Grandpa Stays The Night

Sadly this will be one of the last times we get to enjoy "Pop's" company for the next 18 months. He and Grandma Jeanine are leaving for their mission to Guatemala. This is such an exciting time for them. They will be returning to the same area Pop's served his mission in when he was 19. How lucky are the people of Guatemala to have such wonderful people who are so passionate about their faith share their lives. The church will be utilizing Pop's Spanish and Jeanine's nursing abilities to teach some of the brightest young minds in Guatemala. They will be working with youth who have completed high school and are seeking a career in the medical profession. I am sure they will be very successful in sharing the light of Christ with these gifted youth and will show them the love of our savior through service. Good luck Pop's and Jeanine, we LOVE you!

Primary Program

Don't they look adorable all dressed up? Yes, I know we are a little biased but if you can't brag about your own childen who can you brag about? The primary children all did a wonderful job and the spirit was so strong. Can you believe they got over 200 children to sit reverently for over an hour? That is one of life's small miracles!

Daimon's Family B-Day Party at the PPP

We celebrated all the family birthday's in September at Peter Piper! That included Daimon, uncle Josh, uncle Russ and cousin Justin. Grandma Teri and Papa Jim surprised Daimon with a shiny new bike. He was so excited about it, he took it for a spin right there in the parking lot. He sure is lucky to have such generous grandparents and such a loving family! Aunt Nicci brought Krispy Kreme's for dessert... those were a big hit too!

Daimon's B-Day Party at School

Daimon chose to bring bags of plain M&M's for his birthday treat! The kids were very excited and Daimon raced around the room passing the treat out and saying to all the kids "Don't worry we have plenty for everyone, I brought 48 bags of M&M's!" It was sooo cute, I couldn't stop laughing!

Do I still get my Money?

Ellie's has been losing her baby teeth lately.  One of them was misplaced, so this is the note she left for the tooth fairy.  She did this all on her own...

-To Tooth Girl

I have lost my tooth in the garbage.  Can I still get money?

-Ellie Brown

Newport Weekend Get-A-Way

As if these two didn't get enough beach time this summer... A surprise weekend get a way was so much fun! Thanks Daddy for taking us all along!

Costa Mesa Omelette Parlor

Ben's last minute business trip to Newport Beach turned into a really fun surprise get a way for me and the kids. We enjoyed a weekend of total relaxation lounging at the pool and hangin' at the beach. We also got to go visit my friend Miss from H.S. and spend the day together while the kids played. Benny worked and we played but he was able to join us for a part of the fun! As always when I am involved we had to EAT some great food to make it a great weekend. This was one of the favorite new breakfast places we found. Their homemade breakfast potatoes were amazing as was the rest of their fare. Daimon was our entertainment during the meal while demonstrating how to "put the moves" on a girl. Ben and I could not stop laughing. This kid has a great mind and you never know where it's going to take you... somewhere unexpected to be sure!

Bunco

Bunco and time with the girls is always a treat! It was a great night of catching up with all the ladies and enjoying a good meal together. Benny is quite proud of his wifes fresh peach pie and felt it was worthy of documentation! We enjoyed BBQ sliders topped with slaw and kettle chips (wierd combination but oh so good together), spinach and berry salad and fresh corn on the cob. The fresh peach pie with raspberry sauce and whipped cream is a treat we anxiously await all year long and are so excited when our peaches finally arrive from Utah! We eat peach everything for days and love every minute of it!

FHE-Peach Cobbler

Yes, the cobbler was soooo good we had to go back for Family Home Evening. What are we going to do when all the Utah peaches are gone???? DREAM! Uncle John and Aunt Marjon and our cute cousins Bradyn and Jace joined us too.

Night Out with the Pacheco's

Great company, great food, great seats..... the makings of a great night out! Minda and Todd are always up for anything and keep the laughs coming. We started the night at Bamboo club, DELICIOUS! Headed to the D'Backs game.... thanks Benny for the great seats! Too bad we lost by 1 in the 10th inning! Jessica Simpson made a special appearance and put on a concert after the game..... we lasted about 1/2 way through the second song, YES IT WAS THAT BAD! When most of the audience leaves a FREE concert, you know it's time to throw in the towel! We finished the night off with fresh peach cobbler topped with vanilla frozen custard from Nielson's Frozen Custard. Can you say died and gone to heaven! Thanks Minda for turning us on to this little bit of heaven!

White Dragons - Win Second Game 3-2

DADDY....... WHERE ARE YOU, YOU'RE LATE?

I thought this was funny so I had to write about it! Wednesday's are extremely busy at our house and I could not be in 2 places at one time so I enlisted Ben to come home and help with some transportation. I told Daimon Daddy would be home at 4:15 and would take him to scouts at 4:30. When Ben wasn't home at EXACTLY 4:15 Daimon started calling his phone over and over and over. Ben wasn't getting good reception so he wasn't able to pick up the call immediately. When he was finally able to pick up Daimon's first statement was "Daddy, where are you? It's 4:15 and you are supposed to be here at 4:15!" Daimon could have cared less about being home by himself but was so concerned about being to scouts on time and did not want Daddy to make him late. I love that Daimon was watching the clock to the exact minute!

POLITICS..... FROM THE MIND OF A 6 YEAR OLD!

Apparently at the age of 6, who will be elected President is a very pressing issue! I was doing Ellie's hair for school this morning and she started talking politics. She and 2 boys in her class have some political opinions of their own. The conversation went something like this......"Grant is obsessed with Obama and thinks he should be President. I don't want him to be President because he's a Democrat and he wants to charge us more money and then we wouldn't have enough to buy the things we want. I already pay a lot of money to tithing and savings and if he charges me more, I just won't have enough. Christian and I think Mccain should be president because he won't charge us more money and he can help our country and that's the most important thing. Let's tell "them" to make Mccain president, OK Mom, can you call and tell them we want Mccain?" If this is the way her mind works at 6, there is no telling what the future holds......

White Dragons - First Game (Win 6-1)

"White Dragons" won their first game and most importantly worked together as a team and had great sportsmanship! For the sake of Ben's mental state I was trying to think of a motivator for Daimon to WANT to kick the ball this year. He loved every minute of soccer last year and spent most of his time on the field shouting encouraging statements to his teammates rather than going after the ball. He was FULL of team spirit and had ZERO competitive spirit! He couldn't wait to play again this year so for a little motivation I told him he would get a quarter each time he kicked the ball during games.....all good parents bribe their children with money right???? Well wouldn't you know it, he earned $1.50 for his first game! Who said money was the root of all evil? That boy is sure motivated now.... way to go son! Ben was so inspired by his son's motivation he decided to run home from the game..... in his state of elation he misjudged the time and temperature and his speculated 1/2 hour run turned into 1 1/2 hours in over 100 degree weather! Maybe I should have promised him quarters too!

Grandma Brown's 90th B-day

90 wonderful years and she still looks amazing! Clea is a true inspiration. Her mind is still sharp as a tack and there's still spring in her step. Watching her eyes glow with complete joy at having all her family together sharing in her special day was so touching! She made sure we all knew she planned on being around for several more birthday's. We love you Grandma Brown!

Best Friends Forever!

Daimon and Ellie had a fun play day with Grandma Teri on Labor Day and they took silly pictures together. She took them to the movie "Journey To the Center Of the Earth" Which they especially loved becuase of the REAL 3D glasses. They have been wearing them constantly! They also painted pottery (pictures to come later.) They always love spending time with Grandparents and are blessed to be so loved.