Lions, tigers and bears...oh my!!

On March 24th we had the opportunity to go to Tucson to attend our nephew's baptism. We are so proud of you Jamison :) It was great to get together with our families for the day. We even went to the zoo. How fun is that? I hadn't been to the zoo since I was about 13 or so so it was a lot of fun. :)



our beautiful nieces: Avery, Devyn, Lillian and Lindsey

Ryker was my buddy for the day

cute little Devyn and the "orange girl" haha


I love this photo!

silly Uncle Darren


Wicked!!

I love this musical. I think this was our 3rd time seeing it but it never gets old :)





A Different Pointe of View

For Valentines Day, Darren took me to a nice restaurant in Phoenix called Different Pointe of View atop North Mountain in Phoenix. It truly had a spectacular view. And the food was great too. After dinner we went outside on the terrace to sit by the fire and enjoy the view. One of the funny highlights of the night was when a server offered us marshmallows on a stick to roast on the fire. I was super full so declined but Darren got one. After sitting down and getting ready to roast it, the guy next to us says "those marshmallows are a doozy. They'll get you drunker than a 3 glasses of wine."  Huh? Unbeknownst to us the marshmallows had been soaked in Baileys. LOL!! So of course at that point Darren puts the stick down and we just watch the fire. This did open up a discussion on religion between us and our campfire mates so it ended positively. :)




Thanks babe for a great night!

33...the perfect age

At least according to Darren. I hope I have the same level of optimism when I'm that old (haha). j/k babe :)

another waxy pan....good thing I didn't put those candles on the pizookie
(man did that paper light up fast...lol. No worries...I have it under control) hee hee :)

We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate because he wanted to save the money and go skiing later in the season but we did go to dinner at Red Lobster and I made him a pizookie for dessert. He also got a new alarm clock (5th time is the charm eh babe?) and a sweet love note from me :)

A tribute to loved ones...

Our families both lost someone last year that meant the world to us. One of those people was Darren's grandma and the other was my step dad Scott. We miss you both but are so glad you are in a place of peace and rest. We will love you always.

grandpa and grandma Brown. Thanksgiving 2008
all the "kids"; Darren's dad is the 3rd from the front


all the "kids" with their dad, grandpa Brown





Scott always supported us in our achievements


Christmas at Disneyland

New Year's 2012

It's a holiday that never really reaches its potential as a non-drinker but we make it as fun as we can :)
 



Oh yeah...crazy times at the Brown's residence...haha

Family photo shoot

Since we were all together for Christmas this year, we decided to do a family photo shoot. They turned out pretty well for not having a professional photographer or a fancy camera. We had fun so that's all that matters :)













Tiff started pouting because she thought my mom put a bug in her hair. It was funny :)


Ah..come on! I'm not that heavy.

Christmas 2011

It's snowing in Tempe!!


Ice skating in downtown Phoenix. What a great surprise. Thanks babe!


Take it easy mom. It's not even New Year's yet...

Crazy girls!


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...