Birthday Portraits

I finally got Ian and Austin's birthday portraits done. They are on the side bar. I can't believe how much Austin has grown this year. I took him in for a well visit this week, and the doctor said he is in a huge growth spurt. He predicts that Austin will be as tall as Don. Crazy. I am going to be this short little person of this family! Ian said the funniest thing yesterday. I could fill a whole blog with all the cute things he says. Well, he was getting ready for a shower one night and while he was getting ready he kept staring into the mirror. I asked him what was wrong and he said that I needed to go and get some sissors.
Me: Why do you need sissors?
Ian: I have decided that my eyelashes are too long and I need to cut them!
My goodness, thank heavens he told me this and didn't just try to cut them himself! I told him that his eyelashes are just fine, and that women would pay big bucks to have such long and pretty eyelashes! What a crazy kid!

President Hinckley

Last night we were reading our scriptures when we got the call from my cousin Scott that President Hinckley had passed away! What a shock. I think it was a shock to us because he has been the President of our church for so long, and seemed so healthy. I guess we just thought he would be with us for many years to come. How silly! I guess his mission here on earth is done. I am sure he had a wonderful reunion with his dear sweet wife who passed away a couple of years ago. We will miss him, but we will never forget the example of service he set for us. He truly lived a Christ-centered life! What an incredible man!!!

President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.
President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.
The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from causes incident to age. Members of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days.

If you want to listen to his testimony, just click on my playlist first and then click the pause button. Also, here are some articles about his life. (picture and video from http://www.lds.org/)
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695247765,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/28hinckley.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

It Took Us Long Enough!

We finally got Austin's football pictures. I know, he played football in the fall. It took us forever to get these pictures from the coach. The coach is in our ward! It is a long story. I wasn't even going to post them, but I decided to do it. The reason I decided to post them (even though they were taken in the fall) is because look at their team name. Yes, they are the Patriots. I thought with the Superbowl coming these pictures would be appropriate! The funny thing is, Austin is not cheering for the Patriots in the Superbowl. He is cheering for the Giants! I wonder where that came from?????

Aubrey's First Concert

Do you remember your first concert? Don's first concert was Sammy Hagar, and my first concert was U2 followed by Billy Joel. Well, Aubrey went to her first concert this week. She was lucky enough to go see Hannah Montana. Our friends the Albrights had an extra ticket and they invited Aubrey to go along with them! So here is Aubrey's experience:
Well, we made "I love Hannah Montana posters". Apparently we couldn't bring them in the concert, so they gave it to her personally. Ally and AJ opened the show. At first it was really loud but I got used to it. Ally, Rachel, and I screamed loud, danced hard, and Hannah Montana told us that when she is singing we have to get up and dance. We had cotton candy. Hannah Montana wore this outfit that was a short dress with black tennis shoes, it was funny. After the concert we got a smoothie. Rachel fell right to sleep on my shoulder. I love Hannah Montana, and I LOVED the concert. I am so grateful that the Albrights offered me their extra ticket. They are good friends. Bye for now, Aubrey
(The Hannah Montana pictures are from a fan web site and the other pictures were taken by Elaine Albright. Thanks!)

Zach's Movie Review

Hey chaps! It's Zach and I have now taken the part time job of reviewing movies on our blog (for those of you who care). So I went and saw Cloverfield. I give it a 6/10. Overall, not a bad movie. It has some scary parts and some terrifying monster action. The fact that it was filmed from a civilian point of view added some emotion to a potential dry monster movie. However, their are some huge flaws. The fact that the film was made from the perspective of a home video camera meant that it was extremely shaky. I got motion sickness and had to leave the theatre momentarily. All of my friends were sick to some degree afterward because of the constant shaking. Also, those of you who are afraid of blood, don't see this movie! Once the combat gets up close and personal, their is tons of blood and exploding bodies that will make some people squeamish. Finally, the fact that the monster doesn't die from a B-2 carpet bombing and the main characters don't die from a helicopter crash is unbelievable. Oh, and don't expect to be happy at the end. Unlike Godzilla or War of the Worlds, the human main characters don't come out on top, in fact they all die. It's worth seeing once for the amazing CGI (Computer Graphic Integration), but keep you barf bag near, you may get a little sick.
Looking forward to reviewing more movies,
Zach

District Award of Merit

Don was nominated to receive the District Award of Merit in the Big Horn District. This is a Boy Scout Award for leaders. Don was nominated by our Stake and then a committee looks at several things in evaluating candidates. They look at their length of service and in what capacity to Scouting. First in the unit, then in the District. Next they look at any council level service and any service they may have given on the National Level. They also look at their commitment to scouting which is evident in their levels of training they have attended and the awards they have received. They also look at their service to their community and their church activity. Well, 12 people were nominated and 7 people received this award. Don received it because "If you want your son to get his Eagle, put him in Don's troop." He is very organized and really takes his calling in Scouting seriously. I don't have a picture of Don receiving this award. He wouldn't let me bring a camera!!!!

Good News

Today Aubrey met with her new doctor to see how bad her scoliosis is. Well, after the x-rays we found out that her back is perfectly straight. She does not have scoliosis. We are so excited for her. The problem is that one of her legs is shorter than the other. Only by 1/4 of an inch. So, when she bends over her back twists which makes her look like she could have scoliosis. The doctor said there is nothing he will do for her now. We just have to go into her regular doctor every 6 to 9 months and have her checked. If this gets worse, we would have to decide what to do for treatment. Aubrey just wanted to thank everyone for how nice everyone has been. People have sent e-mails to her and been so supportive. Thank you!

Walking with Dinosaurs - Live

Ian has been wanting to go see this show for a long time. Finally it came to Las Vegas. We looked into tickets, and as always they were very expensive. Then one day Don received an e-mail from the school district saying that they had cheaper tickets available for employees of the school district. Don put his name in and was lucky enough to get 2 tickets. We didn't tell Ian. Don just came home from the Merit Badge Pow Wow and took him to the Thomas and Mack. Ian had no clue what was going on. Then he looked at Don and said, "This looks like Jurassic Park are we at Walking with Dinosaurs?" He loved it! Don said it was really neat and very educational. Ian was a little scared at first, but he loved it. He loved the T-Rex the best! Don't all little boys? He also loved the flying dinosaurs. Here is the link of the show, http://www.dinosaurlive.com/ . Check it out!

Kids Goofing Around

Hello Again!! It's Zach reporting on the strange and interesting life of the Brasier household. Ha ha! So we where kinda bored on Sunday and decided to become Ninja/Sumo warriors. Aubrey, Ian, and Austin decided to pile pillows under their shirts to improve their massive bulk and fought like the mighty Sumo, but I decided to live by the Ninja code and donned an amazing cape and fought with speed and ferocity of a crouching tiger. Now of course, we all have intense ninja skills so the matches where amazing. However, the massive bulk of my siblings rendered by helpless. As you can see, I got smashed like a pancake. Anyways, the Sumo warriors won the day and it was a blast!

Cousins

These are some of Aubrey's cousins. She loves her cousins. Aubrey loves spending time with them and hanging out with them. That is all she wants to do when she is in Idaho. They are great girls. (Aubrey, Kelly, Rachel, and Megan)

New Member of the Family

For Christmas Santa gave Aubrey a gift card to Petsmart to buy a hamster. Santa already gave her the Pink Princess Castle Cage. She was so excited. She wanted a pet so bad! So after we came home from Idaho, Aubrey went to Petsmart and purchased "Priness Lily". Now you know that Don is in charge of this thing. I told him up front that he will be helping Aubrey with this, not me! She is cute, and very active at night! So, Princess Lily is the new member of the family. Aubrey chose Lily as the name of the hamster because that is the name I would of given Ian if he was a girl. Hmmmmm, I wonder what that is all about?

Rexburg Temple Open House

While we were up in Idaho we went to the Rexburg Temple Open House. Before a temple is dedicated, the church holds an open house and invites everyone in to see it. This was a real special opportunity for the kids. They were able to go through the whole temple. It was very hard to get tickets for this, but I was lucky enough to get some during the time we were there. It is a beautiful temple. The kids really liked going in and seeing it. It was neat to see our children in the Celestial room with us. It really gave me a glimpse of the future! It was neat to see all of us in the temple there, especially since the temple is located right off the BYU Idaho campus. This is where Don and I met! Twenty years ago, who would of thought that Don and I would be standing in the Rexburg Temple with all of our children?

Aubrey Playing in the Snow

Aubrey didn't go to Island Park with us. She stayed at her cousin's house and played. So the next day we let Aubrey go outside and play in the snow at Grandpa and Grandma Brasier's house. She loved it. It was cold, but she had a blast.

Moments Never to be Forgotten

While we were in Idaho Zachery and Ian shared a bed. One night we came home late and Ian fell asleep on the couch while Don and his Dad watched a football game. I asked Don to bring Ian downstairs to bed when he came downstairs. As I was getting ready for bed Zachery came to me and asked where Ian was. I told him, "Upstairs." Next thing I knew there was Zachery carrying Ian downstairs to bed and telling him that now he could go to sleep. I just looked at Zach and he said, "O.k. Mom, I just couldn't sleep without him." How cute! So later, I snapped this picture of them.

On the way up to Idaho I had the following conversation with Austin:
Austin: Mom, I'm glad you're my mom.
Me: Why?
Austin: Well, I am hard to love and I think you are the only one that can do it!
That kid just cracks me up.

Tonight Ian asked Don why the Buffalo Bills aren't playing football right now. Don told told Ian that the Bills didn't make the playoffs. Ian said, "Don't worry Dad. We always have next year, and another football game." Poor Ian, he will have many football seasons when he will say that.

Playing in the Snow!

We went up to Idaho for part of our Christmas Break. The kids were excited to see snow, and boy did they see snow. We drove through a storm to get to Idaho and then it didn't stop snowing for days. It has been a while since Don and I have had to drive through snow, so we really had to take it slow. All the kids wanted to do is play in the snow. Grandpa Brasier loves to plow not only his driveway, but everyone in the neighborhood. The pictures with the icicles were taken at the Ucon Elementary School. While we were in Idaho Don received a call on his cell phone from our most awesome hometeacher who was in Island Park. He needed a playdate with Don. So we headed up to the mountains to ride snowmobiles and quads. This made the boy's trip. Big boys and little boys!

Ian's Family Party

This is Ian's family birthday party. He was so excited. Ian collects Pez Dispensers, so he loves getting them. This one was special because it was a big one!!!! He also loves Pirates of the Carri"ean". Yes, he thinks it has his name in it!!! Crazy kid!

Can You See Us From Space?

For years people have been asking to see pictures of the house with all the Christmas lights on it. This is Don's baby. He loves this! He starts putting up the lights the day after Thanksgiving. He used to take days off of work to do this, but we just start after Thanksgiving. Don says it is easier now that the boys help him. He can get them all up in two days. I have learned not to watch him do it, seeing him and the boys on the roof scares me! Every year I think that Don can't possibly put more lights up, then this year he got 8 more boxes of lights!!! Next year he says he just needs a few more! What can I say, the kids love it. It is funny to watch all the neighborhood families come by and take a look! There was one little boy and his dad that came walking down to the house every night. One day we had a bad wind storm and Don had to go on the roof and make some repairs. While he was on the roof one of our neighbors started to yell, "You're not taking that down are you?" Don reassured him that he wasn't. The lights come down on New Years Day. It is a sad day for all of us! (Special thanks to my cousin Fran, she supplied some of these lights!!!!)

Six Years in the Making

Yes, I finally have them done. I wanted to cross stitch Christmas stockings for everyone in the family. I waited until I had Ian to start. I started with his first. It took me six years, but I am finally done! Yes, I cross stitched these stockings. I didn't sew them. My very good friend Elaine did that for me. She did a great job. I am sure she is happy that I will not be bothering her anymore!!!! I do feel good that I accomplished this goal! It took a long time, but it's done.