July Update

Brown Family Update for July…

1. Lorin’s Dad and Kathy come to play! We went to Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Park. It was so wonderful for us to share with them our little world out here in CA. The kids we’re so excited to have them here and loved every minuet.

2. We also went to Pismo Beach camping for a night with tons of families from our ward. It was a blast!!! I must say I’m a big fan of 4-wheeling in sand dunes!

3. The 4^th of July=We had a picnic at the Church and spent the rest of the day swimming at the Lenzingers. Trey was scared of the Fireworks so we had to leave when they started. We have played hard this month. Lorin’s high light has been playing softball; our ward has made it to the playoff finals this Wednesday!!! I have loved spending tons of time at the pool! I also have a little girl come watch the kids for me on Tuesdays to have “Kelli” time and it has been so nice the first week I just took a blanket to the park and sat and looked up at the sky.

Kid run down…

Lindi- Is now going to start school here in CA at Garfield Elementary. She is so excited and reminds me how sad I am going to be without her at home. She does tell me that Trey will now have to step it up and be my big helper when she is gone. This month I went to the Free Family Movie and it was the 1^st time I have ever taken my kids to a Movie theater (at least that they can remember) Lindi was overwhelmed by how big the movie was and loved it. I also took the kids to the water park and Lindi passed the swim test and went off with Joanie Kalmbach (13yr old babysitter) to all the big rides. I felt Lindi wasn’t a baby anymore as she was off like one of the big kids. Lindi has an amazing memory, there is so much I can tell her and months later she remembers. As we drive in the car I always play a game where I ask each kid a question: For example to Allie, “what does the Tiger say?” Trey, “What does the letter ‘T’ say?” and for Lindi how to spell ‘Cat’?” Well I asked Lindi how to spell Car and I realized it was a different sound of “a” and so I just told her the answer. Well the 2 days later she was playing school and said to her self, “Okay Lindi this is a tricky one, How do you spell car? C-A-R” It was so incredible how she remembered. She has really grasped addition and subtraction as well.

Trey-Has become quite the little swimmer! This summer he took some lessons and nothing holds him back. He will dive if you help him. He would go anywhere except he still isn’t strong enough to take a breath so he challenges himself all over with all the breath he can muster. Trey loves things organized and everything placed the right way. He get so frustrated as we clean up and we put a toy in the wrong spot. He loves to fill his backpack with dinosaurs and then put them throughout the house. Trey has just taken an interest in his letters and numbers. He knows most of them now and practices on a little toy computer each day. He also loves to play the computer and tends to break it very well but can master so many games all by himself. He is a way picky eater but does love gumballs, pancakes, pizza, pot stickers, and bread with oil and balsamic vinegar. Lorin taught our kids to play progressive Rook, they play it every day and every chance they get. It is so fun as Trey will put down his bid and then truly get it even with barely knowing his number…and having no idea what number is bigger than another number. He seems to get his bid all the time. Both Lindi and him freak out if they ever get the Rook and make a “Cah Cah” sound to let us know they are the winners.

Allie- Has entered the terrible two’s early. She is so determined to be her own little self and her favorite word is “NO”. She has to have things just right …the right color cup, or plate or she freaks out. She also has to sit in the chair she has in her mind or have her glass filled just right. Really it is a constant guessing game with her all day. She is so tender and feisty all at once. She is getting real good at talking but she thinks she is perfectly clear when I really still have no clue what she is saying. She really only talks in our home and for a purpose…it is real hard to get her to do it on demand. She loves to say names and always says “Tucker Boy” She still is always in his face, but he is starting to like it better now and will laugh as she sits and plays with him. Trey and Allie also like to play Tag or chase …Allie following after Trey as he runs. Allie is still in 6-9 month onesies and Tucker has likely surpassed her in weight and it won’t be long in height.

Tucker- Wow he is our Happy Boy! Really it is a rare thing when Tucker doesn’t have a smile on his face from ear to ear. His little grin is all gums. And each time you look at him he returns his appreciation with a heart felt warm smile. I can’t even describe it. It is so cool to see how he has wrapped Lorin around him. Normally he has a hard time connecting with them tell they were a little bigger. But that hasn’t been the case with Tucker. He will hold him and just get him to giggle and soak up his incredible spirit. Tucker is now sitting up and eating real food. Each week as I go swimming with the kids I just put him in the shade on a towel and give him a gram cracker and he is just happy as can be. Heavenly Father knew I needed an easy baby with having so many kids so close together but I never realized that kids could be as easy as he has been.