cousin Wyatt

Uncle Chance and Wyatt
Auntie Brooky and Wyatt

Riding horses with Grammy Suzie

Bastow Family Reunion 2011

2011-08-08T20:27:00.004-06:00

We just got back from fun fun fun in Island Park Idaho for the Bastow Family reunion.

Coon skin hat

Catching fish with uncle Quentin and cousin Lainey

Fishing with daddy

Lower falls in Yellowstone

Old faithful

C was sporting a pink stroller because we forgot to bring his. So uncle Max let us borrow his.

Malia and I

Grandma and Corbin at Elk Creek lodge

Eating all of the desert at Elk Creek lodge dinner

We stayed at the Moose Caboose. It was a ton of fun! Lots of food, monopoly deal, and chess. Good times!

Rodeo weekend

2011-07-31T21:48:00.006-06:00

It started off with this:
A hike to the springs in willow flat. Jeff and I are participating in a health challenge at his work in which we have to go on a 60 min hike every week for 6 weeks. BTW last week we went on this hike:

Stewart Falls

Stacey and C at Willow flat where the water come from the side of the mountain

Hun when you read this I hope you laugh. So unsuspecting you are.

We then had a fabulous cookout that included a b-day cake for my daddyo . We ended the night of course by playing games (yay for monopoly deal)

On Saturday I made Jeff a fantastic breakfast! The greatest thing to eat when I go visit my mom is toast. I don’t know why it is so good at her house but that is pretty much the only place I ever eat toast. I made Jeff 2 kinds cinnamon toast and honey butter toast; we both had seconds:) (I now wish I’d gotten a pic!)

We all thoroughly enjoyed Corbin’s entertainment this weekend! After breakfast he played in the hose, birdbath and flowers. He is a busy little guy!

According to tradition we floated the narrows not once but twice. It was Chances first time and he loved it! On our way home we ordered the fantastic pizza and bread sticks from Pizza Stop. Of course it doesn’t compare to the Polar Bears burger and fries; which I was longing for all weekend. (Polar Bear is a little burger place I worked at in high school that is no longer open, so sad!)

We then went to the sidewalk sales which honestly I just go to see the people and get a snow coneJ However this year they had a new addition, a tour of the old academy building. I am so excited for them to restore it! We even sneaked up to the very tip top and rang the bell.

Stacey and I then went on our annual carnival ride THE ZIPPER. It is seriously my favorite ride ever; oh the good memories I have on that ride!

Of course we ended the night with a couple rounds of Monopoly Deal.

He's ONE!!

2011-07-17T07:19:00.004-06:00

Corbin is 1 wowza! My family came to town to celebrate. We went to Pirate Island and ordered their biggest pizza, played arcade games and played on the toys. They even sang and gave him his own ice cream sundae.

A guy even made him a dog balloon animal.

Munchin on his pizza

Auntie Brookey made him the cutest sports cake. The whole baseball on top was all Corbin's. Thanks Brooke!

He received lots of gifts including a child cell phone from Grammy Suzie that he threw in the toilet when we brought it home. I think we will be able to revive it though.

We are so happy to have you in our family Corbin!

Chair makeover

2011-06-27T23:01:00.004-06:00

Jeff bought this chair from me about 6 years ago at a yard sale for a whole $15. (I thought he was robbed!) He brought it home so proud telling me that we could use it to rock our future babies to sleep(CUTE.) Well years passed and I tried several times to get rid of it because it just reminded me of the babies that we didn't have. Well as we all know this story has a good ending and his name is Corbin. Since the chair is now in use I decided that it needed a little updating!

I remembered to take the pic after I started taping.

I wish I had remembered to take a picture of it taped off and newly painted because when Jeff got home and saw it in this state he said, " that is NOT an improvement." I think I proved him wrong though.. what do you think?

I even added extra padding to the seats. I chose a gender neutral color so that I could use it in several different settings.

I used the All Things Thrifty technique of painting and because I couldn't remove the cushions I had to stuff the fabric into the edges and place furniture tacks all around. All of the paint and supplies probably cost around $20.

This has got to be the good life.....

2011-06-19T17:48:00.004-06:00

2 weekends ago Jeff and I took Corbin on his first carnival ride, the swings. He seemed to like it.

I was able to spend a little time in Preston this weekend. We enjoyed a nice family BBQ, Brookey and I made, burgers, homemade potato salad and cookie salad yum!

Da Grandma

Sistas

I may think twice before I leave my baby with my crazy sisters again! Good thing they were both watching him. Make sure you have the volume up, the funny part is not that the baby is going through the doggy door:)

I guess we read the note too late:) Good thing Grandma doesn't really mind.

He's walking folks

2011-06-10T18:51:00.001-06:00

What we've been up to

2011-06-05T16:33:00.006-06:00

A real Date. Dinner at the Garden with a movie (x-men) Thanks Max/Diana for watching C!

At temple square on our way to eat dinner.

Lots of yard sales! Corbin playing in the drawer of his new changing table. We usually don't get items that we can't fit in our car but I saw this and the lady who also wanted to buy it offered to drop it off at my house. How nice of her:)

Lots of yard work. I have waged war on the weeds in my grass and I am bound and determined to get my lawn back! Before we moved into our home no one had lived there for at least a year, thus the lawn was not watered at all last summer. I think with a little love I can get it back to life. Jeff on the other hand wants to till it all up and start over. Hopefully a little (or a lot) weed and feed will do the trick.

Yard work can be a challenge to get accomplished when C is around. I usually have to dig rocks/dirt out of his mouth every 5 min:)

A cute yard sale find for $1

It was a little bent out of shape and needed a couple of screws but after a little elbow grease and a new top cover it will work great! I had the table cloth on hand. It was one that our hamster, Dora, had eaten through many years ago. I thought about spray painting it but I like the vintage look and it was more work than I really needed to put in.

Lots of bubble baths

Still the massive hole in our living room. We've gotten the run around with our insurance company so hopefully it will be fixed soon!

Pic of when it all came crashing down:( From a leaky roof from all of the rain.

Cute baby can go up and down all the stairs in our house, can walk between furniture, get off our tall bed by himself, loves balls and throwing them, likes to splash in the water, loves running around in his walker, loves to snack, says mom and dad, can tell from anywhere in the house when dad is home because he can hear the garage door open, gets into all drawers (we are in the process of baby proofing those), loves to be in the car but not in his car seat, wakes up every morning at 6:30 without fail.

Also, I played Heidi while Jeff played Tim the Tool man Taylor as we hooked up the dishwasher ourselves on Saturday. Thanks to google, we watched a step by step how to and got it done. I am so excited to have my first real dishwasher since we have been married.

Happy birthday Auntie Brookey

2011-05-15T11:33:00.001-06:00

yu rn cvm , cx, c
(Translation from Corbin Love you Happy b-day!)

Happy Mothers day

2011-05-08T06:49:00.005-06:00

Happy Mothers day to all the fantastic ladies in my life. Jeff was nice enough to give me an assignment to speak in church today. My topic is easy,"Mothers." Since we serve in a singles ward my talk to single women is entitled, "Every women is a mother." I can't tell you how many Mother's days I have spent without a child. This is the first one with baby in hand:) However, I am grateful that very early in my marriage I was blessed with the knowledge that I too was a mother and I didn't need a child to be one. I could work on developing my divine nature right now and have a positive attitude that my heavenly father was guiding my life. At times I admit it was a challenge keeping my faith strong and believing that someday I would be blessed with children. I am so grateful that heavenly father allowed me that opportunity.

Shirt says "my mom rocks"

For mothers day this weekend I asked Jeff if we could go garage saleing. Corbin woke us up at 6am so we got ready and hit up many yard sales scoring some awesome items. Here is the list:

(for future posterity, you really don't have to read it)

2 blow up beds (used only once)-$3 each
2 adult camp chairs-$2 each
Double child camp chair $2
mower -$30,
Weed eater- $5
push broom- $1
1 bag of Weed and feed for yard -$1
Wooden Block for C-$1
Large lego blocks for C- $1
Baby swing for the tree- $3
Little swimmers diapers-$1
Drapes for C's room - $3
little tykes play bench with tools for C-Free
Sit and Stand double stroller- $35 (no we are not announcing anything, Jeff fell in love with how well it was engineered and I believe he bought it for me to push him around it :)
Large play rug with roads on it for C- $3
Garbage can $1
Picture $1

All followed up with all you can eat french toast from Kneaders. yum Thanks Jeff!

Playing with the new blocks

Visit with the Butlers

2011-05-08T06:43:00.003-06:00

Last week C and I went to visit our good friends the Butlers in Price Utah. We had such a great time! Thanks for your hospitality guys!

We went on a walk to a fantastic playground where the babies loved swinging.

Owen was nice enough to let C wear his coat

C and Owen 1 month apart

I love coupons

2011-05-04T09:06:00.001-06:00

So I had to post my progress these days on couponing. Shown below is a pic of all the free shampoo I have gotten over the past 2.5 years of couponing. While I could give you a long list of products that I have gotten cheep I'd rather just say that I am addicted to good deals. I personally shop at rite aid and smiths, recently Walmart has double coupon Tuesdays... hooray!

I am loving my storage room in the basement. It is getting embarrassingly full of coupon stuff. I feel like I have a mini store in my basement.

All the free stuff I got at Smiths this morning. All on sale for .50 and I had .50 off coupons:)

Getting my creative on

2011-04-25T19:49:00.002-06:00

I've decided that my new hobby will be crafty on a budget. I am really into searching out crafty blogs these days. I am ready for a new hobby as I have been searching out coupon blogs for awhile now. I am loving it so far. Any recommendations on crafty blogs you like would be appreciated.

Old light switch

Same one with a new modge podge face lift

Old farm window that my sister gave me. I drilled holes into the base and stuck fake wildflowers in it. It reminded me of my Grandma's farm house up the canyon.

New paint on shelf that my mom gave me.:)

Speedy Baby

2011-04-24T17:15:00.005-06:00

Happy Easter everyone! Jeff and I spent it sick with the flu:( However we did find a few minutes to let cooped up Corbin go for a little run.:)

P-town

2011-04-17T22:05:00.002-06:00

C and I went to Preston to visit this weekend. Below is the MVP uncle Chance. He was voted MVP in a baseball camp he attended this weekend. Way to go.

I was running errands with Chance on Friday morning when we came across a "Donate blood today" sign and this was our following conversation.

Me: Chance we should donate blood
Chance: "NO WAY! (pause) I would probably get a girl pregnant if she got some of my blood."

Swinging, I forgot his regular hat at home so he sported the p-town hat that has been around the house since Brooke was in high school 13 years ago.

Brooke, Mom, and Stacey swinging

My lovely sister Stacey.

Spring Break

2011-04-13T13:51:00.004-06:00

I have a 3 week break from work so Binny and I have been hang out.

2 weeks ago the Brown clan came to town and we went to the Provo beach resort and rode the carosel

First picture

Momma Brown enveloped by the flames. Don't worry peeps she didn't catch on fire:)
Q got his fortune from Zoltar (as seen on BIG)

Mom quite taking pics of me in the tub!

Outside helping me plant the garden

C is becoming quite the joy. Now that he can move he seems much happier. He is officially crawling, pulling himself up on furniture, climbing up stairs and standing all by himself. He is still chicken to take
those first steps without someone holding him though.

Hawaii 2011

2011-04-01T21:18:00.004-06:00

I added the pics again. I am not sure what happened but it seems that throughout my blog random pics have disappeared:(

As you may recall HERE we did this trip last year for Jeff's work and had the opportunity to go again this year. We left Corbo in Preston and he had a blast! Unfortunately he has decided that he doesn't want to nurse anymore:( On the good note he is sleeping through the night:)

We were upgraded to a Mustang this year.

We ate a lot of Yummy food!

Grass skirt Grill this year we were able to visit sights that were on our list from last year but we didn't make it to. One of those included this restaurant.

Yay for Shave iced in Haleiwa. We got it with ice cream in the center. You can get it with sweat beans but we decided to pass this time. Every place closes at 6 on Oahu so we didn't get it from the famous motsimotos but we stopped in at the competitor next door.

Eating yummies at Ted's bakery
Finally did our first session at the Laie temple since C was born
Wiamea falls. It was such a beautiful hike and at the end you were able to swim in the water afterward.

Turtle bay

We drove the ghetto side of the island this year and couldn't wait to get back to the more commercialized area.

Waikki sunset

Because

2011-03-14T12:10:00.001-06:00

Binny hanging out on the newly carpeted stairs. He is loving going up and down stairs (assisted) he really likes when we place a blanket around his chest and let him walk around. He loves to walk down all of the stairs and take a visit to the laundry room??

We recently attended the funeral of Jeff's Grandpa Max Brown

3 Grand babies born in 2010, Jaxon, Corbin, Ammon

The Browns being real:)

C with cousin Lainey

Fell asleep like this

Smoothy lips

The view from my kitchen window

2011-03-14T11:52:00.004-06:00

So I straightened my hair with my wonderful Christmas present from my sista's the maxi glide. Unfortunantly this is the best pic I took from the bunch and I didn't feel like going through the whole process again to try and impress you all so this is what you get.

This time I put ton's of different straightening product in it before, during and after straightening and it STILL looks like my hair needs a big drink of water. Any suggestions.....
(before-jon freeda super skinny serum and cream, during-got2bglued straightening protector, After-Sammy anti-frizz

p.s. pics from the Valentines Dance

Our Little Baby Boy

2011-03-07T00:11:00.006-07:00

I'm not sure if Shelley meant to post this to the blog, but I found it open in a Word doc tonight and thought it was so cute that I just had to share...ENJOY!

----------

He goes by Corbo, Corbeano, Corbinator, C, CB, Binny, Bubby, and Corbaleeny.

He loves to growl.

Wakes up often in the night (about every 4 hours).

When he holds things in his fingers he does a little twist thing and wiggles the item back and forth.

Wears size 4 diapers.

Loves to chew on his blankey.

Hates his car seat.

Has only a skiff of hair

Wants to walk so badly.

Has 4 teeth.

He is not snugly.

Will eat any food that I give him but really likes to eat paper.

He says Mama and Papa, but I don't think he understands what they mean yet.

He pulls hair, pinches, & scratches (not on purpose).

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Purchasing New Carpet

2011-03-06T19:08:00.004-07:00

I thought that this information may be helpful since we recently went through the process of purchasing new carpet. Through research we purchased the following:

Memory foam/rebond cushion with moisture barrier REASON: doesn’t wear down over time and prevents spills from seeping into the cushion and reappearing in the carpet after several weeks.

Stain treated nylon carpet REASON: Nylon wears better but doesn’t have as good of stain resistance unless it is stain treated (which most are)

We did the tear out ourselves REASON: It saved us money, and we wanted to fix the squeaky floor.

We used 1 5/8 inch grabber screws to get rid of the squeaks

We purchased a tan twist carpet with multi-color speckles REASON: to hide stains that are sure to come with children.

We purchased the products from RC Willey REASON: we got the contractor price through a friend. They do a free estimate of how much carpet you will need. The Home Depot/Lowes will charge you for the measure and then put it towards your carpet purchase.

We had RC Willey lay the carpet REASON: we have no clue how to lay carpet, and even though the guy took two days to lay it and showed up at least an hour late each day he did a pretty good job.

Baby Laughs at Ripping Paper

2011-03-02T23:04:00.006-07:00

The video below reminded me of Corbin's laugh and is so adorable especially the first 30 seconds or so. (Be sure to click on the 'Full Screen' icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the video to get the full effect.)

BYU baby

2011-02-23T13:42:00.002-07:00

Thank you BYU. It is because of you we are off to Hawaii for our anniversary, celebrating in between Jeff's business trip of course:)

Life

2011-02-23T12:46:00.004-07:00

On presidents day we went snowshoeing. It was a lot of fun. We got to try out our kelty baby carrier. It worked great. C fell asleep pretty quick.

C sporting his Charlie Brown outfit. He is loving to have us help him walk these days. Uncle Chance came for a visit and spoiled him by helping him walk wherever he wanted to go.

We went to the BYU bean museum when my family came to visit for my mom's belated birthday.

C had been sick with croup this last week so we pretty much stayed in our pj's as much as possible.

Jeff is so good at putting C to sleep in his arms.

Where are we?

2011-02-05T21:26:00.003-07:00

Well we have moved into our new house as seen on Jeff's video. More pics to come soon when I finally get it all put together. We are waiting for our new carpet to be placed in our bedrooms and then I can start setting up house.

First night at the new houseTaking a bath in the sink

The Morning After Walk Through

2011-01-31T17:10:00.003-07:00

This video is a little lengthy and filmed the morning after our move to the new home (so not much light and everyone is still in bed), but it still gives you a good idea of the layout of our new place. Let's see if you can catch Darren's signature sound-off to the camera.

Happy 6 month B-day C!!

2011-01-16T20:50:00.006-07:00

Wow has 6 months passed already. Time has been somewhat of a blur, but as I talk more to other mothers I realize that this is a common occurrence. With the lack of sleep and trying to figure out how to function in a completely new lifestyle we are hanging in there. How can I not love this face?

At 6 months Corbin has developed the cutest smile. It was as if one day a muscle developed in his face that has made him have the funniest smile. It is like a squinty smiley face:)

He is loving to chew on tags. He'd rather play with the tag on pillows or rags than his own toys.

Loves his new toy. He can pretty much RUN around this thing now. There may even be a permanent circle in our carpet:)

Thank goodness in the past 6 months he has only recently given us one of these. I promise that he was wearing a diaper:)

(murder mystery 2008)
(summer 2008)

I feel like I need to get a little more Sheff and Jelley back into the posts but we don't have any recent good pics to share so here are some oldies or as I like to call them, pre-baby life.

Someone asked me the other day which of us if Sheff and which is Jelley. So I thought that I'd ask for your opinions and why?

Corbinator stats

2011-01-02T08:33:00.007-07:00

Age = 5.5 mos
Weight = 17.15 lbs (56.52 percentile)
Height = 26.75 ins (75.24 percentile)
Head Circumference = 17.25 ins (62.13 percentile)

Can now sit up by himself and will rarely fall over

Loves playing in his new Christmas toy. He can walk all the way around and play with his toys.

On new years day we all just vegged at home. Jeff and Binny did go outside once but it was way to cold to stay for too long.

Jeff and I are both dreading this next semester. If it was anything like the last we know we better get our running shoes on! Thus the reason why we tried to as much of nothing as we could over the Christmas break, it was great and much needed!

New Year Resolutions

2011-01-01T18:20:00.004-07:00

Shelley:
Live the American Dream (home ownership)
New (used) suv/van
Participate all BYU wellness events to pay for Christmas
Coupon my brains out
Be a better friend
Be more charitable

Jeff:
Earn more mula
Participate in 4 of 6 BYU wellness events

Corbin:
Sleep through the night
Walk
Grown some hair

New hat

2010-12-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

Auntie Shanny made C a new hat for Christmas. Pretty cute, thanks Doe.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T19:28:00.004-07:00

Christmas in Preston, ID

First stocking filled with baby food, juice and spoons

Sporting the new toy story rex socks

The mommy's new hat. My sweet sisters got me a maxi glide hair straightener. I didn't get any pics with my hair straight:( watch for some new looks soon!

Hanging with gpa Reed

Uncle Chance

Fresh whipped cream for the pies

Christmas was ton's of fun as usual this year. Having a child makes it even better. C enjoyed sitting in a pile of wrapping paper more than his gifts. Jeff did his usual Christmas eve shopping but got be plenty of great gifts, thanks hun! I of course gave the perfects gifts, helped make perfect food (without burning my hand on a very hot spoon), and was completely patient and kind the whole time;)

He did what......?

2010-12-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

You may be thinking did she burn herself, or is it a bruise? Well both are wrong, it is a hicky. Then you may be thinking that is so gross why is she telling me that? This is no ordinary hicky... I call it a baby teething hicky:)

Since Corbin has been teething he is wanting to chew on anything and everything. Today he found my chin. I thought it was so funny so I let him continue until I showed Jeff in the other room and by that time it was too late.

My b-day

2010-12-17T19:40:00.004-07:00

Riding in the bob for a stroll around Sundance

ready for church

buddy Owen came for a visit. LOVE the hair

Ugg! An overdue post about my birthday events. I am still feeling pretty unorganized in life. I am hoping to at least get a Christmas card out in an e-mail or at least on the blog.

Sweet Jeff took me out to dinner at Guru's in Provo, then to a double massage, then a movie. The next day we spent a night in Sundance. Thanks for making my day so special hun!

Laughing baby

2010-12-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

He is finally laughing peeps.

Christmas Decor

2010-12-12T06:43:00.003-07:00

It may be because I am a scrooge, but I have not put up one Christmas decoration this year. I am attributing it to the fact that my little home is packed to the max with baby stuff. Thus I have decided that C will have to do as our Christmas decor this year.

I hate teeth

2010-12-03T17:01:00.003-07:00

The day C turned 4 months old he got a tooth. Over Thanksgiving the other one came in. Since they have been coming in he has been waking up every 2hours screaming, stopped sucking his thumb (probably because he bit it) and always bites me. Doesn't that just make you cringe. What is a mother to do. I try telling him no, squeezing his little cheeks but he always just looks up and gives me a little smile. How can I be mad at that face??

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T20:10:00.004-07:00

Brown Family Thanksgiving

Special thanks to Brent and Celeste for hosting it was a ton of good food, good laughs and good times.

Enjoying a little family hike

All the kiddos

Happy Baby

Happy couple Max and Diana at the Thanksgiving Toast

Binny falling asleep in his carrier on the hike

What you lookn' at? Ya I slobbered on myself and I like it! He is a little slobbery these days because his 2 bottom teeth came in and he is only 4 months people??

We also had an early Thanksgiving with the Hart family! Where we enjoyed watching one of Chance's b-ball games. It was a nail biter!

At the game.

Still loving his bath time

Hanging out in the bob.

Binny was playing with a long wrapping paper cardboard tube and was loving hearing his voice echo. These images are taken through the tube.

Overdue

2010-11-16T19:44:00.002-07:00

Binny LOVES to stand up these days. I am loving dressing him up. What a cute little outfit provided by cousin Maralee, kweena, and Sherry

Likes boxes and is very good at grabbing things and picking them up.

A bizzillion thanks to Diana for taking me for a much needed pedi!!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-23T20:13:00.005-06:00

Since we had Three dress up Halloween parties to go to this year I took advantage and dressed C in 3 different costumes. It is so fun dressing up your kid! When I get him dressed for the day I find myself thinking "I hope he pee's through this so that I can put him in this other outfit also."

No worries he didn't go all night without a diaper. We just had to sneak in a few without the diaper before his bath.

I homemade it out of a little outfit my mom bought for me at the DI for a couple bucks. No sewing required. We borrowed the head feathers from my mom's dress-up box.

The whole outfit more appropriate for travel

The baseball player

The cowboy

In other news C has started to suck his thumb and refuses a binky.

We made a trip to Preston
C got to ride on uncle Chance's shoulders while viewing the zoo.

Saw the Liger at the bean museum at BYU. In honor of Napoleon Dynamite we took a pic.

Life

2010-10-03T20:51:00.003-06:00

It was my turn to go in the game of gesstures but I was playing on the computer so Jeff "bootied" up like me and took my turn. Thanks Jeff!

One in a thousand pictures

2010-09-27T12:31:00.004-06:00

Have you noticed that out of the thousand pics you take of your child only a few usually turn out, such as this one. An awesome smile and cute little tongue:)

At the request of my dad here is the following story about 2 curious 10 year old boys.

To start off, about a week after Corbin was born my Mom and Chance came to visit. It was at this time that Chance learned that babies are fed from the mother breast. He asked my mom later all about it after seeing me do this. I just assumed he knew so I am sure it was a great shock when he saw me feeding the baby. Several weeks after this visit I went to Preston. Chance, along with his little friend, were sitting on the couch. I walked in and we had the following conversation.

Chance: How long do you have to feed the baby from your...thingy's?
Shelley: (trying to be all technical about my response) Well the Dr.s recommend that you nurse for about 1 year. It is very good for the baby's health, and helps give them a strong immune system. Do you know what that is?
Chance: No?
Shelley: Well it is what helps you get better when you are sick.
(I am sure at this point all these little boys are hearing is Blah, Blah, Blah, when Chance replies)
Chance: Well.... they are a LOT bigger. (as soon as he was done saying this both boys look up and stare deeply at my chest.
Shelley: Okay, Awkard. (as I fold my arms) I am just going to go now.

Happy Brithday to Momma Brown

2010-09-25T12:49:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

Baby Brownie Blessing

2010-09-22T22:08:00.006-06:00

C was blessed this weekend

Aunt Brookey bought him his outfit and little booties and Jeff's aunt Tamie gave him the blankie

I love this pic this is so Corbin's curious personality

Everyone felt that Grandpa Brown(Jeff's Father who passed away when he was 11) was also there blessing this little guy!

The whole Brown Clan. Justin and Celeste both surprised us and flew in.

Brown boys together once again....trouble

Hart fam

Just getting done dressing him.

Uncle Owen finally a first time uncle

c with cousin Ammon

Good little sleepers

Elder Quentin Brown arrived home from his mission to Argentina

Celeste's surprised visit

Typical Brown pic with Q laying across everyone

Thanks for the awesome weekend everyone!

Lovin' it

2010-09-15T12:14:00.002-06:00

Big Yawn

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANCE

2010-09-09T09:08:00.004-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE CHANCE

Baby started cooing this week. At the end of the video he says I Love you to Uncle Chance( at least I think that's what he said??)

*** Probably only one of those videos gmas/pas will enjoy***

What we've been up to

2010-09-02T17:47:00.007-06:00

Cute baby in the morning

I went to Preston with C last weekend while Jeff had a Brown Boy's weekend. I was able to attend one of Chance's football games. They won

Chance and the foot ball.. wait I mean Binny

With Great G-ma

Lovin' the horses at the fair in Treamonton

Swinging with Auntie Brookey

One last pic of Owen and Corbin before our good friends moved which I'm super sad about:(
these little guys are 1 month apart in matching outfits.

Visiting Thanksgiving point with friends

Jeff has started his Masters in Public Administration through BYU and says that he is really liking it so far. This week I have gone back to work 2.5 days and am testing the water to see if that is too many days for me. We'll see, it was nice to get out of the house and act like a normal person but I really missed baby!

We will be blessing him in a few weeks when Jeff's brother Returns from his mission in Argentina.

First Bike Ride

2010-08-27T19:58:00.001-06:00

You know your a mother when...

2010-08-23T10:10:00.008-06:00

Hanging with Grammy Suzie

Hanging out with our friends the Nelsons in their indoor swing

Mittons so that Cornin doesn't scratch his face

Tummy Time

Bastow family reunion in Twin Falls with Grandma Aleen

You know you've become a mother when you ask questions like.....

Did I shower today or yesterday?
Did I brush my teeth this morning... when was morning?
What day of the week/month is it?
What the...it's already 5:00?
Has my baby really been wearing his outfit backwards all day?
How on earth do I always want to put the diaper on backwards?
Is that pee, poo or barf all over me?

Jeff and I are becoming masters in skills we didn't know we had. For example:
-being pretty much asleep and still being able to bounce the bouncer with one foot (honestly if
they named it a bouncer shouldn't it bounce on it's own)
-holding him in a football hold that makes him stop crying no matter what the issue
-sleeping on a moments notice it the baby has fallen asleep
-fattening up our baby (already 11 lbs at 5 weeks 80th percentile, and can hold his head up)

I am still trying to decide if my constant dizziness is from low bloods sugar from nursing, sleep deprivation or some other issue... Baby is starting to sleep a 5 hour stretch however Jeff wakes me up usually once in the night trying to search my covers for the baby:)
While I felt that the fist month was pretty brutal it is wonderful being a mommy here's to many more months!

Firsts

2010-08-04T11:10:00.005-06:00

Just wanted to post a few firsts for Corbin. You don't realized sometimes how cool it is to do/see something for the first time. Having kids makes you appreciate the little things more.

First Cookout with hot dogs and smores

First time hanging out with his buddy Owen

Being held by his cousin Nichole

First stroller ride in Preston, where we got caught in the rain and saw 2 rainbows

First piece of mail

First time in the Mobi wrap (thanks Anelisa)

First bath

First Parade
(I know that this is of Jeff but during the whole parade when people would throw popcicles he wanted one but because the area we were sitting in was far off the road under a tree I thought that it wouldn't happen. He would say to Shannon and I, "its all about the eye contact," he'd then raise his hand and see if he could get one. He finally landed one and was as happy as a little boy on Christmas morning.)

Now weights in at 9lbs 12 oz 21 inches long

Is a great burper

Loves to hold hands

Shingles Scare

2010-07-24T19:17:00.003-06:00

Getting Burped in Old Navy

Loves his uncle Chance

Loves to give smiles!

Corbin is such a great baby we just can't get enough of him. Mommy however has gotten shingles. We hope that we have caught it in time with meds so that I will not have a full breakout with the painful lesions. I got it last October and they show up on my neck so it is hard to keep it covered. Dr.s have advised good hand washing and trying to limit contact. So no kisses or snuggling up or burping over the shoulder. From our research it may not be contagious until the lesions show up?? So hopefully Corbin won't end up with the chicken pox.

In memory of Jonah Kent Young

2010-07-22T07:58:00.005-06:00

Jonah Kent Young

Our friends the Young's recently experienced the loss of their baby boy Jonah Kent Young. If you would like the whole precious story about Jonah you can visit their blog here.
Jonah, we have said many prayers and shed many tears of sadness, pain, joy, and happiness for you and your family. As we have recently experienced the blessing of adding a baby boy to our lives you have reminded me to enjoy every second through the many diaper changes, sleepless nights, etc. etc. The meaning of your name suites you (Hebrew for Dove, the symbol of peace) as you have brought peace to my mind during these stressful times and helped to ease my fears through the many small challenges. I do have a testimony that you and your parents will be reunited someday soon, your family is eternal. You will of course be missed very much by many. Jeff, Corbin and I want you and your parents to know we will ALWAYS remember you!

Posted by Shelley

Note to self...

2010-07-21T13:25:00.007-06:00

Things we've learned being new parents.

1. Jeff is not a good mother

STORY: the day we brought Corbin home he needed his diaper changed. I asked Jeff to head out to the car to get one. On his way he was distracted by neighbors and by the time he'd made it to the car he'd forgotten about the task at hand, seeing as how the car was still loaded from the trip home. I looked out the window to see that he wasn't going to make it in as soon as I wanted so I grabbed another diaper from Corbin's room. When Jeff finally came back in I asked if he'd gotten the diapers in which he replied, "oh my gosh, I am the worst mother." He was completely oblivious to what he had said and I could not stop laughing. Hun, you are not the greatest mother but you sure are the best father!

2. Do not change the baby directly on your bed you WILL have to change the sheets afterward.
3. Corbin loves when daddy changes his diaper. He thinks it is funny to have his diaper completely off and then let one go.
4. Keep a towel or something over baby parts so that baby doesn't pee all over himself or stream pee across the room.
5. It is pointless to get a baby dressed for the day, put the diaper on with a blanket and call it good.
6. Find a good baby barf remover it really stains.
7. Best invention ever is the breast pump!
8. Gripe water is a must have for all babies.

He is a very smiley baby

I had to post the infamous sleeping with parent pic. When I've seen this pic from other new parents I am always like aww cute but lame everyone has that pic. but now I realize why... this is a very treasured moment, a parent actually getting a little nap in as the baby sleeps is a miracle.

The Birth Story

2010-07-20T15:13:00.009-06:00

Corbin Jeffrey Brown, Born July 16, 2010, 8 lbs 6.6 oz, 20 inches

I was 5 days late and getting frustrated. I felt like my body didn’t know what it was supposed to do. I had not been feeling any contractions and had been doing many things to induce labor naturally as I didn’t want it to be induced for me. Jeff and I had been walking together each night for about 2 weeks. On Thursday July 15 we decided, after watching a very funny episode of Wipeout, that we would go on a walk somewhere cool which ended up being Bridal Veil Falls in the Provo Canyon. Upon arrival to the falls, Jeff began a conversation with his brother Darren, so I took a short stroll up the trail. A short time later I felt a slight gush of warm liquids and realized that my water was breaking. When I got back to the falls, Jeff had just finished his conversation so I shared the good news with him, my face beaming the whole time. I then made him take the ironic picture of me in front of the gushing waterfalls. As we followed the river stream down the trail my “stream also kept flowing.”

Last pic being pregnant 41 weeks

We drove home where I showered and got ready for the big event. Jeff tidied the house and packed the bags. Jeff stated that it was not like the dramatic rush of events he’d imagined. It was a very relaxing and exciting time as we arrived at The Timpanogos Hospital at 10:30pm.

First thing was first as we got checked into our room and all of the information to the nurses and Drs as to what was happening. Since I am strep B positive I received an IV for antibiotics. It took the nurse three tries to get the vein and then she had to also draw my blood. By this time I had started getting a few small contractions was 80 effaced and dilated to a 2. About one hour after all of this I had one very painful contraction and decided that I didn’t want to suffer hours of this kind of pain being strapped to a bed. The nurse anesthetist came in and administered the Epidural. The first time he had hit some vein and had to start over and I feel that I did a great job at staying relaxed during the procedure and contractions. As he put the dose in I got very dizzy so I was laid down and given oxygen after which I started to get very itchy over my arms, face and chest. After about 30 min of itching my face off I was given some type of Benadryl medication and it eased up but I do have little scabs on my face where I was rubbing with the wash cloth.

My epidural was great because I could still feel and move my legs. As my labor progressed I was started on a very low dose of pitocin. With this my labor was progressing nicely other than the fact that I was throwing up about every hour. At about 5am I was dilated to a 5 and 95% effaced, at that time I started to feel some discomfort and hit the epidural button which unfortunately numbed my legs. Around 8:30 the nurse came in to check my status and found that I was ready to have the baby. As she informed the dr. they allowed me to rest and descend the baby. Around 9:00 the nurse came back and with her and Jeff’s help I started pushing. Jeff did such a great job at counting out the pushes. At first it was 3 sets of 10 second pushes and then we moved to 4 sets of 8 second pushes. I was able to watch the progression in a mirror. At 10:15 Dr. Bean came in to deliver the baby. As I was pushing he started to see the need for a possible episiotomy. He allowed me to do a few more sets of pushing but ultimately I had to receive a minor one. In total I pushed for 1 hour and 30 min. The dr said that it would have been 15 if I not been throwing up and missing contractions and if the baby’s face would have been facing down (instead it was facing my leg.) I asked them if they would place him on my stomach as soon as he arrived. Corbin Jeffrey Brown was born at 10:47 am weighing 8lbs, 6.6 oz, 20 inches long. When we were first married we were searching the scriptures and found the name Corbin. We liked it very much and thought it was appropriate because it means “gift from god.”

The Official weigh in

Family photo

proud grammy suzy and grampy reed

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

2010-07-13T12:19:00.003-06:00

If you haven't seen this video yet, it is one of those rare jewels that you don't come across very often. It is a little lengthy (a little over an hour), but one that cannot be missed. Randy Pausch was an American professor of computer science and human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Pausch learned that he had a terminal case of pancreatic cancer in September 2006.

This lecture was given on September 18, 2007 at CMU. He later wrote a best-selling book entitled, "The Last Lecture," based on this lecture and the lessons/thoughts he wanted to leave for his children and posterity. More information about Randy can be found on his personal website at http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/. ENJOY!

No baby yet :(

2010-07-11T19:21:00.005-06:00

Just wanted to give you all an update that baby brownie has not made his big arrival yet. His due date, that I am renaming his estimate date (+/-) 2 weeks, was July 10th. I've decided that I am going to suggest to my Dr. that he tell first time pregnant women that their due date is a week after their actual date. This would save so many pregnant women from being depressed, which they really don't need already being 9 months pregnant.

I tease Jeff that he is taking after the BROWN side of the family in this matter. :) (being late that is) Most first time pregnancies go past their due date and as much as we want him to be here we are trying to be patient and keep ourselves busy so that he can come when he is ready.

Thanks for your participation in the voting for baby's name. Jeff says that he pretty much has the name picked out that he wants but I told him not to tell me yet. I just have to see what he looks like first. We'll keep you posted.

Help Us Name Our Baby Boy

2010-06-18T22:02:00.007-06:00

Friends & Family,

We are SO excited for the birth of our little baby boy in three (3) short weeks! However, we need your help. We've narrowed our list of possible names down and now we're soliciting your input. Take a sec and let us know which name you like the most by voting in our new poll (located below our "Baby Ticker" gadget).

If you vote "Other," please use the comments section of this post to list the other name(s) you think we should consider. Thanks for your help!

(Note: Many of these names have alternate spellings and we would also like to know your feedback on spelling as well)

Stuffage

2010-06-13T19:29:00.005-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Both of our computers recently bit the dust so we are borrowing one here and there from Jeff's work. Also I have used up all of my picture space on google so I have to make my posts under Jeff's name. :) Here are a few highlights from the past few weeks.

Dessert and movie night with the Butlers. (Yummy strawberry short cake)

Brooky had a birthday. In which we celebrated by going to the Trafalga Batting cages and go carts. We also went out to dinner at Carrabas and the following day had a BBQ dinner up Provo canyon. It was so fun to have everyone come visit!

Baby showers. Thanks to all you who have been such a support as we get ready for the arrival of our baby we can't thank you enough for all of your love. One of the highlights was the diaper cake. Too cute!

Sista Stacey and her wannabe pregnant belly:)
Mi Familia, at Chance's base ball game

Since we can't reach our toes anymore I treated myself and my good friend Laura to pedicures. It was so nice to be pampered.

36 weeks along. In 4 (+/-) weeks I am going to have my very own little baby. It is so exciting!
The pregnancy is going great. This week I had 2 migrane headaches:( no fun when your pregnant because you can't take anything.

At my last apt dr said that he was measuring slightly big and that he will be a high 7 low 8 pound baby which sounds normal to me. I took that as a possibility that he will want to come a little earlier. I am not holding my breath though.

My Favorite Broadway Musical

2010-05-20T14:36:00.009-06:00

Here is a great song from my all-time favorite Broadway musical. Shelley took me to see it down at the Red Rock Outdoor Amphitheater for my 30th birthday. For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about it and so I thought I'd share one of it's funnier moments.

Pizza and Mother's Day

2010-05-10T10:44:00.006-06:00

On Friday night we decided to make dutch oven pizza with our friends the Butlers. It turned out really good, other than the bottom was slightly burnt. :) It was so nice out that we even set up a table on the patio and ate outside.

Before cooking it on the briquettes.

Mark and Laura said that it looked just like a Chicago style pizza.

Mom's Day Gift

I have been wanting to buy a bed frame for the longest time so that I could store stuff under the bed. I am trying to make some room for the baby so that he doesn't have to sleep in a dresser drawer when he arrives.

Jeff found the whole set up at a garage sale.

Our first night sleeping on the new step up was eventful and went as follows.

Jeff woke up frantically 3 times that night asking if I was okay. One of these times was hilarious.

Jeff- Shelley, Shelley are you okay.
Shelley- Yes, I am just fine I have been sleeping fine.
Jeff- Well, you just fell off the bed.
Shelley- I didn't fall off the bed. I have been laying here the whole time. I am just fine.
Jeff- Well, I have a picture to prove it.
Shelley-Oh you do huh; where is it?
Jeff- I have it right here in this little thingy.
Shelley- Oh really

Then he turned over, laid back down and went to sleep. I was laughing so hard!! Between Jeff and the baby keeping me up at night I am getting low on sleep these days. It's a good thing that I am only working 1/2 days m-thr and Fridays 7-3 until the baby comes.

Also, happy mother's day to all of our wonderful mothers out there!!

Baby bump update

2010-04-30T19:20:00.003-06:00

I thought I would post a baby bump update.
I am now 30 weeks along. While the baby has no official name, for now he is called "Kicky Monster." I think that he is going to be very tall, just like his daddy, because it sure seems that he has the longest little legs. He especially likes to stick them up underneath my ribs and kick away. He gets the hick-ups rather often which is very annoying; it is like someone is poking you over and over again and driving you crazy.

I could probably go on and on about the many things that I dislike about pregnancy but a few things that do give me joy are feeling him move/watching my tummy go crazy, watching my stomach grow, shopping for baby/maternity clothes, and "nesting."

Unclaimed Property Website...FREE MONEY OWED TO YOU

2010-04-04T15:23:00.005-06:00

A couple of nights ago I couldn’t sleep so I turned on the TV and there was an infomercial on about “claiming your free money.” Now I’m not one to watch infomercials, but since I was too lazy to turn the channel I began listening to what the guy had to say.

One of the things he mentioned caught my attention. He said that one of the easiest sources of free money that his book outlined was “unclaimed property” that is being held by various consumer outlets just waiting to be claimed. He then went on to mention that billions of dollars for millions of people was freely available and easy to search for--all you had to do was search by your first and last name.

As you can imagine, I was pretty skeptical. He had a few guests on the program share their stories about logging onto the site and finding varying amounts of money that were owed to them that they had no idea about. As he continued to explain how easy it was to use the website and that the website’s URL was included in his book I thought to myself--if this is for real then I’m sure I can find that site by searching on Google.

Amazingly enough it only took one search to find the site. The organization is called the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) and it bears the following tagline--Representing State Governments That Actively Find Owners While Protecting Forgotten Funds Until Claimed.

Searching for your unclaimed property is in fact just as easy as the infomercial promised. It does take a few clicks to get to the individual state sites (see my instructions below for a few of them), but then all you do is just enter your name and P-R-E-S-T-O…results are populated.

I instantly began searching for Shelley and I and came across at least one claim that may be owed to me. This led me to widen my search to include family members and friends (because you can search for anyone). After only a few minutes or searching I came across the following individuals that have money owed to them:

* Camille Bastow - $25 to $55
* Jacob Bastow - $100+
* Lacie Bastow - $100+
* Vern Bastow - $50 to $100
* David Rallison - $10 to $50
* Doug Rallison - $55 to $105
* Orval Rallison - $50 to $100
* Sherri Rallison - $15 to $35

So what are you waiting for...go to http://www.unclaimed.org/ and find out if you or anyone you know has any unclaimed property. Here is a picture of the interactive map that you use to get to each state’s chapter of the NAUPA.

I thought I would also include the following instructions for navigating the state sites that I used the most:

IDAHO
1. After clicking on the state of Idaho you will be brought to Idaho’s site
2. In the left-hand menu, hovering your mouse over the “Unclaimed Property” menu item will bring up another menu automatically that includes a link called “Search & claim property”
3. After that click on the “Claim for yourself” or “Claim for someone else or for a business” links in the middle of the page
4. Then just enter the name that you want to search

UTAH
1. After clicking on the state of Utah you will be brought to Utah’s site
2. In the left-hand menu, click on the “Search Property” link
3. Then just enter the name that you want to search

CALIFORNIA
1. After clicking on the state of California you will be brought to California’s site
2. In the left-had menu, click on the “Start Your Search” link in the “Online Claim Services” submenu
3. Then just enter the name that you want to search

HAVE FUN SEARCHING!

funny

2010-04-04T11:16:00.004-06:00

Last night I turned over and accidentally hit Jeff in the head with my hand. He woke up suddenly and asked "what is going on?" I said, "hun I turned over and accidentally hit you in the head I am sorry; everything is just fine." While laying face up on his pillow he brought his hands to his face and said, "Well... how many hands to I have here?" I was laughing so hard. I guess that he can sleep through anything.

Babymoon - Oahu, Hawaii 2010

2010-03-28T21:46:00.019-06:00

As a celebration of our 7 year wedding anniversary, our "Babymoon," and a BYU conference we went to Oahu, Hawaii.

Our lovely car rental

Manawili Falls Hike (we didn't make it to the falls because of the muddy trail)

Laie Hawaii Temple (closed until July for renovations, the 5th temple ever built)

Ooohhh Laie Point. The 1940's tsunami busted out the back of the rocks making the arch.

Sea turtles basking in the sun

Birthing rocks where the queens used to deliver their babies. Thank goodness for modern technology!

Dole Plantation

Jeff playing his ukulele (we did end up buying one for Jeff)

Sunset

J+S

Jeff' + Shelley

Hike to ancient temple Pu'u O Ma'huka Heiau

View of Wiamea bay

paying tribute to the temple ruins

BYU Conference of Champions

We attended the business plan competition at BYU-H. My Aunt Rosie and Uncle Rod Ashby were also attending as judges.

Hanauma Bay

Beautiful place to go snorkeling! You can explore all of the coral reef. On our way out we saw a turtle swimming around.

Super cute :)

Playing at the beach

Polynesian Cultural Center

With Aunt Rosie and Uncle Rod enjoying one of the shows.

At the end of the luau

Canoe Ride

Enjoying a pineapple surprise

Mommy and baby wearing their leis enjoying pineapple macadamia cheesecake from the infamous Ted's Bakery.

Hawaii part 2

2010-03-28T21:11:00.008-06:00

On our last day, thanks to the rooster that woke us up every morning at 5:30 we were able to catch the sunrise.

We will miss the beautiful mountains.

BYO do-in Temple

Ringing the gong to bring good luck

Flashing the Buddah sign

Pali Lookout a view of the west cost

Pearl Harbor

Bofinn Submarine

USS Arizona ancor

On the memorial (we had to wait 2 hours to take the boat the the memorial)

Iolani Palace

Hulua pie from Duke's restaurant in Waikiki. Jeff parked in a no parking zone, let me in the car and ran over to get some.

Grandpa's are the best!

2010-03-14T09:06:00.003-06:00

Grandpa thanks for your continual love and support. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we will get to see one another again. I am so happy that I got to visit you last week and talk with you one on one and show you the ultrasound of your great grand son. I am at peace knowing that our last words to each other were I LOVE YOU said in a warm embrace. I will miss you so much.

A Few great memories:
-Taking Brooke and I snowmobiling when we were little. You'd pick us up in the field in front of our home in Franklin and take us whizzing around the country side.
-Always coming to support at the many sports games, graduation and family events.
-When you got you heart operation you had a large scar across your chest. The girls wanted to see it. You shocked us when you were unbuttoning your shirt and said, "well... you gals first." It was one of the funniest things I think I've ever heard because you were always so reserved. :)

At Kristina/geo's wedding

Our 2006 graduation from ISU

Graduation from hygiene school 2008

Orval James Rallison passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 13, 2010 from Leukemia. Orval was born 2 November 1930 in Salt Lake City to Leo and Lucile Rallison.

Orval spent his youth exploring the green hills of Mink Creek. Later, at Logan High School, he excelled at football and other sports. He spent summers working as a real cowboy, west of Snowville, UT. Orval received an LDS mission call to Hawaii, but, the Army wanted to draft him. Orval fooled the Army by joining the Navy instead. He served four years during the Korean Conflict, and saw some exotic parts of the world on a battleship as a gunner and pipe fitter. Thusly surviving Korea, Orval went on to obtain a degree at Utah State in Civil Engineering. At USU, Orval’s eye was caught by a pretty young farm girl named Vaunda Oliverson, from the mountains east of Franklin. They had four above average children. They involved them in 4-H projects, and other farm related responsibilities. Orval financed their endeavors by working for the U.S. Forrest Service designing and building many of our local mountain roads and bridges.

Orval, along with Vaunda, loved to travel and zip around on “wheelers and sleds” with their beloved, life-long friends and family, always having a rockin good time!

Orval loved spending time with his children. The girls with rodeo queen contests and with his boys on the farm. His buttons seemed to pop at what his children have been able to accomplish. He loved to play with his family and grandkids in the country setting, north of Franklin.

Orval was involved in scouting activities, bishoprics and other leadership positions. Together, Orval and Vaunda served in the Oakland, CA and the Martins Cove Missions. They also served at the Logan Temple.

Orval was preceded in death by parents, Leo and Lucile Rallison and sister, Bernice Larcheid, and twin grandsons. He is survived by brothers and sisters; Dr. Marvin Rallison, Gene Rallison, Marietta Richards, Anna Lou LaPray and Dr. Richard Rallison. Also, by his children Susan (Reed) Hart, David (Sherri Dee) Rallison, Doug (Sherrie Lynn) Rallison, Rozanne (Rod) Ashby, 20 grandkids and 4 and ½ great grandchildren. (this is my baby)

Funeral Services will be held at the Franklin Stake Center in Franklin, ID on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 12:00 p.m.

Viewing will be held at 10:30-11:30 a.m. before the funeral, also one will be held at the new Webb Funeral Home on Wednesday Evening 6-8 p.m.

The family would like to express their many thanks to all of the friends and medical support people that have helped to see Orval through this difficult sickness.

Drum roll please..............

2010-03-01T12:27:00.004-07:00

Baby waving hi:) Baby's eye lids don't show up so it looks like the eye's are open.

Profile (facing down)

Little feet

The smiles just can't be wiped off our faces today. My guess was that it was a boy and Jeff was guessing that it is a girl. So I won:) I guess that means I get to pick the name hu? So far we are bouncing some names around but nothing will be set in stone until I see this little guy. He is growing well and is right on schedule with height and weight (weighing in at 14oz.)

Cast Your Vote

2010-02-28T11:44:00.002-07:00

The big reveal is tomorrow Monday March, 1 2010. Will baby Brown be a Boy or a Girl. Cast your vote in the tool bar to the right.

Snowshoeing

2010-02-16T18:25:00.001-07:00

We were able to go snowshoeing this weekend through Jeff's work. We went to Aspen grove which is in the sundance area in the Provo canyon.

Jeff with his two left feet snowshoes.

The view

They had a cute little kid town where I found myself in jail:)

19 week baby bump. Everything baby wise it going perfect. At my last apt I had gained a total of 2 lbs from the dr's beginning weight record and I was measuring 2 weeks behind schedule. He said that was normal and that I wouldn't be having a 10lb baby, which I am fine with :) I have still been feeling generally crappy but it has been getting better since my first trimester. My pants finally don't fit so I have been investing in some maternity clothes and we find out the gender of the baby on March 1st.

shnowen wedding

2010-02-14T20:06:00.006-07:00

Shannon and Owen sealed together for time and all eternity on Friday Feb 12 in the Logan Temple

Dancing at the luncheon after the temple.

Sista's Shanny, Brookey, me, Stacey

G-ma and I looking so gorgeous for the camera.

Jeff and I. Her colors were turquoise and orange. I was so proud of my $12 dollar dress find from target. It is even maternity. You can slightly start to see a baby bump it you enlarge the photo.

Chancers being goofy

Brookey made a very elegant cake

More sista's

Baby Ethan my cusin Benny's baby
Anthony, Kweena's baby. I love his little smirk:)

I think I am due for a baby stats post with all of these cute baby pics!

After the wedding Chance and his friend Payson wanted me to take some snap shots of them flying though the air. These two are some of the best I could get.

Bridal Shower for Doey

2010-01-25T17:03:00.002-07:00

My sista Shannon is getting married so we through her a bridal shower last weekend.

We had ton's of people show up which was awesome but we only got to play one game which was to make a bridal dress out of tp, garbage sacks, napkins and rope. It was really funny!

Shannon opened her gifts as Stacey decorated her with the wraping paper. Super funny that she stuffed several pieces of tissue paper in her shirt to make her look like she is pregnant. Stacey guesses that she will have a honeymoon baby:)

Once most of the guests left she really wanted to play the 21 question game where if you miss a question you have to chew a piece of gum. She missed so many that she had her friends helping her chew the required amount of gum.

Mommy's birthday in Las Vegas

2010-01-25T16:33:00.004-07:00

We talked my mom into going to Las Vegas for ther Birthday this year. It was really fun! I don't think that we have ever had a girls weekend and now I am thinking that we need to plan on it at least once per year!

We took her to the body worlds exhibit and it was so neat to see an in depth view of the body. My favorite part was the 15 week old baby because that is how far along I was at the time. It was amazing to see how the baby develops!

Dinner at the Cheese Cake factory. All I ordered was that luscious smoothie because of was so nauseated. Come to find out all I needed was food.

Out side the cheese cake factory. Just after we found out that my grandpa was diagnosed with lukemia. :(

Red Rock State Park. Where we at lunch and enjoyed a short hike to an overlook of the beautiful rocks.

Self serve yogurt place that was awesome!

Us at Cirque du Soleil. A cirqu show based in the water it was amazing!

On our way home from the show and be not feeling the greatest. Where is the food!
Thanks mom for making the effort to travel far from home it was so much fun spending time with you!

GUESS WHAT!!!??????

2009-12-29T09:38:00.009-07:00

After 6.75 years of marriage and 5 years of trying...we are finally having a BABY!! It is due July 10, 2010.

There were no technical difficulties getting the #10 top reason why Jeff loves me for my birthday. I just didn't want to spill the beans until Christmas.

Below is a pic of Baby Brown taken at 10 weeks and 4 days. I am currently 12 weeks along. I really haven't felt nauseated, however the smell of meat gets to me.

So please, those who have been in my shoes leave a message of your recommendations on baby birthing, products, best practices, etc. I have been experiencing problems with air building up in my stomach so if you have any insights about that they would be much appreciated.

Happy 26th birthday Shelley

2009-12-16T10:08:00.003-07:00

For my 26th birthday this year Jeff surprised me with the top ten reasons why he loves me. Thanks hun for making my b-day extra special!
(You can click on the image and it will enlarge if you care to see what he wrote)

8 and 9 below

I am working on getting number ten up still.

He brought me these flowers while I was eating lunch at work. Later that night we went out to eat at a new restaurant in Provo called Spark. It is American food with a twist and it was awesome!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-27T11:07:00.004-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving with the Brown family this year. The morning started out with the eventful Thanksgiving decathlon. I believe that Joshua won with Darren taking second place. :) I didn't get many photos of the events except for moma Brown trying to get the ball in the cup.

After the events we ate a fabulous Dinner with all of the fixings. Thanks Melissa for being hostess!

The most recent thing we are grateful for is that no damage was done to our car after a deer bumped into us on the way home last night. I think we hit its foot and then it ran off so hopefully it is okay. :(

I am Free

2009-11-22T17:56:00.002-07:00

I just made the last payment on my student loan from dental hygiene school. YEAH!!!! I have been so blessed to have had a job since I graduated in June 2008. I count my blessings every day that Jeff and I were able to use the majority of my paychecks to pay off the loan quickly. I also want to make mention of the blessings of paying a full tithing.

Happy Birthday sista's

2009-11-20T18:12:00.002-07:00

I can't believe your twins! Happy #22

Utah Student 25

2009-11-15T16:58:00.004-07:00

On Thursday November 5th Jeff and I attended the Utah Student 25 held at the Grand America Hotel in SLC. Jeff's boss was in charge of the whole event but Jeff was in charge of all of the behind the scenes work. I am so proud of his hard work. It turned out to be a wonderful evening of a 4 course dinner, including fillet mignon, and motivational speeches. The event was a competition rating the best student made business in Utah.

Jeff rented a Tux

Looking so GQ:)

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T20:10:00.004-07:00

This year we were invited to the 2nd anual pumpkin carving contest at the Smedley's. It was a ton of fun! They made some fantastic chili. It was so fun spending time with friends!

The Butlers and the Browns enjoying the chili

I cut the lid of the pumpkin and Jeff carved a very scary skull face!
As everyone was scraping out their guts I was stealing the seeds. I had never made pumpkin seeds before so I thought I'd give it a try. I made a salty batch and a ranch batch. They turned out so delicious.

We are definitely all Halloweened out this year. We enjoyed 4 Halloween parties in which we dressed up as mad scientists, but sadly I don't have any pics yet.

An update

2009-10-16T09:20:00.003-06:00

Wow I didn't realize that it has been so long since I've made a post. So I will give a quick update.
1. Still have not decided on a vacuum frankly just because I have not made time, but I do appreciate all of the recommendations.

2. Work work work Jeff has been super busy at work getting home usually around 7:00pm. I have been working my fanny off to earn the last payment on my student loan. Hopefully by the end of this month it will be $0. I am also loving teaching at the school.

3. Still teaching the marriage and family course in our ward.

4. Our health, due to our stress levels poor Jeff got a cold sore and I got a severe migraine. I woke up at 6am last wednesday from a pain behind my eye. I immediately thought it felt like a migraine so I had Jeff go get me some meds at the store and by the time he got back it was full
blown.

I had pain behind my right eye and was tingling/numb on the left side of my body (even my tongue and lip goes numb) Then I stared throwing up about every 30 min. The dr. office opened at 8am so Jeff took me over and they had to give me a shot of Dramamine and and anti-nausea. Once I got home I pretty much slept all day until I had to go to work the next morning. No fun!!

5. Last weekend we spent in St George with my grandparents and sisters attending "Aida" a musical at the Tuachan. It was so awesome.

Shanny and her boy Owen (now official according to facebook)

New Vacuum

2009-10-02T21:14:00.001-06:00

We are in need of a new vacuum any recommendations? Our 15 year old eletrolux, handed down from my mother, is on its last leg.

Happy Birthday Chance!

2009-09-09T21:05:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to my little brother Chance!
He turns 10 on 9/9/09 and was born 9/9/99

1 year before my mother became pregnant with him I wrote in my journal that something special was going to happen 9/9/99 I didn't know what it was but I wrote that when that day came I would have some sort of celebration. In Jan 1999 my mom came to me and told me that she was going to have another baby. I asked her when she was due and she said Sept 18 and I looked at her and said "mom it is going to be born on the 9th." Around 10:30pm on 9/9/99, 10lb 14oz Chancers was born. What would life be like without Chance! We love you so much!! You are and always will be my little buddy!

I just love when he used to wear cow boy boots

Jeff turns the big 30

2009-09-06T09:43:00.010-06:00

Jeff finally turned 30 after being 25 for the last 5 years now.

The day that we left someone decorated Jeff's bike for his birthday. Thank you mystery people:)

We spent the night at the Snow Bird resort and then spent the day at the resort on all of the rides.

We started off his birthday morning with a fabulous buffet breakfast in the Atrium of the hotel.

Jeffrey riding the zip rider

Jeff getting ready to go down the alpine slide. This was Jeff's favorite ride he beat me both times racing down the slope.
Riding on the lift
The tunnel to the backside of the mountain. It was freezing. We decided that we would ride the lift up the mountain and then do a short hike to the tram and ride it back down. On our way up the lift it started to sprinkle and then half way up our hike to the tram we got caught in a down poor and were soaked from head to toe in the freezing cold.

Just before it started to rain. All of that white in the background was rain traveling our way. Once we reached the top we had to wait in the warming hut for 30 min because they had stopped the tram due to thunder. Then I threw a surprise birthday party with some of our friends and family at Nunn's park in the Provo canyon. I had to trick Jeff into getting off the free way and to the park by telling him that I left the cord to our camera up there last weekend when we went camping. I demanded that we go up and check to see if it was still there. Once we arrived he saw some of our friends having a little BBQ and decided to walk over and see why they were not watching the BYU football game. On the way over I recorded the following video.

He received mula from my family, a coupon for a new suit and star wars trilogy. I also made him his favorite strawberry rhubarb pie. Also Jeff had to answer 30 facts about himself before opening his presents and he only got 15 of them correct.
Max and Diana gave him ..... undies??

HA Ha just kidding it was this nice shirt. Thanks so much guys!

Thanks to everyone who came to the party, gave gifts and b-day wishes and those who supplied me with the following facts about Jeff. It is very long so don't feel obligated to read it. I put in on mainly for posterity sake.

Celeste said:

*Jeff and I tried to walk home From Grandpa and Grandma Browns home in Huntington, IN all the way to Markle by ourselves when we were like 8,6 years old. (I could be off on the ages but we were young) We thought Mom and Dad had forgotten us, not knowing they had made arrangements for us to stay. Grandpa Brown got a call from someone that saw us and he came and picked us up. We had probably walked several miles anyway. (We felt like a car that slowed down by us and called to us was trying to kidnap us - I think we had busy imaginations!)

*Jeff and I were playing by the dam in Markle catching crawdads and just messing around and hiking. When some guys with long coats showed up and we thought we saw that they had knives and wanted to get us. (Could have been true or just our wild imaginations) but we took off around the lake and it seemed like they were following us. We ran and hide in some bushes until we felt safe enough to make it home.

*Brent says Jeff plays with his eye lashes and has to groom his eye brows non stop

Justin said:

*The thing that Justin remembers about Jeff is that he used to always get into Justin's ice cream that he had bought himself.

*Justin also says that he liked to give Jeff a hard time about the fact that he had really thick hair that was like a mop and Justin says the ironic thing is that he(Justin) is losing hair. Justin said that Grandma Bastow used to get mad at him for teasing Jeff about his hair and would tell him that he had nice hair.

From Jeff's mother
Jeffrey Darrell Brown was born at 9:57 a.m. on September 5, 1979, in the new Mountain View Hospital in Payson, Utah. (I think that he weighed 8 lb. 2 or 6 oz. It wasn't on his birth certificate.) He was coming posterior and Dr. Brian Wolsey didn't allow me to get up and walk or more to help him shift positions, as a midwife would have. Dad, Darrell DeWayne, got a little faint with the difficult birth and had to sit down and put his feet between his legs. It was partially as a result of this experience that Mamacita became more interested in holistic health and had her next two babies at home with a midwife.

Jeffrey was blessed on September 30, 1979 in Payson, Utah, by his father. He was baptized on October 24, 1987 and confirmed on October 25, 1987, also by his father, Darrell DeWayne Brown, in Huntington, Indiana.

Jeff was a very happy, contented little boy and would play with a car or toy airplane by himself frequently. Of course he enjoyed playing with Melissa, Darren, Quentin, and older siblings, too. Celeste and Melissa would dress him up as a "cute" girl, on occasions. . .

In later years, Jeff loved sports and skate boarding. He wore out his shoes and pant knees faster than any of his brothers. He was self motivated to practice pitching a baseball at our front step, which brought a compliment from neighbor, Bob Thurston, on Jeff's ambition and initiative.

He was rather ruthless, though, with younger brother, Darren, who was required to turn around in the dryer briefly and jump off the roof (he ended up falling) in order to join Jeff's club. . .

Jeff had a horrible skate boarding accident at Fred Meyer's parking lot on the evening of July 3rd the year he graduated, 1998. Jeremy Orton and other friends came by the house to commiserate with him on the evening of July 4th.

Elder Jeff Brown was miraculously healed from a serious intestinal infection while he was serving as a missionary in El Salvador.

Jeffrey was almost elected as CSI student body president, with virtually no campaigning. . .

Jeffrey adores his vivacious, gorgeous wife, Shelley Dawn, and all of us Browns are grateful for the vital role that she plays in Jeff's life now and into the eternities.

Camping in Nunn's park

2009-09-06T09:26:00.005-06:00

Last weekend we went camping with our good friends the Butlers

Mark, Laura and handsom Jeff eating the delicious dinner of BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, fruit salad and potatoes. Our good friends the Tina and Clint Mackey's also Joined us for dinner.

Me eating a Cadillac smore. I named it that because it is a macadamia nut cookie with a marshmallow held together by a symphony bar top. WOW

Mini Mark being a Karate Kid. Jeff was pretending that he was doing Karate kicks and James LOVED it. He would do a high kick after Jeff was done.

Removing a white, heat stain from a wood table

2009-08-25T21:48:00.021-06:00

Shelley and I were chatting around the kitchen table tonight when I realized that I had forgotten to eat the tamale she had kindly warmed up for me (this is unfortunately somewhat of a common occurrence). Anyways, when I took the paper plate that it was prepared on off of the table a bright, white heat stain was left behind. To give some context to how dire the situation was, the table is fairly new and is one of our pieces of furniture most highly valued by Shelley :(

You can see the visual damage in the picture below.

After a brief scour of the internet for possible quick fixes, we came across one that involved using a hot, steam iron. So without any further ado, below is a video of our experiment with this illogical solution (using heat to remove a heat stain...just doesn't seem to add up).

Below is an after shot of where the spot once resided and...VIOLA, the stain is gone...well at least almost gone.

Since this incident and subsequent experiment we've learned a few additional things about white, heat stains in wood that we wanted to share with everyone:

We recommend the following process: heat up your iron, lay your cotton cloth on top of the stain, place the hot iron on the cloth and move it back and forth with regular ironing motion and pressure, puff out some steam, and then wipe the area with the cloth. Repeat as necessary.
This process has been found to be effective for not only same-day stains, but stains that have been on the table for years.
People report success using varying heat temperatures, steam and no steam, and also just hovering the iron above the stain.
The reason the stain cannot be removed with more conventional solutions (i.e. - cleaners, polishers, etc.) is because it resides below the varnish on the wood.
The reason heat and steam works is because it draws the stain out from beneath the varnish and then the cloth absorbs it.

The weekend run down

2009-08-23T18:43:00.005-06:00

This SATURDAY we got together with Max, Diana, Melissa and Joshua for a group yard sale. We were not too successful in sales but it was very fun to hang out.

We then went to a Brazilian restaurant for Nicholle's (my niece's) birthday lunch. It was great food and great company! After dinner we relaxed until it was time for a round of Frisbee golf.

SUNDAY since Darren came to Utah for the weekend he came to the oquirrh mountain temple dedication with us. It was a very special experience to feel the spirit of the temple. Later that afternoon we had a fabulous lunch with Jeff's cousin Spencer. It was so fun to have him over. We even got a game of frisbee golf in as well:) All that fun and so few pics:(

Banana Cream pie that I made. It is Darren's favorite.