Beauty, Destruction and Renewal

One week Matt decided that he needed a break and thought that camping would be really fun. So we put the camper up, cleaned it out, loaded it up and headed to Gunlock Resevoir. It was raining something fierce the first day and we wondered why in the world would we be subject ourselves to this weather (especially, when Gunlock is only 20 min away from home,) but we stuck it out, even with the roof leaking on the popup camper and we got payoff the next day! The weather turned out chilly but beautiful. We took the 4 wheeler up to these beautiful waterfalls that were created with the over flow of Gunlock Resevoir. This was for me the highlight of our trip!


Now, All around us on the ATV there was beauty and also destruction. Well, I was thinking about that, "How can their be beauty and ALSO destruction at the same time?" and I started thinking about trials and tribulations. Without the trials and tribulations, you would never know what joy was when it came because, all happiness and no trials does not show us the sweetness of the happiness. The same thing has happened with the destruction of the Flood from one year ago. As you can see in the pictures, the resevoir is at its highest, which is not always good, but it has also produced this beautiful run-off over the red rocks which has created such a beauty that it took my breath away when we first turned the corner into Gunlock. I had to see those water falls and so because of that need Matt took me out and let me wander around while he entertained the kids with a ride on the ATV. I had my trusty little digital camera, and headed out with the dog so that if something happened I wasn't alone and Matt could find me since the dog barks when things happen!

There use to be campgrounds all around the resevoir on both sides but after the flood the campgrounds are only on the side where the main road runs. I got to wander the uninhabited side because Matt drove right through the river....

I found before the waterfall a ton of downed trees which were becoming weathered and soft to the touch, but I also found mangled, bleachers (from the rodeo sight about the resevoir,) various household items and more trees.. This caused a clog over the dam, which is what created the movement of the overflow into the red rocks.

What is amazing to me is the Renewal that has happened! New trees have started to come up, flowers in places they never where before because people where always trudging through the red dirt and rocks, I found in the Renewal a hope for all that is good, all that is worth living for.
I understand that we can never take for granted what our Heavenly Father has given to us to make our lives beautiful, if life had no color all would be grey and boring, and I for one love all the many colors, sounds and smells of what we have in our little garden of Eden(southern Utah,) in this part of the universe!



 

Ahh the fun you can have when you go camping!!!

 

Mckenna the Drama Queeen

Drama Queen: To over dramatize anything that happens to you....

Does anyone not know that I have one of those? Maybe it is because this sweet little Mckenna Marie is surrounded by not just a Drama Mama, but also 2 Drama Princes and a very noble King. But when we heard the song Teenage Drama Queen from the sound track "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," starring Lindsey Lohan we knew that this would be Mckenna's solo song this year!

Mckenna's first solo was held at Dixie College and she came in 2nd place in the queen division. Now, this might not sound so great to you, but because she won Queen last year she had to move into the intermediate division this year and so she was competeing with girls so much older than her! Most of these girls routines included very numerous gymnastics moves and Mckenna's was strictly, what the competition was Dance! She had very many challenging turns (which her teacher and others, tell her are usually only done by girls in jr high and high school,) and danced to a very fast song!

We are very proud of Mckenna, we think that if she does her best and is having fun then that is all that matters, after all it is her choice to do this, we just pay the bills!

After a long day of dancing, and waiting the time for awards has finally come and the ruling is........
Mckenna Marie Brower: 2nd place in the Queen division!!!!


Way to go Mckenna! on to the next solo: April 21st 2oo6, Dixie college for America On Stage competitions!

Spring Break the fairy tale

Once upon a time there were two families (the Brower and Wilson families,) who got the same idea at the same time to go to Disneyland during Spring Break. One family (Browers,) decided that they were going to go to get the dodge out of the snow, the other because they hadn't had a family vacation in years. So one day the two moms (Sandi and Nola,) were talking and found out that each family was going to the same place at the same time and staying in the same hotel. They decided that this is the fun that they had needed for a while and since all of their kids (except for one, Brooke,) were the same ages, they would spend two days together so that all the daring ones could go on the daring rides and the meek ones could stay on the less daring rides.

But alas, sadness set in because one of the really handsome boys in the family realized that he could not go because he had really awesome baseball practices to go to which his coaches decided needed to be held during their vacation days, (but on the bright side he was able to hang out with his 2 best buddies while the fam, was gone!) Sadness set in for 2 other kids (Maria and Jesse,) with the realization that they just lost their daring companion that was going to go on the Tower of Terror with them and maybe just maybe talk the meek one into going on the Tower also. But endure they did and had a great time,

But the best time of all was the two younger boys (Kyler and Westin,) and the three youngest girls (Mckenna, Kristy and Brooke!)
The younger boys were destined to be friends and yet over the past 6 years they had never played together (maybe it is because they were a year apart, or because they are both so alike, they were too shy to talk to each other?)
But this was the trip to end all that shyness and become the best of friends! They rode all rides together because like I said they were so much alike that they had everything in common!:)

But the most excellent of times was had by those 3 little girls, for 2 very different reasons! Two of those little girls had been the best of friends for 6 years and since this trip was about one of those 2 girls doing really awesome in last years dance competitions, they were looking forward to all the time that they were able to spend together without having to go to school during the day.
The other reason that this was exciting for them was that a sweet little 4 year old girl had never been to Disneyland (well, actually, neither had the 2 Brower children,) and She really wanted to see the Princesses and so to her hearts delight (and this authors, too,) she saw all the princess, found magic in the parades, loved the fireworks and hung around with two of the coolest 9 year olds, 2 really fun moms and was played with by the other two adults and for her and the 4 older kids relief didn't have to be babysat or entertained by annoying pretweens or teenagers.

Ahhh! Disneyland, there is a reason why (sorry, to say mom and dad,) I love Disneyland the most: It is a lot more fun packed because it can all be done in one day and then you get to ride all the roller coaster stuff in California Adventure another day and still have time to spend at Disneyland again that night.

One thing that I have learned for this trip (and no, dad it is not to, not go with other people, that was fun to me ) is that you always need to have a little person that has never been to such a place as Disneyland, have the magic glow in their eyes, see the rides, the environment through their tender little spirits and decide that Yes, you can be 4 years old again if only through association. Nola and I had a blast with that sweet little Brooke being pushed along in her stroller, yes, we did have waits of over 50 minutes (as I said, it was spring break,) and yes, we had some really cranky people yell at us, for thinking that we cut in line when we didn't, but the joy of Disney (anywhere,) is that children is what this place is about.

Well, as a side not: I am not really sure that children is really what this place is about, maybe I should say the young in heart, since 3 of us, spent the evening the first night all to ourselves riding all the daring rides to our hearts content without the children complaining, without husbands, brothers and other being tired and to top of the evening the one ride that this author really wanted to go on (besides Pirates, which was closed for remodeling,) opened only after the fireworks and it was walkon available for 3 times: my favorite : Thunder Mountain Train ride!
Kyler and Mckenna riding on the safari ride, kyler loved this since he loves all nature and animals. We think he is going to be a botonist or a zoologist!











Ahh, Matt, he never looks at the camera! Even though we have been to Disneyworld a million times and Disneyland a few, he really enjoyed this trip! But he does admit that he will not be going to a Disney anything for a long time, it has just been too many visits.

as a side bar: this was Matt and I's first trip back since our car accident. ( matt and devin when for a violin tour a few years back, but not with me.)




Who doesn't love Pluto or mikey and Minnie, I just had to throw them in!  

Riddle of the past month

Riddle? What does the Matterhorn and Three little girls have in common?


Answer: They can only be seen at Disneyland and were all seen nightly March 13th and 14th 2006 !  

Flurries continue on Day Three

Sunday Morning, looking out of my window, and a primary song comes to mind: Snow is falling all around, on the house tops on the ground, Snow is falling on my nose, on my head and hands and toes!





Snow is peaceful,
Snow is cold,
But after three days,
it can get really old!



Another Primary song: Once there was a SnowMan, Snowman Snowman... Tall, Tall, Tall.








No, really, the snow is really beautiful, the kids have had a blast and it won't be wearing on me for long (since it is melting and because we are heading to California today, to go to Disneyland for two days! This is Mckenna's payoff for placing at the Queen level for dance last year!) 

Day one Rolls into Day two

Is This Spring or Winter? You decide!

 

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

So, Devin's dreams have come true! He has made it to what he consideres the BIG TIME for his teenage years. He made it onto the baseball team for Snow Canyon Warriors! What a hectic week though...

First it started out with Tryouts on Tuesday, February 27th, and Wednesday, February 28th. Then it was the list of who made it onto the team (or so we thought,) on Wednesday night! There were 19 kids listed on the roster for the Freshman/Sophmore team- we thought that was an aweful lot of players, but figuared that the coaches knew what they were doing. Then Devin went Thursday, March 1st to what we thought was his first team practice, to him coming home to tell me that there was one more cut list to go! AHHH! Was I sick to my stomach when he and his friend Mark told me that. I had already made congratulation signs and everything and here it might not happen.
Well at 7:30 that night we all drove Devin and Mark to the High School so that they could look at the list. Kids were standing around and it looked like the list had not been put up yet (from my point of view- since I was sitting in the car,) Then Matt walks to the car and looks really upset and Devin and Mark are still sitting looking at the wall, Matt gets in the car and shakes his head like he is really sad and then gives me this big smile! I really wanted to punch him for playing games with my worry!
I really like the way girls handle things better, they look at a list, they turn to their friends and they jump up and down screaming about how they made such and such a thing, they hug and then they talk about it for hours! Boys, they just look, walk away and then get in the car and smile and then go on their way, no talking about it, (except for who got cut, only 1 kid off the roster- so there are still 18 kids! I feel really bad for that one kid- why didn't they cut him on the first cut, why only one? Well, for that answer we go to the talking heads- who say that they wanted to no discourage those kids who they will need to be on the varsity team the year that Devin is a senior, so they left them on the team- most of the time, if kids get cut, they don't come back the next year .)

I am so excited for Devin- after that first cut I was estatic, but then I was so nervous if they were going to cut down the roster to 11 kids when there are 7 sophomores and 11 freshman, who would they cut first? Of course the freshman- Matt said that he wasn't that nervous, because Devin is a Pitcher and they always need tons of pitchers, and lucky for us there are only 2 sophmore pitchers!

Devin's first game was last Tuesday, they played Canyon View (from Cedar,) and won! By the way, you can follow along on wins etc... on the school baseball page (see http://http://eteamz.active.com/Warriorball1/schedules/index.cfm?season=399619&division=2950970&cat=597821&show=overview&iRowShowOverride=30)
During the middle of the game it started raining and so they had to stop for 20 minutes until it was decent enough to continue play! Devin pitched 3 innings and did awesome, he was so excited to be pitching in the very first game.

The next day they played Dixie and were tied until the 9th inning where Dixie ended up winning by 1 point. :(
It was a good game though, we just left to many kids on base and had a rotten call by the ref (isn't that always the case?)

Devin's next game is this Wednesday coming up. All three of these games are preseason and so they don't count for tourney play but they still are great for the kids moral!

This is what was at the end of the rain before the game resumed.




We thought the win was the pot of Gold!

A day at the Slopes

Tyler, Mckenna, Devin, Kyler and Terra (in front.)

Mckenna just loving the skiing, but like her mommy did not like the cold!

When we were in Salt Lake the end of December to see Grandpa Fred, the kids and Matt and the 'other' Brower kids and Keith went skiing. The snow was great and they were so happy to be able to hit the slopes! Devin was going through skiing withdrawls and so this satisfied his fix(well, maybe it made him hungrier,) for a little while but just today he said that since it was like a blizzard in Salt Lake, he wants to go again. I don't think that we will be going for another month or so(sorry, Dev,)because of the crazy hours that Matt has been pulling. But don't they look like they had a lot of fun?

I know it has been over a month since these were taken but I just downloaded them onto my computer since Matt had the camera in Alabama with him!

SO.... What's the concensus? Does it stay or does it go?

A Before shot















AND....




Here I am with my well, not so new color.
Matt loves, it, I love it, friends say they have a hard time recognizing me and Now, I am wondering what my family whom I have known since I had black, then tow, then "sandy" blonde hair think about my new hair color.
Matt says that it makes my brown eyes really pop!

So, come on guys(or gals) I welcome all comments!

A funny thing happened on our way to the family christmas letter!

We needed a family picture that wasn't so staged looking, but also wasn't so informal that it had that nice fake background that the photographers use (which Matt really hates,) so we started snapping pictures under protest from me, since I felt as though I was dead and knew that I didn't look like I was part of a happy family, but it needed to be done and since I had been sick for weeks it just seemed as if I would never have time before Christmas to look normal! We had gotten our Christmas tree the week before but those pictures were not so flattering to me either, so we decide to start over and use our beautiful living room as the backdrop. What happened turned out to be funny and then ended up with us just hoping that something turned out to be presentable enough for other's to see.

The funniest part of the whole session was when Kyler decided that he wanted to play the piano, a very loud song (that really annoys all of us! sortof like my 7 am wake up song when I was younger,) and the other two had had enough and didn't want to have anything to do with the piano or anything close to it's proximity! While devin gave the dirty looks, Matt decided that Mckenna should be giving Kyler a dirty look too and what you see is what we got on the camera! The funny thing is, is that while I snapped the picture Kyler had actually ended his song and Devin started waving me off because he had finally realized what I was doing and so it ended up looking staged! What do you think?

this too was put in the to be published file, but didn't get published, thanks for humoring me! ~S~

Friendship!

While Mckenna has been working so hard on her dancing, she has also made friends with a great set of girls! They range in age from sixth grade to her age group of 8 or 9! These are a few of the girls that she hangs out with the most! Soem of the girls like the very blonde and tall Kylee and the small Kyleigh (next to mckenna on the left,) are part of our car pool, the other girls are friend that she has made over the last few months but are on the same dance team- "ON BEAT!"
The girls were able to march in the Dixie rotary bowl parade and they had a great time! After that they had a few hours and then they were off to dancing at the Dicken's festival. They all looked great on stage and are progressing so well towards their competition time!

This was something that I had in the to be published file, but didn't get done on time. Hope you enjoy! 

Life~ and Goals (or resolutions!)

Yes, it has been a while since I wrote, I have been sick and running all over the place trying to get my stuff done while working at the Elementary school lunch room. I can't believe that one hour can feel like eternity sometimes. I feel as though that hour was more like 8 hours sometimes, maybe it is because I would go to the gym after the kids left for school, then run home and get cleaned up and then go to the lunch room, the only problem is that by the time I got home, ate my own lunch, then it was time for Kyler to come home, then Devin and then Mckenna and then start running around with all their activities. When you are sick (which had been going on for almost 2 months,) everything seems to be even more chaotic and so now 2 antibotics and sinus medication treatments later, I am starting to feel better( I have had the flu, strep and a sinus infection- all rolled into one long sickness,) I realize that life is not all that bad, Christmas was good, New Years was relaxing and 2006 is starting off to be absolutely beautiful!

Everyone puts on paper (or maybe in their head,) a few resolutions that they will accomplish for the new year, Our family like everyone else also wrote down a few resolutions (I like to take the extra step and make them goals!,) most of mine were started in November (okay a few were written this month too,) so far I am off to a good start but being really sick didn't help with my goal of eating better and working out regularly, but it did give me a good start on the lose a pound a week! Matt says that is the best way to lose weight instead of dramatic loses and then flatening out since your burned out.

When I workout I usually like to run on the treadmill, and until my healspurs decided to come along I was doing really well, but then I had to learn to do something else instead! It is too cold to ride my bike outside with the beautiful setting of the red rocks, and so I have learned to really love riding on the stationary bike and watching ER and Judging Amy on TNT at the Gym instead! I also added Strength training which while frustrating, (since I was curling 20 pounds before I got sick and now only curl 10 pounds,) really feels exhilirating. I finally understand that our bodies are made to move and while in the past I was moving, I was more like sightseeing through my life and not enjoying this gift that God has given to me ; good health (ok, not the last few months,) an unusually brillant mind :), a loving family which consists of fabulous parents, loving brothers and sisters, a aunt that treats me like a princess, a great husband who loves me, and spoils me to no end and very beautiful, active children that are always in full blast mode!
They say that exercise is good for your sense of being and when you are depressed to get out and find something to keep you moving, well, that is true! I feel so healthy (not the nonstuffy, noncongestion type of healthy, but the living life to the best type of healthy!)

I think that some of this sense of well being is the fact that I have 2 chapters left of the Book of Mormon challenge, I realize that the challenge was for fininshing in December but since I had 5 books to read on Joseph Smith for our ward Christmas play, I figuared that President Hinckley would be okay with me being 2 weeks late! I don't think that I have read the Book of Mormon ever straight through and I love finally getting all the stories and history straight into my brain and really enjoying them. It is tragic that the Nephites who have been given so much, destroy themselves by loosing so much of what they have been taught and turning down the wrong path. Which hey, happens alot and yet they still never learn! I guess that When Joseph Smith said that this was written for our day, he was right, we like the Nephites are happy to do what is asked if life is a breeze, but heaven forbid if life gets hard- do we actually smile and just keep plugging along with out murmuring? Well, some do, but not most, they start forgetting the things they are taught and just live life the easies way they know how! Hey, sometimes I do that with parenting, it is easier to fall back into the old habits and not have it work and get all upset with the kids, instead of doing what I know is right, because I am too tired to think of the better way. So, unlike the Nephites, I get up after I stumble, and keep plugging on with hope that life will get better!

But as of Right now, I am in that happy path and I hope to keep it going! 

Ahh Winter! What Christmas is coming?! And other Musings...

Winter is here and in Santa Clara it is cold!!! But not as cold as it is in Provo. Here I sit watching the news while I am coughing, sneezing and feeling achy. Yet, I am thinking about how beautiful that white stuff is, but thankful that it is not here where I live. I am sure that there are others out there that feel the same way! Right Dad?

Anyway, with Winter is the knowledge that Christmas is coming, and the joy and stress of finding the right gift for those that you love. My friend Andrea keeps asking me what I want and I just keep telling her that I just want her friendship and yet, presents are fun! But Ireally don't think that I NEED anything for Christmas except time with family and friends.

Maybe it is because I know that there are things that the kids need, Mckenna a dresser and a new mattress, Kyler doesn't really need anything, but want's a XBox 360, which he will not be getting since it cost $300! and Devin needs his room decorated and new bike since he has outgrown his so much that his legs hurt when he rides. But the biggest thing that Devin wants is a new IPOD. Wow, that one cost anywhere from $299 to$499 depending on how many Gigibites you want.

But, I guess, none of that stuff is really anything that anyone really NEEDS to live life. Yes, I would like Mckenna to have a dresser so that her clothes are not sitting on her closet floor, yes, a new mattress would be great since then she would be more peaceful sleeping, but does Devin really NEED that room decorated or the IPOD? Does he really NEED a Bike? Not really, but I know that it something that he WANTS. And what is Christmas for kids, but for Wanting gifts??? Will they get what they want? Not the expensive stuff, will they get games, and clothes, and new movies and Cd's? Yes, but most importantly they will be getting family time with there parents who love them, while they are skiing during the Christmas Break. They will be storing memories to hold in their hearts when the hard times come and they can look back on the fun times and smile.

Like I do with my childhood memories, the skates that I used on Zanadu Hill, the dolls that my sisters and I played with, the Greenmachine that Jennifer and I rode all over, but especially, my mom taking me to the movies at the Scera Movie theater, walking to McDonalds and having apple pies and hot cocoa, building snow men and making snow angels. Playing games whether they were with our parents or with the older "kid" games which had missing pieces, but nevertheless were our very own to play with whenever we wanted. Or, going sledding in the mountains, or the Murray Park hill and freezing, but having the time of our lives! Those were great times and I cherish them dearly, and that is what I want for Christmas for my kids, matt and I to have, more wonderful memories to hold in our hearts for those times when we are apart.

So, we start our memory making time with our Christmas Tree cutting day and move on from there to our 12 Days of Christmas Santa Elves gifts to a family that might need a little something to look foward to also and build laughs about how close the family got to finding out who was giving them gifts like a few years ago. Those are the gifts that I want to give my family good, clean fun, good memories and the biggest gift of understanding what Christmas is really all about, the Saviour giving us the best gift of all~ the gift of Choice and also Eternal life! So, we do our Nativity stories and watch Mr. Krueger's Christmas, and read all the fun stories that help bring the spirit into the season and hopefully that will be looked back on fondly also.

And with that thought, for those of you that are included in my memories, I thank you for your love, for those of you who are brand new in our family; like Josh, I look forward to building memories with you too.

Love to all, Sandi

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays~

How many Birthday's can one family have in November? Well in my immediate family we have 4 and then one niece.

I love November it brings the color changing of the leaves, crisp cool air and the yummy smells of baking and soup, but at our house it also brings a lot of birthday cake and friends swarming in the house. This year was no different! We started with Kyler's birthday here was a pre-tween who had TWO parties, how is that possible do you say? Well, Kyler decided to have a party at the local indoor swimming pool which only a few friends could come since they also had basketball camp that weekend. We didn't know about camp because Kyler isn't playing basketball, so a few of his friends didn't go to camp so that they could spend the day with Kyler which we thought was really nice of them! Then after he recieved his birthday present from us, he decided that he need to have a party with all of his friends and Devin's friends so that they could have a paintball war! This is the biggest rage in the neighborhood. Paintballing is a very expensive habit, but it does keep the kids doing their jobs and not whinning about it so that they have allowance money for paintballs.
Kyler also had a very large friend come and play paintball with the kids~ Matt wanted to play and the kids loved having him, so much so that they asked him to play again the next Saturday, but heavens, he couldn't play because the big game was on... BYU vs. UofU! That was a great day (well, maybe not for BYU fans, or our friends,) especially since we watched the game with friends, had a tailgate party and delicious cake and icecream for Devin's birthday celebration that he had for his 15th birthday.

Devin decided that he was having a Paintball party also and had invited all his friends, and Kyler's friends and then sad for Devin his gun was jammed with a paintball and the game was over for him. His friends (and Kyler for that matter,) kept playing and then decided that it wasn't cool for them to be playing while Devin was gone and came back to watch the rest of the game. We all know how that game turned out so we won't talk about it- unless your Matt and he will talk about it over and over again! hehehe...

I can not believe that Kyler is really 12 and Devin is really 15! I remember being each of these ages and I am sad that it is going so fast! Where is the time going? I am sure that we all ask ourselves this same question over the years and the answer is never easy to take. The answer is that, Time goes forward and because of that our children get older, we get older and those around us get older. I know someday that I will be so old that I will forget what it was like to be young, but I also believe that the saying of "your only as young as you feel" is still good for me. I think it is fun to be thought of as Devin's sister at times, (i am not sure it is for him, but usually he just laughs and goes along with it and make it all a joke,) I think it is great that people have a hard time believing that I am 36 years old, have been married for 18 years and have 3 kids with Devin being 15 and yes, I was old enough to have him and be married! I have had that alot in the last few months, usually some younger person that is very unexpecting of the answer and the shock shows on their face as if they were slapped with the reality of it all. But I also hate it when sometimes people don't take me seriously because they think that I am younger than I am. That makes it frustrating to be so young looking. But that is usually in the minority of my experiences, so it's not so bad.

Okay, so we have had lots of birthdays and I hope that everyone who has had a birthday in the last month knows how much I love them and that I love being part of this family, mine and yours! I love you all.

Oh, by the way, I would have put in pictures, but my computer is down and so I am using Matt's laptop to finish this post. I started it weeks ago, but didn't have time to finish and then the computer crashed and I decided it might never get done if I don't do it now. So, please forgive me for no pictures, but you will have some soon. Well, okay, not as soon as you think, but within the month. Love to all, Sandi