Sunday with Dad

On Saturday night at 8pm, the boys and I welcomed Mike home from a six-day trip to Switzerland.  To say that the boys were 'popping out of their skin' to greet him (me, too!) is an understatement.  :)  Mike was selected to join an international leadership development program at his company.  The selection process included (first pass) an extensive application and (second pass) an in-depth day-long live interview.  In the end, 24 leaders within BiogenIdec were selected, including seven from the US and the rest from Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and Australia.  The program will continue for the next three years and will include 2-3 meetings a years.  Mike came home raving about the experience -- the learnings, the people, the locations in Zurich/Zug.  He's so excited about the next three years and we are so very proud of him! 


Since I love this building, I immediately suggested that we all head there pronto.  :)  I dragged Mike and the boys (and my tripod) there for a little shoot on Sunday.  Not sure it was how Mike envisioned spending time together before his next trip, but he sweetly obliged and we all had fun (and I got to take some pictures :).

Here are some of my picture from the day.  Yes, I know this is too much Brown-Brown-Brown (snooze fest if you are not a Brown), feel free to not watch the blow-by-blow of our photos - but this is my spot for warehousing all of my favorite photos/videos, so its here.  :)

My Boys @ the Building from Brooke Brown on Vimeo.
 

Summer

What?!  Today was Miles' LAST day of 1st grade?


What do you mean he's not here tonight?  His first sleep-over ever....right now?


Mom, will you play with me?  You will?!  Yippee!



Do you think we could stay up late and watch a movie?  Pretty, please??


Thanks, mom!  I love summer (and you).  :)

Splish Splash

We spent Saturday afternoon at one of our local Y pools.  Seriously, I can't get over how amazing our YMCA pools are for young kids.  We'll be hopping from one to another this summer. 







The two tiny figures at the top of the double slides are Mike and Miles.  The water slides are definitely Miles' favorites (maybe Mike's too?).  

Yeah, summer!!

Gearing up for SUMMER

 Miles' last day of school is tomorrow.  Once he's out, summer officially commences.  Man, oh man.  We can't wait. 






Tic. Toc. Tic. Toc.....

Wrapping Up Preschool

Noah and Griffin have been out of school for a couple of weeks now.  As part of their school-year wrap-up, they each had little programs where their classes sang a handful of songs.  They were both really cute. 

I wasn't sure what to expect from Griffin, since he was so reserved at his Christmas program (ran out of time around the holidays and never posted it).  He just stood on the stage, staring at my in the pew with these huge puppy dog eyes.  It was pitiful.  This time, though, he sang, he danced, he loved it.  Just like my boys to feel settled in and comfortable just as the year is wrapping up.  Griffin really loved his class this year.  He never begged or pleaded to go to school (and on several occasions he cried and had to be carried in to school by a teacher) but he did talk about his friends when he was home and he loved his teachers (miss sallie and miss patti - and he pretty  much used their names interchangeably when addressing them).  We'll miss this class next year.  Think I've mentioned before that the 3 year olds get funneled into two classes - so next year he'll be in class with his good friend, Sarah Scott, and a bunch of new faces.  He'll miss his old buds (isaiah, kate, aston, mia), but I'm sure he'll make new friends to be silly with. 



(Griffin and Sarah Scott)

Here is a little video of some of the songs Griffin's class sang.  No hard feelings if anyone falls asleep during this/just can't watch more than 10 seconds of it.  :)

Griffin's End of Year (2s preschool) Program from Brooke Brown on Vimeo.

***
Noah ended his year on an upswing too.   He really liked his classmates (the teachers were always telling me how much Noah liked the girls and vice-versa) and he LOVED his two favorite friends David and Davis.  David and Davis were in the room across the hall, but the classes combined for lots of activities throughout the day and had recess together.  Davis and Noah are so similar and they really had a blast together.  Noah will really miss him next year when moves on the kindergarten and Noah stays put for TK (transitional kindergarten).  Thankfully Davis will be in TK too (as will Noah's favorite girl at school, Anna Grace - just a tidbit, Anna Grace invited a bunch of girls AND Noah to a birthday barbie sleep-over party at her house this weekend.  haha.  Noah's going to pass on the sleepover part, but it should be quite a hoot for our guy, Ken, I mean Noah :).



(David, Davis, Noah)

Noah's class did the exact same program as Griffin's class.  He sang - but I could barely see him.  There were so many kids and he was in the second/third row (in a yellow golf shirt) and the parents in front of me kept standing up to video their kids (can't blame them, really - but note to self to get there super early next year).   I'm including a 30 second clip in which you can kind of see Noah.  You can also hear a little conversation b/c me and Griffin.  :)

Noah's Year End (4's preschool) Program (one song) from Brooke Brown on Vimeo.

Overall, it was a great year!  We are excited about it being summer -- but know that it will be nice to be back there next year. 

Mother's Day

Mother's Day seems like ions ago now - but I can't bring myself to post any end-of-year school stuff until I document all the cute things the boys did for me.

***
It was a special and low-key day.  We started the day at church (here's a quick pic before we left).


After the 9:30 service the boys went home and I stayed to man the nursery for the 11:15am service (murphy's law, I have nursery duty every holiday, every bday of my family, everytime we have visitors in town :).  While I was in the nursery, the boys made me cards.  I loved them all.

Here is Griffin's card, a gift he/his teachers made me for at school, and a picture of us at his Mother's day party at school (thanks for the picture, Anne!)




Here is Noah's card (front/inside), a "recipe" that he told his teachers he likes that I make, a school present from him/his teachers, and a "family portrait" that I couldn't love more.    Noah's class did a little program for the moms too - think I'll save that footage for a school year compilation post/video I do for the kids (maybe in August?  :). 






Here is Miles' card and a gift that he made for me at school.  One of the things that I love the most about the card is how similar the front is to the front of Mike's card (Mike made his first).  Like father, like mini-me.  :) 





We spent the afternoon at playgrounds and this skate park.  Don't ask me why, but I am so intrigued by skate parks.  This particular one is biking everyday except one - and then they allow skateboards.  I'm so into skate boards - though I can't ride them really.  I really hope that one of our boys is an awesome skateboarder (Mike loved to ride when he was little - still does) and hope that same boy wants kinda long hair, too.  :)



That night, we had dinner at Big Daddy's Burger Joint -- one of our favorite family spots.  There was a really long wait (before and after we sat down), so we played corn hole, go fish, crazy 8's, etc..  It was a perfect family night.





So thankful for my boys and my hub -- and extra thankful for my mom, my mother-in-law, and my two amazing grandmothers.  :)

Griffin's 3rd Birthday Playdate

Griffin was so excited about his birthday this year.  He loved his family celebration in New Bern (here and here).

He loved the group celebration held in his classroom at school (I didn't bring my camera - the shock! the horror! - so here are a a couple of cute pictures that Anne, his friend Kate's mother, took). 



And he had so much fun with his favorite friends at a birthday playdate at our house.  He specifically requested Sarah Scott, Mia, Kate, Aston, and Isaiah from school and his friend Jack from the neighborhood.  They were all able to come and he was so excited.  Every time someone arrived, he would say, "Hi _____!  You're here!"  I'm not a huge detail girl/party planner, so the kids just played in the backyard, ate lunch and celebrated with cupcakes (Griffin fittingly ate 3 cupcakes in grand celebration).  Low maintenance.  Filled with fun friends.  Perfect.


Here's a peak into the playdate.  Happy Birthday, Griffin!
 
Griffin's 3rd Birthday Playdate from Brooke Brown on Vimeo.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Charlotte with my family.


My family makes me so, very happy. 


The boys LOVE hanging out with their grandparents and aunts and uncles.  Its safe to say they'd be ecstatic if we all lived on the same street.  


I feel so blessed to have my two sisters.  Its one of the reasons why I feel like my guys are lucky that there are three of them.  Lindsey (and Jason) live six hours away in Virginia.  Dana (and Brad) are about to move to China, a zillion-trillion hours away.  It makes afternoons spent in the driveway or evenings spent outside eating homemade pizza all the more special.  Wish I could bottle those moments up.   


Thankfully my parents are just under three hours away.  Would prefer three miles, but we'll take it.  :)


Here's a little movie of our Saturday afternoon.  I set up the tripod so that we could get some family shots.  I already cherish them.  They make me smile.  And laugh.  Love them.  

Memorial Day 2010 from Brooke Brown on Vimeo.