Life in the Sunshine

Remember me?! I think we are finally settled in enough for me to catch this stinkin blog up. I have been putting this off because I got so far behind, but Mackenzie has promised me he won't let me get this far behind ever again so hopefully we will be good from now on. 

We are LOVING life in Saint George. One weekend in April we came down here with Franki and Urs to watch Ty Jo dance, and we had an overwhelming feeling to move down. Randomest thing of my life. But we got home and started applying for jobs and we figured that if we didn't get jobs that would be our answer. Within two weeks I was hired at Diamond Ranch Academy; So I picked up and came down here. Left my boys home for a few weeks to tie up the loose ends in Sanpete and started making a life for us down here. Kenzie came down before Riken did. We left him with my mom for a couple of weeks until we were settled in an apartment and at our jobs. 

Getting a place was a joke! We moved into an apartment in the middle of Saint George that ended up being party central for students at Dixie State. There were people there at all hours of night doing all sorts of crazy, loud, illegal things! Needless to say, we didn't stay there long. We were in such a rush to get Riken out of there that we started staying with Jarom and Swazie in Beaver Dam, which is like 45 minutes from work. That is NOT a fun drive to do at 11pm, which is when I get off work. We stayed there for about a month before we found our little piece of heaven here in Southern Utah. One day I was looking for places to rent online and I saw a great little house/duplex thing. I called the owner and we had a lot in common with him so he instantly liked us! We met up with him and looked at the place and within a couple weeks we were moved in.  Check out the view from the back porch!

It's not a huge house and not what we want to be in forever, but we are really happy and content being here together, just the three of us wingin it! 

This is the incredible place in which we both work. It is a therapeutic boarding school that is home to about 200 troubled teens, both  boys and girls. DRA is a 1A school and competes in most sports. It is a beautiful facility and a great place to work. I have so many experiences I want to share about the girls I work with, but I will save them for another post. Long story short, we are VERY happy at Diamond Ranch.

Financially it hasn't been easy relocating. We thought we had it all figured out, but it wasn't a walk in the park to just pick up and start a new life. However, we have been blessed in other aspects of our life and now that we're settled in, I know the money will come and things will work out. The main reasons I think we felt so strongly to move down here are the amazing kids we work with and how much we are learning from being there and the way our relationship is getting stronger and stronger everyday. Not that things weren't good with us before, but Mackenzie worked A LOT in Sanpete and there is something about only having eah other to rely on that brings you closer together. Kenzie spends SO much more time with Riken and he just seems happier and healthier as a person. I am so in love with my little family. I look so forward to coming home and being with my two boys and just having each other. Of course I miss my family and our close friends we left behind, but we get up there as often as we can and we are truly happy here. A few weeks ago Mackenzie got a fortune cookie that said we will make many changes before we settle happily so if that's any indication we might not be here forever, but as of now St. George feels pretty promising to us! 

PS: We really did just pick up and leave and in the process our phone numbers changed so if you were someone who tried to get in touch with us this summer, I'm sorry!! Our number now is 435-262-1434. Please call or text. We would love to hear from our friends who we haven't been in touch with. 

Brown's Recap

I am SO sorry! I don't think I have ever gone this long without blogging. And now is when people really want to know how we are doing and what is going on. I will try and get caught up with some posts this week. But for now, here is a little recap.

* We moved to St. George! I will explain this decision in a little more detail soon, but we had a feeling that this was a move we should make, so we went for it. Total leap of faith, but hopefully it will pay off. We are LOVING our jobs and loving the warm weather. Just missing our family and friends back home and ready to be settled in!

* Riken is FIVE MONTHS OLD. I can't even fathom this. He is so much fun. He is all over the place and so animated. I will get some pictures up asap. He is seriously the cutest.

* Ty got called to the New York, New York North Mission. Unbelievable. This experience has made quite an impression on me, and I am really really proud of my baby brother. More to come on this also. 

* I celebrated my first Mother's Day, and it was such a nice day to appreciate my new life as a mom to my sweet boy. 

I think that's about it for now. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as I have a minute and fork out some more information :)

Riken's Blessing

Last Sunday was Riken's baby blessing. It was such a wonderful day. My little brother Tyler was ordained an elder just two weeks before, so he gave Riken his blessing and it was such a beautiful blessing. He was so nervous, since he had never done it before, but you couldn't even tell. Riken started to fuss a little right before the blessing, but he was quiet and good during the whole blessing. I was so thankful to Ty for the amazing blessing he gave Riken. I will remember it forever. We had a luncheon after the blessing and we had so many friends and family members there. I have noticed that as a mom I have a tendency to over-do things! We had lots of decorations and food and I'm sure people think it's annoying, but I don't think it will stop. We had chocolate, white chocolate, and cheese fondue with all sorts of stuff to dip in it and it was really good! My great grandma showed up from Logan as a surprise and it was really neat to have her there. I am really thankful to everyone who came to share our special day with us and to everyone who helped us in any way. Riken looked so handsome, and it was a day I will never forget.

Dinner With The Allreds

Last night Riken got to see some of his aunts, uncles, and cousins that we don't see enough! All my dad's siblings (except Stephanie in Dallas) got together and ate dinner at Sizzler. It was really nice to see everyone and they were all really glad to be able to play with Rike for a while. I didn't take enough pictures at all, but here are a few from the evening.

 Uncle Strapper and Aunt Dianna

 JAX

Uncle Wes

TV Time

Riken has found the TV! He will find it and he won't look away!. It is really cute, but now we have to be more careful about what is on TV. The other day I came in and Kenz was watching cartoons with him :) It was the cutest thing ever. I can't believe how fast my baby is growing and learning to do things. It's insane! Here are a few pictures of Riken in a TV trance..........

Answered Prayers

A couple weeks ago, I had an experience at work that gave me the opportunity to really stop and think about my priorities and how I was spending my time. I talked to my boss one day and I left feeling like maybe working full time wasn't the best thing for me or my little family right now. When I was pregnant I knew I would come back to work quickly. I have SO much support around me that I knew Riken would be in good hands and that I wouldn't have to give up the job I love so much. But the last couple months have been harder than I anticipated. I was waking up early, getting myself and Riken ready for the day, meeting my mom in Chester so she could take him for the day, going out to work, working all day, going to pick him up, driving home, trying to get some dinner on the table, getting him bathed, and in bed. Then doing it all again the next day. Work has been VERY busy, and I just started to feel a lot of stress and pressure. I knew I wasn't able to give 100% to work OR Riken, and that was causing me a lot of anxiety. After talking to my boss I spent the next few days really searching for the right answer. Financially, I knew I needed to work. But every other part of me was telling me that I needed to be home. I was up at 1:30 that night feeding Riken, and after I got him back to sleep I could not fall asleep.  My mind was just going and going and I couldn't shut it off. I don't pray nearly as often as I should, but I knew I needed to ask for some guidance. So I knelt in front on my couch in the living room and asked for a little peace of mind and some direction. As soon as I was done I could feel someone behind me. I even thought I felt the rug move. I turned around, but no one was there. I felt an instant feeling of comfort and I got back in bed and fell right to sleep. I didn't get an answer one way or the other, but I felt like whatever I decided, we would be okay and things would work themselves out. The next day I ran into a friend who mentioned an opportunity for me to teach some dance classes. I knew it was the answer I was looking for. I went in the next day and talked to my boss. He was very understanding and offered me a position with half the hours, but the same pay rate. I was happy to accept because I really do love Oxbow and the work we do. So now I will only need to work about 15 hours per week and I can spend the rest of the time with my boy. I will start teaching some dance classes when spring starts, which I am SO looking forward to. And between those two things, I think we will be okay financially. The biggest thing is that I will be here to see Riken crawl for the first time, take his first step, and say his first words. I can't imagine missing out on any of that. It is amazing how much being a parent changes you. The world revolves around my little family now and I feel so much happier already. My house is cleaner, the laundry is actually caught up, and I was able to sit down and make Rike a blanket last week because I finally had a little time. I know my mom is sad about not having Riken every day anymore, and I feel really bad about that. But I do think this is the right thing for me to do. I never thought being a stay at home mom was something I wanted, but I feel so good about it and I think it is the right thing for my family right now. I am so thankful for so many things. The support from Kenzie is amazing. When I talked to him about it, he told me that whatever I felt like I needed to do, he would support me and understand. My boss and co-workers have been very understanding and my family has been helpful as always. I am thankful that I trusted myself and did what I knew was the right thing. And mostly I am thankful for answered prayers and a little comfort when we need to make big decisions like this in life.

Our First Walk

The other day it was freakishly warm for these parts so I bundled up the babe and we went for our first walk together! We have gone everyday since. Riken loves it and with the hills in Moroni I actually get a little workout from pushing him around.  Kenzie was making fun of me cuz I have a Mt. Dew in the cup holder. Wouldn't wanna burn any calories on my walk, right? I am so looking forward to spring and summer and being able to take him out more. He hardly knows what outside is like!