Happy Birthday to the LOVE OF MY LIFE!!

Chip doesn't like being the center of attention. He doesn't like people to make a big deal about him. He would never make it a point to tell you that it is his birthday. Some people want special treatment on their birthday. They want the world to know that it is their day and they want the world to celebrate. Not Chip.

But I am excited that it is Chip's birthday today.

Twenty-seven years ago God blessed my mother and father in law with a new baby boy who they called Stephen Paul Brown. His birth has caused me to greatly respect the woman who is now my mother in law.....not just because her baby boy is now my husband....but also because her baby boy weighed close to 12lbs at birth. WOW! You would never know it if you looked at him now. But he was one BIG baby!


This is the 5th birthday of Chip's that I have been blessed to celebrate with him...and I hope to celebrate many many more with him. Chip may have been born 27 years ago...but if you ask him, he has been 19 for the past couple years, and will probably still be 19 this year too. He was 18 on his first few birthdays that I celebrated with him (even though he'd been alive for 22 years at that point)...and stayed 18 until 2 years ago when Kenzie was born. He felt like since he was a dad he should turn 19 that year. Maybe when we have 3 kids he'll decide its time to say goodbye to the teenage years and turn 20....maybe not : ) But no matter how old he wants to be, or how old he really is, I am still so thankful that God gave Chip as a gift...first to his parents to raise, and now to me to journey through life with and raise a family with. Chip is the best husband a girl could ever ask for and such a wonderful father to our children. He is more than I could have dreamed up and truly my best friend and dearest love.



Happy Birthday, Chip. I love you with all of my heart!

Love, Your Dani xoxo

Fun this past week!

This past week has been a fun one : ) Here are a few things we enjoyed!

On Monday night we used Chip and Kenzie's birthday club coupons for free meals from Red Robin and free Cold Stone Creamy and had a SUPER cheap family date night : )


Kenzie had fun dumping out all of the sugar/sweeteners all over the table.


Once again...she couldn't get enough of the lemon slices!


She was so excited to get a birthday balloon!!

The evenings have been a nice time to play outsidel...once the sun starts to go down the temperature cools down to a very pleasant temperature. Kenzie had a great time playing outside with her friend Kingston the other night. Ryken thought he was such a big kid when we let him ride the bike!





This could be dangerous.....




Kenzie climbing up a tree with daddy's help...


Now that the weather has been heating up during the day (mid 90's and even close to 100 already!!) we've been playing with water outside. We did this on Monday and Wednesday this week and the kids LOVED it!






On our second outside day, we were teased by a few small breezes. Chip has been dying to try out his new kite that he got as an early birthday present...so even though we really knew that there was no wind, we decided to go and run around with it a little bit. It was fun..and Chip got a great workout running around trying to get it to "fly".




Kenzie has been having fun doing some crafty things. We got her markers and scissors for her birthday. She loves to color and cut.



Although we have to keep a close eye on her.....unfortunately we've seen what can happen when we don't!!



If you look closely you can see where she cut out a chunk of her hair...


Kenzie and Ryken are getting to be good little playmates. He loves following her around, and most of the time she is happy to have him join in with whatever she is doing. .


He is also becoming quite the little daredevil. Here is where I found him tonight.....and he isn't even 9 months old yet. I have a feeling things are going to get pretty interesting in the next few months.....

Another birthday celebration!!

Chip's Grandma Brown turned 80 this year, the day after little Miss Makenzie turned 2! Chip's aunts and uncles were able to come to Mesa to celebrate her birthday, so last Saturday we all went out for a wonderful dinner at Buca di Beppo's. YUM! We had a great meal as a family.


Chip's mom, dad, and Uncle Greg


Chip's dad, Uncle Greg and Aunt Nancy


Aunt Nancy and Tricia..plus the birthday girl!


(Great) Grandma and Grandpa Brown


Uncle Marty and Aunt Bobbi plus Ryken


Me, Chip and Kenzie

When it was time for cake, Kenzie wanted nothing to do with the cake. Instead, she wanted to eat the lemon slices from our water......so strange!!


Ryken was being his happy little crazy self the whole night. What a goofball.


He was very fascinated with Uncle Marty's beard...and they quickly became good buddies : )


HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA BROWN! We had a wonderful time celebrating the blessing of the wonderful years God has given you and pray for many more!!

Gotta go in order so....Easter Egg Hunt!

Kenzie and Ryken had a great time hunting for their Easter Eggs in Grandma and Grandpa Brown's backyard on Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day with gorgeous weather.....a perfect day to celebrate our Lord's ressurection! Here are some pictures from the day! I have to get caught up...so only a couple pictures.....

Vacation Rundown!!!

DAY 1. March 31st
Our day started bright and early. Chip and I got up at about 5am and finished packing all of the last-minute items. We got the kids up a little before 6am and got them dressed. Chip's grandpa came and picked us up at 6:15am and we headed to the airport.

We made it to the airport and checked in. We headed to the security checkpoint. We had the kids in their double stroller and had two carry on suitcases as well as a carry-on bag and our extra large diaper bag. When we got to the line we were informed that we got to go to the "family line" which really just meant that we got to go to the front of the line....very nice! We made it through security with no problems and headed to our gate where we fed Ryken some breakfast and waited for our flight.


Since Kenzie was under 2 we were able to take her as a "lap-infant" so we didn't have to pay for her seat, but we were VERY lucky and they gave us a seat for her both on the way there and on the way home. This meant we had a full row of three seats which was very helpful! The kids did GREAT on the flight. Both slept quite a bit of the way there and the three and a half hour flight went by pretty fast which was SO nice. I had been SO nervous about the flight since Kenzie had JUST gotten over the flu (and we weren't sure if she over it yet) but everything went great!

On the plane..ready to go!
We got into Indianapolis right on time and Jamie and Ryan picked us up and took us to their wonderful little home!

Day 2. April 1st
We spent Wednesday at Ryan and Jamie's home. The kids had breakfast that morning and then we took a walk with the kids to a small little church playground. Kenzie and Amory had a BLAST running around and getting out some energy. Ryken and Sheldon stayed snuggled up in slings since it was pretty cold and breezy!


Eating breakfast : )



Snoozing Sheldon


Going down the slide : ) Kenzie liked head first!



Climbing up!


Playing in the little house at the playground


Kenzie and Ryken playing at the craft table.


Ryken found this nerf gun dart and LOVED it!

We went back to Jamie and Ryan's house for lunch and then the kids took an afternoon nap. Kenzie wasn't feeling great that afternoon and I stayed upstairs with her most of the afternoon/evening. Ryan took Chip back to the airport to rent our rental car that night. Chip wasn't very happy that he had to make the practical family choice and pass up a new Mustang and get a Subaru Forester.

Day 3. April 2nd
On Thursday we woke up and took our time eating breakfast and getting everything ready to start our "road trip". We finally headed out at about 11:15am. The kids did GREAT in the car. They slept for the first part of the trip and we stopped a little after 1pm for some lunch. We ate, changed diapers, and let the kids run around and stretch. We took our time and got back on the road at about 2:30. We drove a little over 2 hours more and arrived at my grandparents' farm in Hastings, Michigan a little before 5.

That night my aunt, uncle and cousins came over and we grilled hamburgers and had a great time eating and spending time together. It was so much fun to have them all meet my kids! I can so clearly remember playing with my cousins when they were 2 year olds...so to see them as teenagers playing with my OWN 2 year old was pretty crazy!

The kids slept great each night which was a blessing. Kenzie was always on an air mattress between our bed and the wall and Ryken was in a pack'n'play that we were able to borrow from my sister.



We took that dart everywhere with us : )


My cousin Robbie playing with Kenzie and Ryken.


My sweet boy...he was happy he got to eat hamburger!


Kenzie playing the piano with her rearend.


Kenzie was SO excited to get in some Elmo time!


Getting hugs from great aunt Ann!


Giving Papa a hug goodnight.


Giving Mono a hug goodnight.

Day 4. April 3rd
We spent the morning hanging out with my grandparents. My grandpa made us a YUMMY breakfast of pancakes and sausage links...yum!! I had to make a quick trip to Walmart to pick up some odds and ends we found ourselves needing. Then we had a light lunch of ham sandwhiches and chips.

Papa and Ryken


Mono and Ryken


Papa and his girls


Kenzie was in heaven....big tv, paci, & giraffe.


We headed out around 1:30 and stopped in Battle Creek, Michigan to see one of Chip's good friends from Taylor. We spent about an hour seeing him and then took off for Ohio.

Chip & Wichterman

It took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Toledo from Battlecreek. We got in right around dinner time and Liz had gone and picked up Panera for us. We ate and I took a shower and we got ready for some friends to come over to say hi. We had quite a little party! We had a lot of fun seeing old family friends and some of Liz's newer friends.

Day 5. April 4th
The next morning we woke up and headed over to the home of Tim and Jody Hearns. They have known Chip's family since he was little when they lived in Toledo. They live just up the road from Liz and we were able to walk to their house! Even though I have only met Jody a few times, she holds a very special place in my heart, as the few times I HAVE spent with her have been some of the biggest moments of my life! She came out from Ohio for our wedding and helped decorate the church. She did a beautiful job and was just so encouraging during that amazing day! The second time she came out to visit Chip's mom it happened to be during the week that Kenzie was born. She came to visit in the hospital and then after we were home from the hospital she came over with Chip's mom and we all had a picnic out in the grass. So I was really excited to see her again!

They made us the BEST breakfast : )

Fresh fruit, french toast & egg casseroles, and smokies!


The presentation was also amazing!

We spent all morning and into the early afternoon at their home. They were so welcoming and their house was so comfortable. Ryken took a nap and Kenzie played with toys. We sat and talked and had a really good time.


Ryken and Aunt Liz at Tim & Jody's

We went back to Liz's house mid-afternoon and started a game of Monopoly. Kenzie and Ryken took naps. Kenzie had been complaining of pain when she wet her diaper, so after her nap we decided to take her to an urgent care to see if she might have a UTI. They decided to treat her as though she had one but not to do a urine sample since we were leaving the next day. We stopped at Meijer and filler her prescription and headed back to Liz's. We ordered pizza and Tim and Jody brought over a delicious salad and we all watched a final four basketball game. After the game was over, Tim and Jody went home and we finished our game of Monopoly (Chip won....)

Our family with Liz & our family with the Hearns


Day 6. April 5th
We got up on Sunday morning and headed out around 9:30am. We had a 3 hour drive to Taylor to visit Cassie and Zach. We got their right after they got back to campus from church and we all ate lunch together at the DC (dining commons). It was so good to be back on campus. Kenzie LOVED the ice cream cone with sprinkles that she got to eat for dessert.


Ryken loved getting kisses from Aunt Cassie!


She was SOOO excited about that ice cream cone!


mmmm....sprinkles!


We were bummed because it was pouring rain the whole time we were there. We had really wanted to be able to walk around campus and visit all of our favorite places and remember old times, but it was just too wet. But luckily it was open house so we headed back to Cassie's room in Olson and we all hung out for about an hour.


Sisters. Plus a pair of bunny ears.


Ryken with almost Uncle Zach.
The kids started getting grumpy, so Zach and Chip decided to go play racquetball while Cassie and I worked on getting the babies to take a nap. Cassie was able to rock Ryken to sleep and after a long stuggle Kenzie finally gave up and went to sleep too. They both slept for around 2 hours. Zach and Chip showered and Chip went and got a couple Morris frisbees and once the kids were awake he came and picked us up and we all piled in the car and went to Ivanhoe's for dinner. After dinner we went back to Olson and let Kenzie get some energy out. We got the kids ready for bed and left around 9pm to drive back to Jamie and Ryan's house in Indy. It was still raining really hard for parts of the drive and we got there around 10:30pm. We all went in and pretty much went to bed.

Day 7. April 6th
We woke up to another overcast day. Luckily we had already decided it would be fun to take advantage of Jamie and Ryan's year membership at the Children's Museum in Indy. It took ALL morning to get all four kids ready...but we finally made it out the door around 11:30. The kids had a great time playing!!



Ryken thought he was big stuff!


Kenzie in a tunnel. She loved exploring!

That night we got yummy pizza for dinner and then the kids took a bath before bed. They had a blast splashing and playing. Too bad Sheldon wasn't big enough to join the craziness yet!


Cousin bath time!

Chip and I watched the NCAA championship game that night (but I fell asleep halfway though) and then we headed to bed.

Day 8. April 7th
We spent our last day at Jamie and Ryan's just relaxing and getting ready to go home. Our flight wasn't until 6pm, so we got to spend most of the day with Jamie and the boys. Jamie let us do all of our laundry in her amazing large capacity washer and dryer. It was SO nice to come home from a week long vacation with suitcases full of CLEAN clothes : ) Kenzie and Amory spent the day playing on the computer, watching A Bug's Life and playing a little bit too. Sheldon (or as Kenzie would say.."Shelgo") was full of cute faces and was so much fun!


Computer time!


Time for A Bug's Life


Sheldon smiled for the camera...so cute!


Sheldon loves his mama so much!

We left for the airport around 3:30pm. We got there and dropped off the rental car. We checked in and easily made it through security again. We got to our gate and had some dinner. Kenzie LOVED the chicken and french fries. Ryken thought they were pretty good too.


Kenzie loving the fries and chicken.


Ryken also loving the french fries : )

Once again, we got a whole row to ourselves and I am SO GLAD. The flight home was the only hard part of the whole entire trip. The kids got overtired and were having a hard time falling asleep. The crankier they got the more uncomfortable they seemed and the harder it was to keep them happy. Just as they were finally settling down, we started the descent which REALLY bothered Kenzie's ears. I had given her Tylenol but it didn't help. She was that screaming kid that everyone hates on planes, but I felt SO bad for her. You could tell she was in so much pain and we couldn't get her to do anything to help relieve the pressure. She had her pacifier and we tried to get her to eat or drink but she wouldn't calm down enough to try anything. She finally fell asleep 5 minutes before we landed. Ryken fell asleep about 10 minutes before that. So when we landed we let everyone get off of the plane before us and just let the kids sleep for awhile. It was only 7:15 Phoenix time, but it was 10:15 Indiana time and the kids were pooped. Chip's mom and dad picked us up from the airport. It was SO good to be home. The kids were excited to be home and Kenzie wanted to play with all of her toys right away.

The trip was GREAT and we never dreamed that everything would go nearly as well as it did! The Lord really had His hand on all of our traveling. It was such a wonderful time filled with family and friends and we feel so blessed that we were able to take this trip. So that's that! Three states in a week : ) And a great time!