Wandering Browns

Playing at the beach... the water was COLD Although this is partially so I can remember what we did in April when we came back to the U.S. to see family, I also thought others might be slightly entertained by our crazy lives and the amount of travel this toddler of ours can handle. My sister, Mariah, was graduating from BYU at the end of April. Austin had a week left of work in the Netherlands so he dropped us off at the Amsterdam airport on Sunday, April 19th. Landon and I flew to Chicago, where I had a midwife appointment scheduled for Monday, April 20th.  We had to pay for the hotel because Austin and I were separating by choice and so Austin booked me at a hotel close to the storage unit. It was not one that we typically stay at, and it was dirty and gross. On top of that, Landon and I were super jet-lagged so we fell asleep early and woke up around 2, went back to sleep at 3 and slept until 5. A grab and go breakfast was set to start at 6. We went downstairs right ...

Receiving her diploma Austin's sister, Emily, graduated! We are so proud of her for all she was able to accomplish while in school at the University of Utah. She did a double major and was very active in her sorority among other things. She is now preparing to apply to law schools this next year.   Yay E BIM! At commencement, President Eyring received an honorary doctorate, and I brushed against his sleeve as I walked in the basketball arena to take my seat. At first, I just thought to myself, "This guy looks really familiar!" and then when I went and sat down I realized, "Oh, that was President Eyring!" The formal processional was canceled due to rain. The speaker was the new Secretary of the VA, and he gave a good speech.  Sisters Auntie Em with our little family It was a rainy weekend in Salt Lake! It rained for both Commencement and Convocation ceremonies, canceling the processionals and making it hard to take picture...

Enjoying the fountain with Aunt Riah We traveled to Salt Lake City the first weekend in May for Austin's sister, Emily's graduation from the University of Utah. After a few weeks apart, Austin was reunited with Landon and I and we are so glad to be back traveling together! On one of the days, we had a free morning and Austin and I attended the Salt Lake temple, and had Austin's parents and my sister, Mariah meet us at Temple Square to show Landon. Landon loves to see temples, and I knew running around Temple Square would be a great way to get the wiggles out after the long car ride from Denver.  Landon loves Grandpa Jim and Grandma Ev! Smiles The Browns at Temple Square! We went to the visitor's center and Landon loved the replica statue of Angel Moroni. He also liked looking at the smaller scale model of the temple. We missed Emily, who was finishing up her finals before graduation! Temple grounds were beautiful- with some tulips still in bloom...

Payson, Utah temple As the last activity as a family for graduation weekend, we attended the Payson, Utah LDS temple open house. Temple open houses are an opportunity for people of all faiths and ages to tour the newly built temple before it is dedicated. After being dedicated, a temple is only open to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are living the key precepts of the church. This is not to push out those that are not living worthily, but in the temple we make promises and covenants that require a higher level of commitment and conversion. Only those ready to accept those covenants are permitted to enter after an interview process with local church leaders. Landon didn't want to take pictures, he wanted to hug Claire! Payson, Utah, is located about 30 minutes south of Provo along I-15. My brother, Greg, came with us on his way to his summer job in southern California. Landon still talks about going inside the temple with Uncle Greg. We tr...

The toddler train When I knew we were coming by Utah for graduations, seeing Robin for the first time in three years topped my list of people outside my family to see. We were roommates while in undergrad, and then kept in touch by hanging out together every so often until we moved away. After that, Robin and I became seasoned blog-stalkers of each other's blogs, and we both lived overseas in unfamiliar areas, which I think gave us an unique understanding of what we were each going through.  We had our first children- both boys, 6 months apart. They met for the first time at our house we rented in Provo for graduation. Robin's sister-in-law also graduated, so she was down in Provo for the day. Landon and Peter got along very well, although they are not quite at the age where they play seamlessly together, they had fun following each other around and playing near each other, with interaction at times.  Peter and Landon liked playing in coolers that my parents bro...

Walking across the stage! I have to admit, between trying to watch out for my toddler son and my mom during all of the graduation festivities, I was not the most diligent photographer. There were three DSLR cameras between the relatives, and so we agreed to share photos, which of course never happens. So anyway, here are the few photos of my sister, Mariah, graduating from BYU that I did capture on my camera. One could call Mariah the blonde sheep of the family. Somehow, she's the only sibling with gorgeous blue eyes and blonde hair. She also has a softer, more amiable personality than the rest of us, which explains why she is going to be an awesome elementary school teacher. She finished her student teaching early and even hosted Landon and I at her house for the days leading up to graduation. When my family came into town, we rented a cute house in Provo so we could cook together and stay all together as a family. Mariah had applied to several jobs already, and received a ...

Rolling down hills with Hannah Last time I was in Utah, Austin and I had just graduated and we were moving across country to Chicago. I was 6 months pregnant and we took off on a plane to find a place to live in the Chicago suburbs, took a trip to Italy, and then came back to Chicago to set up our lives. Needless to say, I had lived there seven years, I was happy to leave it behind, and SUPER excited about going to Italy so it wasn't a very sentimental good-bye. Fast forward three years. Landon had never been to Utah, but knew about BYU from football and basketball games that we sometimes streamed on TV.  Y Mountain, and many new Heritage buildings Along with the excitement of coming to BYU, Landon was super excited to see his aunts and uncles that live in Utah. Aunt Mariah and Uncle Zach picked us up from the airport, then Uncle Greg came over see us. Aunt Hannah joined us for breakfast and showed Landon around her dorm room and the area around the dorms. We saw two mo...