Fire Ride 2011



Me and Guy getting out of the rain before the ride starts

It was so nice to spend some time with Guy on Saturday.  We went on our 6th annual Fire Ride.  It is a charity ride that benefits the families of fallen firefighters.  The money also goes towards making a fallen firefighter memorial in Ogden, UT.  

Lots of riders - over 100.

Before the ride begins, we all meet as a designated Fire Station.  The bikes are riders are all ages, sizes, and looks.  The destinations are usually pre-arranged.  We go to several differenct fire houses via a scenic route.  The riders in charge block off streets and traffic so our group can stay together.

Guy next to his custome bike.  Xavier has the same bike.

I love to ride on the back of the motorcycle.  It is relaxing and I can look at the beautiful Utah scenery.  Guy, however, wants me to take a motorcycle class and get my own smaller bike.  If this happens, then we can take Preston with us on our bike rides.  Preston would ride on the back of Guy's bike.

Good friends, Xavier and Guy.

 This year, Xavier came with us.  He bought a bike that is the same as Guy's.  Same make and model.  Same red and white paint job.  The only difference is our bike has ghost flames on the sides, and Xavier's has Yosemitie Sam on the fender.

Our Favorite paint job

We ended our ride at Golden Spike Harley in Riverdale.  They had a complimentary lunch, and a band playing.  Several beautiful bikes on display.  The skeleton one above had one of the best paint jobs.  \

Charley's Aunt is a Success!

Well, the show has begun.  Last night's audience was appreciative and laughed at all the right moments.  The cast seemed very pleased with their efforts, as was I.  On Monday we had one of our worst rehearsals ever, and then Thursday, they pulled off a really good opening night.  It is amazing how that works. 

Nate Harmon, Taylor Smith and Landon McKinnon in Charley's Aunt

  We built and painted the set on Saturday, March 19th and opened the show on Thursday, March 24th.  Talk about cutting it close.  But is it pretty.  I think it turned out beautifully.  The colors of the furniture we already owned, combined with what we could rent determined our pain scheme.


Nephew, Hayden Call, and Taylor Smith in drag

I am glad that Hayden and Taylor could play different roles in this play.  This is the first time this year that they have not been each other's counterpart.  


Final scene in Charley's Aunt. Erica Farnes, Hayden Call, Erin Crouch, David Barlow, Mackenzy Muir

Some of my favorites from the senior class are in this show.  I am glad I got to see them on stage one last time.  

Busy Week

This week has been full of a lot of different things.
1)  Snow!! We got a Spring snow storm on Monday night, and ended up with a giant branch from our neighbors' tree in our back yard.  Needless to say, Guy spent a lot of time on Thursday night with a chainsaw. 


20 foot branch in our back yard



2)  Getting ready for the school play!!! Yikes, the kids need to get memorized.  I cannot force them to do it.  Also, we have VERY little time to get the set built and painted before the show opens.  We can't build our unit set until March 19th and the show opens 5 days later on the 24th.  We are renting the furniture from CPT and I already have the girl's costumes.  It should turn out fine, as long as the memorization comes soon.

3)  Preston is falling behind in school.  He spends his days doing oragami instead of writing the poems and other assignments during class.  We have spent the last few days playing catch up.  He hates that he cannot play on the computer or watch TV when he is behind in school.  This has been good incentive for him to get his work done.  Preston came home from school sick on Wednesday and stayed home on Thursday also.  He had a low-grade fever and coughing.  Today is Friday and he seems much better, so I sent him to school.  Yea!  

4)  I have spent over 12 hours already this week working at the high school for the Creative Arts Academy's Romeo and Juliet Ballet, and I have at least 10 more hours to go. I will only get paid for 14 hours, oh well.  Good thing I like them and want to help.  Thanks to Guy for holding down the fort. 
5)  Going to start a mini-diet with my mom on Saturday.   I would like to lose the last 20 pounds before Summer vacation.  I can only seem to diet when I have someone to report to and to be accountable to.  Why is that? 

Good Times

     Good Weekend.  Friday night was the siblings party at Marcie's house.  She is a wonderful hostess.  Her house is always lovely and she is such a great cook.  For appetizers we had veggies and dip and a  great pasta salad. For the main course - Swiss Steak, baked potatoes, squash, Lion House rolls, jam, green beans. For dessert - pound cake with vanilla ice cream, home made caramel sauce and whipped cream.  Everything was delicious!!!!  I love visiting with the family.  They have great stories and are entertaining.  We played games and laughed.  I will never forget Adam saying "order born" and everyone thinking he said, "order porn."  Gotta love it.     

Siblings/Birthday party at Marcie's house 2/25/11

   Saturday morning I attended our Stake's Women's Conference.  It was lovely.  They had a general meeting first, and then you could go to 2 of 5 different mini-classes based on the D&C scripture about making your house a house of order, prayer, learning, faith, etc..... I went to the classes on learning and faith.  Then all the women met again in the chapel for the Stake Pres. to speak to everyone.  Afterwards there was lunch (Cafe Rio style salad). Loved the spirit of the entire morning.        Saturday afternoon Guy and I went shopping with Grandma Sheri to help her select new appliances for her kitchen.  She is replacing everything - dishwasher, stove/oven, microwave, refridgerator, and trash compactor.  Between the 20% off sale and the rebate check, she will get about $2,000 off regular price. What a deal! Now all Guy has to do is prep her kitchen so everything fits and the spaces are ready for delivery on Friday.   

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Wearing a red necklace and earrings made by my mother-in-law and given to me for my birthday. 

          Happy Birthday to ME!!! This is me about 10 minutes ago on my 42nd birthday.  I feel great!  I think 42 is the new 25.

         I was born on a very snowy February 25th. Today is no exception, there is snow.

        Even though a birthday is usually just about you.  Today I cannot help but think about my family. I am blessed. I have a wonderful family. My parents, siblings, husband, in-laws, neices and nephew, and children are amazing people. They help me often. They are generous, funny, kind, spiritual, smart, giving, supportive, loving, and compassionate. I am so glad that everyone lives nearby, as I need a lot of familial help sometimes to get through life.

          I am so proud of my family.  I love it when people recognize the family resemblance or name and ask about my parents or siblings. It is wonderful. I love both the Coles and the Browns and I am grateful for and appreciative of my family.  I love going on family vacations with both "sides" of my family. I think it is cool that the Coles and the Browns both have a tradition of joint family vacations.  I mean, how many families do that?  What were the odds? I am so glad we have each other on this earth and that we can be a Forever Family.  Much love and thanks to all of you!

My Birtday present.  A Citizen Eco-Drive watch. 
I love that I never have to change a battery.  It is charged by the light.



4-Wheeling Fun

So last weekend we went to sunny St. George, UT to visit with Guy's parents.  Notice by the pictures that it was not sunny.  We had constant rain and snow.  The boys went 4-wheeling anyway.  It must be a guy-thing.  It was so cold, there is no way, I would have been out in it. 

Austin and Logan take a break when the sun finally came out. Notice they have their rain-gear on.

Logan looking good in the snow

A foggy and snowy mess, but they had fun anyway.

Preston riding his bike at the St. George skate park.  We finally had sun on Monday, but it was still cold.

Trying new things

We are trying new things at the Brown household. Preston is now obsessed with card tricks and paper folding, and we are getting used to what our computer can do. We thought we would try Netflix for free for one month.  So far, so good.  It is amazing how fast the movies download to your TV.  Because of Netflix, we watch the movie "Groundhog Day" on Groundhog Day.  And we can catch up on previous seasons of our favorite shows - "Chuck" and "Psych." 

Preston has found the wonderful worlds of card tricks and oragami creations.  He has perfected a few card tricks - one that is especially impressive, where he spells out your card one letter/card at a time and the last one he turns over is your card.  It is crazy!!  His hands are a little small for the cards still, but he doesn't care.   

Preston likes paper folding also.  He can fold up tanks, animals, flowers, etc... in a small amount of time.  One of my favorites is the lotus flower.  He has made me several.