The haircut

Brian finally did it. The buzz haircut. He has been wanting to do it for a while, but was afraid of how people would react. Sharri's first reaction was, "How come you cut it so short?" The kids are still not sure who the strange dad is. Brian had this kind of haircut during his childhood and loved it, so now he is reliving his childhood fame. Leave us a comment on what you think.

Erika & Cortney at EFY

Erika and her cousin Cortney had the opportunity to attend EFY (Especially for Youth) this past week at BYU. The theme was STEADY & SURE.
It was a full, five-day, overnight program which began on Monday afternoon and concluded early Saturday morning. They had the opportunity to learn and grow together while attending classes, devotionals and firesides together. Weekly highlights include Family Home Evening, dances, a musical program, a banquet, games night, service projects, a variety show, and a testimony meeting.
They meet other youth from Belgium, Alaska, Connecticut and Australia. Their counselor "Megan" was alot of fun and a little bit crazy at the dance. Erika also suffered from blisters on her feet, from walking to the Wilkenson center and back to Heritage Halls. Erika & Cortney were too close to home to be able to call mom to bring them stuff that they had forgotten. If Erika goes next year, she will probably go to Snow College EFY or another EFY out of town.

Ward Campout

After much persuasion, Riley talked us into going to our Ward Campout on Friday & Saturday. It was at Rock Canyon Campground in Provo Canyon and we were to prepare our own dinner and bring a dessert to share. The ward was providing us with breakfast. We left around 6 pm and stopped at Taco Time for dinner. Yeh, we aren't much campers, so we just ate on the way. After 45 minutes up the canyon, we finally arrived with 65 other ward members. We found a place to pitch our tent, and yes we did sleep in a tent. Riley and other younger members, roasted marshmellows and other things, while the teenagers played card games. The adults cooked cobbler and homemade ice cream. We socialized together and then sang primary songs and hymns with one of our members on the guitar. Before we went to our tents, Cameron said that the International Space Station was going to be visible at 10:50 pm. After we saw it cruise across the sky for 5 mintues we decided to retire to the tent at 11:00 pm, but some other campers next to us were up to 12:00 am or later. It was a warm night and some of us slept. It was told that Brian and Sharri have never camped together since they have been married. Brian went on scout campouts and Sharri girls camp, but never together. This was a first and if Riley has anything to do with it, it probably won't be our last. We had to pick up Erika Saturday morning @ 7 am from EFY at BYU, so Sharri left at 6:30 am to go and get her and then returned to camp for our Ward Breakfast.

We had a good time, but came home and cleaned up the camping stuff, washed the very dirty van and took a nap.

Happy Birthday Mom & Grandma !!

Today is Sharri's mom birthday, it is her 45th anniversary of her 21st birthday. She is amazing and a great example to all of us. Last year, she had back surgery, and has been homebound for the past year in a hospital bed. During this time she has been dependant on her husband to work full time, clean the house, grocery shopping, laundry, driving to Dr. appts, meals, etc, etc, etc..... She was able to catch up on all the movies, TV shows, books and most importantly crocheting. She crocheted her new granddaughter her baby blessing dress, 15 beany hats for her daughters YW Girls camp, and the list goes on and on. She was able to retire in January 2008 from Jordan School District Transportation after 33 years of service. Her children were able to do service by providing dinners every Sunday, and her ward Relief Society during the week.

About a month ago, she had a spinal cord stimulator put in to help with the constant pain from her back to her ankles. She has been able to go to church, the grocery store, THE CRAFT STORE, and drive herself to many places. This has been a blessing long awaited and truly a miracle of technology.

SO HATS OFF TO MY MOM & GRANDMA!! We love you tons and tons.

Sky coaster - eeek!!

Last Thursday, our family spent the day at Lagoon. We had a fabulous time riding the new ride, "Wicked", Rattlesnake Rapids, The Rocket, The Spider and Colossus.

One of the highlights, is Brian and Sharri riding the Sky Coaster. For those that do not know what the Sky Coaster is, well in short, it offers all the thrills and excitement of skydiving and hang gliding.

It is approximately 150 feet above the ground. Upon being given the signal, the flyers pull the rip cord, releasing them from the launch cable and rapidly swing towards the ground at speeds reaching up to 80 mph. The overall feeling is similar to that of swooping along the ground in a hang glider, or that of skydiving. Also, a free fall of 60 feet or more on the first swing.

Brian was excited, but Sharri, a little bit hesitant, but still willing. After an hour and a half waiting and watching other participants, we finally were on our way. The operator told us that after the first swing out, that we could let go of each others arms and put our arms out as if we were flying. Our neighbors, said that Sharri gave out a deathwish scream and did not let go of Brian's arm.

When asked if we would do it again, Brian said, of course, but Sharri, still a little hesitant, but would probably do it again. Our neighbor, Amanda Autrey who is 17 years old, said "You rock Sister Brown! What mom would do such a ride and talk about it after!"

Here we go

Okay, we are finally doing this family blog thing. We were resistant, but we are going to try it, even though most of our family are in town. We have had a few friends ask us if we have a family blog and my sister and brother have one, so here we go.