A few days after Christmas we went up to a nearby hill to go sledding. We had lots of beautiful snow, and it wasn't all that cold(only 20 degrees!). Jake and Nick loved it. This is the first year that they really appreciate sledding. In fact they didn't want to leave. They could have been there all day.
Yesterday we went with our cousins to the Milwaukee Public Museum. We got to walk through old European Villages, Indian Exhibits, Dinosaurs, and the butterfly exhibit. We had a great time. Nick was afraid of the rain forest. Jake liked the butterflies, even though he didn't want any to land of him. And Caleb liked the big elephant. Megan, didn't care, she just loved to yell in the echo-y halls to hear her own voice.
Merry Christmas!
We were fortunate to have a white Christmas. The boys have enjoyed being out in the snow. They especially love to have Grandpa pull them around on their sled on the tractor. Caleb doesn't like the sleds much; he would rather make snow angels.
We were able to sit on Santa's lap many times this year already. The boys have been so excited, but are starting to wonder why he looks different each time. (Some are Santa's helpers!) But this one is the real one, cause he knew Jacob's name (from his present). Christmas is magical.
For anyone in the Brown family(or anyone else that knows Curtis really well), does this picture remind you of anyone?
We put the tree up last week. Caleb kept putting all the ornaments in the same spot. Jake was singing Christmas carols. Megan was eating ornaments. And Nick was outside playing with friends, he didn't want to help. It was fun. And Caleb rearranges the ornaments daily. I plan on leaving the tree up til Curtis comes home mid-January, but it might have to go sooner!
Megan has learned a few tricks from her brother. She now thinks that it is ok to get into EVERYTHING! So now I go from room to room cleaning up messes from 2 children!
Megan got her 1 year picture taken at the beginning of the month. Here are some of our favorites. She sure looks sweet and innocent, but we know better!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We had a great time here in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. It was good to be with family, and feel like I could relax a bit.
Here is a little video of Megan walking. I took it mainly for Curtis, but you can all enjoy it too.
The boys got their school pictures taken. They look pretty good. It amazes me to think that I have a 2nd grader and a Kindergartner. I feel old!
Here is Caleb at one of his stranger moments. He decided to put on his brother's pajamas over his clothes. Then drank a large glass of Kool-Aid, making a mustache. Then fed Megan's baby. He certainly looks a little strange.
Jerome--this is for you! And anyone else too, that wants it!
curtis.brown@adab.centaf.af.mil
Nick's kindergarten class went to the circus on Friday. I was lucky enough to be able to go with. We had a great time. The kids loved it. It was my first trip to a circus, so I was probably more excited than Nick!
Caleb has been rotten since Curtis left--extra rotten!! Everyday I wonder what he can possibly do to me today. Some things are mild, like getting into my lipstick. Other things are not so mild, like shoving an entire roll of toilet paper down the toilet then flushing, then not telling me until we have people over at our house!! So sweet!
Today it must have been so hard to think up naughty things that he actually fell asleep at the table. We weren't even eating. But at least he was still and not flushing toilet paper!
So today was the big day!! Megan turned 1 and the boys FINALLY got to trick-or-treat. We had a great time. It was chilly but we just kept moving to warm up. Caleb was a polite little trick-or-treater; he would say thank you over and over again until the person handing out candy would acknowledge him. It was cute! But he came out with the most candy--lots of chocolate for mom!
We had Megan's 1st birthday party on Saturday! It was a beautiful fall day. We carved pumpkins and played games. And of course, we had chocolate cake!! We had a great time; the only thing we missed was Daddy!!
We went a couple of days ago to a Fall Festival for the school. The kids were able to dress up in their costumes(which they had been asking me to do for a week now!). They were loving it! Jake is Darth Vader, Nick is Anakin Skywalker, and Caleb is Diego! Megan is some kind of pumpkin or fairy or something; I don't know it is just cute! They had fun and can't wait to trick-or-treat!
I love this picture with Megan standing near her newborn cousin. It shows how quickly they grow in one year. It is sad and exciting all at the same time.
I hope this works. While at the children's museum, Megan and Caleb played in the toddler area. Megan liked the soft stairs. She thought that she was pretty tough stuff. She made me nervous, but the landing was soft.
We went out to Georgia to help my sister after she had her baby. It was really amazing. It was the first birth that I have seen. Her name is Olivia. She was born on October 8th. She was 5# 12oz and was 19 inches long. 
Georgia was beautiful. We had a great time. And the boys especially liked missing school!
Today was Cowboy and Indian day at school for Homecoming Week. They were loving it that they could be cowboys at school. It down poured rain as they got off the bus so they are a little wet!
Caleb found the bottle of baby powder today while he was supposed to be using the potty. He poured it everywhere, but at least it smells nice!
To keep with Curtis' deployment traditions, Nick got pneumonia. He tends to wait until his dad is gone to do such things. Fortunately, with breathing treatments, he can keep his oxygen levels up enough that he doesn't have to stay at the hospital. So he takes lots of medicine and gets hooked up to a machine every 3 hours. But you know how deployment troubles run, they come in 3's. So wish me luck!
Caleb LOVES to get into my closet and find my shoes. He thinks that they are "pretty"!! But at least when he is trying on shoes, he isn't making a huge mess somewhere!
They are both the same slide show. I don't know what I did wrong. Hopefully I will do better next time.
Curtis called me yesterday to tell me that he had finally arrived in UAE. His plane was delayed in Norfolk, VA for an extra day. When he got to the firestation there, he found that he knew some of the guys there from Japan. One of them is a newer convert to the church. The world seems to get smaller and smaller the more places we move!
