The last six months have seen a lot of changes at the Brown home, not the least of which was the arrival of Connor at the end of October. A timely fellow, he arrived right on his due date. He weighed in at a whopping 8 lb. 14 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Whoa! Well, he hasn’t slowed down, and we’re sure he’s at least topped 12 lbs. by now—he’s already kicking the bottom of his 3–6 month PJs. Yikes! He is a healthy eater, and is starting to smile and interact with us—what fun! We were so pleased with how many of you made it to his blessing on a snowy winter day in December.
It’s hard to believe Shaylee is already in 8th grade. This year has already kept us quite busy with essays and tests. She is still the Beehive class president and is enjoying working with the other girls. In her (spare) time—what there is of it—Shaylee enjoys horseback riding, reading, and babysitting. She is also taking a dance class and a ceramics class that she has thoroughly enjoyed.
Devin is in 5th grade with Mrs. Card. Unfortunately, we missed soccer sign ups because we were enjoying a vacation in New York. Instead, we signed up for a sculpting class that loved—although he is definitely looking forward to basketball season and spring soccer. Devin is now a Webelos Scout and recently competed in the Pinewood Derby and earned his Webelos award. He is working on his Arrow of Light.
Aspen is at the peak of her terrible twos, but we’re surviving. She is still as busy as ever and recently enjoyed a “Mom and Tots Music and Movement” class with Shauna (pre-Connor). They had a lot of fun, although Shauna wouldn’t have minded if all the dancing put her into labor. Aspen is still a “read-a-holic” (yes, blame her mother), and she has most of her books memorized and can repeat them back to you. Dennis fears we’ll have to get a new library when she actually learns to “read.”
One of the big changes at our house in the past six months was Dennis’ job change. He is now the marketing manager for Fireside Bank. Wahoo! This means he works banker hours rather than dealership hours. He still works with auto dealerships marketing the sub-prime lending program his bank offers. He travels to California some but is truly enjoying the new position. He is still the chair of the Saratoga Springs Planning Commission and a home teaching supervisor at church.
Shauna still enjoys her position as the director of Project Read and is relieved their big fundraiser is over—now she can focus on adjusting to life with four children! Shauna was also called as the bear den leader this year and plays the organ in church. She has also enjoyed substituting in Primary since our ward split.
We had an enjoyable trip to the beach for Spring Break, but our big trip this year was 10 days in New York. We started in Kirtland. Ohio and saw many of the church history sights there. Then we headed up to Palmyra, New York and enjoyed the Hill Cumorah Pageant, visiting the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith Home, etc. We ended our trip with several days in New York City where we were able to see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, and of course took in a Broadway play (the Lion King). It’s a trip none of us will ever forget.
We hope everything is well with all of you. We love you and keep you in our prayers.
Dennis, Shauna, Shaylee, Devin, Aspen & Connor
