a LOVEly Surprise

Since the beginning of January, I have been scheming about what I should do for Valentine's Day...I wanted to surprise Ben--something I rarely do. I am one of those people who have a really hard time keeping surprises; I usually hold them in for a few days and then spill the beans because I can't take the anticipation anymore.

Our stake usually has a Valentine's Dinner/Dance, which I love because, since being married, I never get to dance anymore. Ben loves the dinner part to that night, but last year he, what's the word, *despised* the dancing part; he's not a fan--what a typical guy ;) I had told Ben that we would be going to that and then afterwards we would be making a music video with ward friends (sorry, ward friends, I totally lied about you, but it was out of love, promise). To say the least, Ben was dreading Valentine's night, especially after I told him this "music video" would end up on YouTube. But he knew it was my year to plan so he tried to grumble about it as little as possible (that's true love, right there!). 

Unsuspecting Ben woke up Friday morning to a scavenger hunt throughout the house, leading him to this:

The first words out of his mouth were, "Does that mean we won't have to dance and be in a music video on YouTube?" After I assured him, that we were most definitely not doing that and that we were, in fact, going to a hotel for the night, I told him to pack his bags for a night away! He was stunned that I had managed to keep a surprise from him and tried to get me to tell him where we were going. He'd find out...eventually. 

Ben went to work, and I planned and prepped our adventures! In the meanwhile, my parents delivered these beautiful strawberries; they are so thoughtful: 

When Ben finished work, I picked him up and started driving...literally two blocks away from where he works at the old Hampton Inn & Suites. I had found an amazing (and I mean, really amazing) deal for a suite two months ago. I thought it would be fun to have a vacation in our own home "neighborhood;" that way, we wouldn't feel any pressures from sight seeing. 

 We had a fun night eating pizza in our room and watching videos while just relaxing, which was a welcome relief after Ben's grueling school, work, and church load and after him being sick earlier that week.

We even had a view of the almost finished Ogden Temple out of our window! The next morning I had more surprises for him. We went to the Clark Planetarium--a place that would be even more fun if you brought kids, definitely a hands-on kind of place. Ben did squeeze in to make a tornado.

The last surprise of the weekend was dining at The Melting Pot. I had looked up prices beforehand and decided if we just got the cheese and dessert fondue, we would have a much better price and still eat deliciousness. Ben and I decided the cheese fondue was good but nothing you couldn't make at home. 

But....the chocolate fondue. There are no words. It was that good. If we ever go again, we will just get the dessert. They have a million dippers, as evidenced, and the ambiance of the whole experience screams romantic. 

It was a perfectly fun and relaxing Valentine's Day, and, surprise, I kept a surprise from Ben! 

Delight (V): to please someone greatly

I am going to pretend really hard that there is no mopping, vacuuming, cleaning cabinets, deep cleaning base boards, cleaning out my car, or exercising that needs doing so that I can write this blog post :)

These are the simple things that have DELIGHTED me the past two weeks:

~Re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I love it because it makes me laugh out loud and cry. There will always be a part of me that feels as if I understand Anne Shirley. She is so passionate, for better or for worse; she feels so excited about the simple joys of life, some would say overly excited, that she loves; she loves education and literature; she says things she regrets; she acts too hastily at times; she desires loyalty with all she loves; and she has such high expectations of life, that she sometimes feels disappointed when real life isn't as grand as the fairy tales she reads. Yes, I love Anne Shirley because through her I understand more about myself. I see reflections of myself in her character and learn through her mistakes. I love these stories because they are about the every day humorous events, sorrows, and successes that make up life, intertwined with the stories of the dear people around her.

~Watching figure skating in the Olympics. I could watch it all day long; my dream is to see figure skating performed live some day. Some of my favorite childhood memories come from watching the '98 Olympics with my mom and watching Tara Lipinski win. The joy on her face makes me cry every time, and I decided to re-live that by re-watching it this week. I think Ben could do without hearing about Tara and Michelle Kwan from the '98 games :)

~I found a new candy love (just what I need). Last night I discovered that I love Almond M&M's and that they tie for first with my other favorite candy bar, Snickers with Almonds. I didn't realize I had this chocolate almond fetish until recently. Boy, do I love them.

~Ben gave me a pass for a cooking class for Christmas. I was finally able to use it on Saturday, and I have the most selfless husband ever who came with me because it was 2 for 1, and I didn't want to be the only one alone (and Ben doesn't even enjoy cooking a quesadilla so this was a big deal!) I learned so much about candy making, and I never knew home made marshmallows could taste so good! I don't even like store-bought ones. I loved that they let us all taste test everything that was taught!  To top off our much needed date, we went to Sandy's where I had a delicious Santa Fe Salad!

~I have loved being at home. The last few months have been so fun, but other than work, I am rarely at home. Jane Austen once said, "There is nothing like staying at home for true comfort," and it is so true!

Niece and Nephews

My lack of blogging has been a result of many things, but one of the main things has been fun times with nephews and a niece :) So, yes, I am the crazy aunt who writes blog posts on her nephews and niece.

Plus, did I mention that I had one new niece and two nephews born in the span of three weeks?

To recap...

Browning Fun

We have enjoyed Josh and Kristen being in town for the past couple of months and had to say goodbye Friday night. They had planned on leaving a month ago but an eye surgery came up (and Josh can see again!), and so they had to stay another month. Sad for them but lucky for us! We will miss our Iowa family. Josh has improved so much since being out here! 

I have loved watching Ian grow the last couple months. He is the happiest, most easy going baby! 

I am going to miss my lil' Tate buddy. We had too much fun together. As you can tell...

We had never taken a picture of the Browning family with all of us since Spencer had come home and Lucy was born, so we attempted in the living room. This picture shows the chaos in getting us all together..fun times :) 

Josh and Kristen, we miss you already!

A picture of Spencer because he is just awesome! We have loved having him back the last few months! 

Lucy has the cutest faces! I love my one and only niece so much already! Sam and Natalie are amazing parents. 

Then there's us two crazies...

Connors Fun

 The first Connors' grandchild was born! I love little Chase!! My parents make cute grandparents if I do say so myself! 

I had the privilege of going to Idaho for a weekend with my sister Mary to visit Seth, Leslie, and Chase. Chase is darling and is going to be a handsome boy one day. You can just tell! We can't wait to see them in a couple of more weeks so Ben can meet Chase! 

This picture is right after driving from Utah to Idaho (excuse my ragged appearance), but here I am meeting Chase for the first time! Love him!

Last but not least, here's my newest nephew, Everett, who was born a month early on March 2nd in Vermont! If you ever want to hear an amazing labor story, let me know, and I'll tell you my sister's--it's pretty amazing! I haven't met him yet, but he sounds like he has been a sweet heart with strawberry blonde hair. I am excited to meet him in a few weeks! 

I have gone from one nephew to one niece and four nephews in four months, so family dynamics are changing fast but in an oh-so-sweet-and-fun way :) 

Happy Times

This post is completely random...but that's what happiness is about...lots of wonderful randomness that happens at once :) 

 Since the holiday season, we have been as busy as ever with Ben starting his MBA program on top of working full time, but we have had loads of fun along the way!

One of our highlights was going to Color Me Mine on a double date with Josh and Kristen! It was so fun watching everyone's creativity.

My finished product! I wish I would have taken a picture of Josh and Kristen's chips and salsa platter--it looked too beautiful to eat off of, a true master piece. 

A few days later...this little Lucy was born! Our first niece :) We love her already and think she is adorable. We can't wait to see her again (speaking of babies...we will have another new nephew in a few hours--we are so excited!)

We also have been able to spend more time watching this little guy smile :) 

Last weekend I was able to go to Winter Camp with our Young Women. They are amazing girls. 

Family Festivities

Even though Ben had to work during most days during the holiday season (other than Christmas and New Year's Day), we were able to still find time every night to make the drive to Ogden to spend time with family. 

This was our first Christmas with the Browning side of the family! It was also the first Christmas in a long time that every Browning boy was there (and not on a mission). We were so excited when we found out at the last minute that Josh and Kristen would be able to make the long trip from Iowa to Utah to join us for a few weeks!

My top highlights of the holiday week were:

• Playing with Tate and Ian (and meeting Ian for the first time).
• Singing with the Browning girls in the Christmas Eve Family Program "Unwrapping Christmas"
• Going to some fun movies! My new favorite animated movie is Frozen! I could listen to the music all day...oh wait...I already have. My second favorite movie was The Book Thief, which I was able to see with my sister and mom the week before Christmas time. That was such a powerful and heart-warming movie.
• Catching up with everyone! I loved that Nat and Sam were able to come down for a few days, even though Nat's due date was a week away! I loved hearing Nat's pregnancy tales, Josh and Kristen's Iowa experiences, and the rest of everyone's stories! 

Love these little boys! 

The girls singing a trio. I want to sing with my Browning sisters more--they both have beautiful voices! 

Loved Spencer's song and Sam's harmonizing! 

Just hanging out :)

Josh has made so much improvement since I was last with him in Iowa! 

This was one of the most hilarious things I have seen in my life...Sam and Nat gave Spencer an iARM for Christmas...or so we thought. They raved about how he could use it while he washed his car (as shown in the picture)...They insisted Spencer open it up, and lo and behold, it was something entirely different. The box was a total hoax. They totally had me believing for a while though...

The Browning Christmas Tree was especially beautiful this year~

Ben and Ian

All of us "kids" on Christmas morning

Tate was gleeful about his present. 

Later on Christmas Day, we went to Ben's aunt's house to have a wonderful feast. Later on, the boys played Nerf wars while the girls chatted away. Tate especially loved the Nerf gun goggles. 

Ian was the cutest little Santa I ever did see. He is such an amazing baby--so peaceful and so happy! I love him already!

Seriously, this smile is non-stop!

To celebrate Nat's birthday, we went to Goodwood. Here's my buddy Tate! 

We had even more deliciousness at Chick-Fil-A...we are sort of obsessed with their milkshakes, particularly their Cookies & Cream ones! 

It was a wonderful Christmas and New Years.