Him and I. Chris and Lauren. Robins and Ruth. Mister and Misses.

I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!! Somebody pinch me. You can read about it here :) Also, feel free to follow OUR new blog. Holy smokes. I have a blog for me and a man.... a hott man, at that. So in love, Lauren Ruth Brown (Jepsen)

Missing these gems.

My parents left for two weeks to New Zealand.

They don't vacation much. Actually, I think this is the first big trip they've taken together since they've been married. My mom was SOOOOO excited. When I called my dad the day they were leaving I asked, "Aren't you so pumped?!" His reply, "Uhhh.. not really. Traveling isn't my thing, ya know? But your mom loves it, so what the heck." Hahaha. I could tell he was definitely pumped.

Here's the kicker though... I'm not really loving the fact that they're gone. Actually I've been pretty depressed about it all day today. They've only been gone for 4 days now and I am going stir crazy. I can't wait for them to be back.. I want to fly to New Zealand, pack their bags for them, and drag them home.

Who knew I relied on my parents so much? Well... okay.. I kinda knew. But this has been lots harder than I thought it would be.

I talk to both of my parents at least once a day. The other day, I counted, and I had talked to them 5 times put together. Not for any particular reason other than I just wanted to call them.. again and again and again... I also went home to Heber the day after they left to be with my little brother. Our house was painfully empty without my dad making us quesadillas in the kitchen or my moms southern accent saying, "Lawreeen, come fix this computer."

Ugh. I miss them.

I just keep waiting for my dad to call me at 7:30 A.M. and say, "What in the world... are you JUST waking up?!!"

I love them so much. I have truly been blessed with some of the most wonderful people in the world to be my parents. They are the first people I think of calling when I ace a test or fail one, the first people I call when I have exciting news, when I get sick, when I don't know how to cook enchiladas, or when I'm just kinda sad... (mind you, ALL of those things have happened in the past 4 days).

I have checked my email at least 45 times since they've been gone.. 4 days with no letter. I was getting kinda mad.. but then I just started getting really sad. But then tonight- I finally got one!! I'm going to be completely honest and just tell you- I cried as soon as I saw "Tricia_brown1984" in my inbox. It felt like the longest awaited email of my entire life. I saw that they had just sent it, so in my feeble attempt, I wrote back instantly in hopes that they were still on and we could have an "instant messenger chat". That didn't work out. Its too bad they haven't gotten the whole swing of MSN of FB chat yet. Either way- I had been dying to hear from them. And it was absolutely the greatest feeling in the world to finally be able to.

Over the past couple years away from home, they have evolved into my very best friends.

And it's the pits when you're best friend is gone for two weeks..

P.s. the two pics of my parents with the grandbabies are my absolute favorites! And I think it's partially because I don't have any pictures of me with my parents when I was younger. But I think if I did- they would've had these priceless, loving expression on their faces back then too.. :)

[SO]. Lu-kee-e`.

Ah man. Sometimes I remember that I love this boy so incredibly much.

I'm a lucky ducK. Lucky ducky. Luckie Duckerie.

I got LUCKY.

Robins handcrafted this! He did!!

Surprise note in green that makes my day everyday :)

The boy remembers anniversaries... a keeper, no doubt.

Melts my heart.

Aleahhh Claire

Today. Today was one of those days. They come around every so often, but you know what else comes around almost ALWAYS on those days that I have one of THOSE days? A little piece of heaven. It always comes. And I feel like I'm starting to count on it...

Today I needed a happy heart to soften the heavy one that seemed to be sitting in my chest.

So I called my sister hoping I'd find some comfort. What I didn't expect was that little voice in the back ground to be the one I needed to hear from.

Rachel said to me, "Aleah has been wanting me to call you for days now to tell
you something. But I want her to tell you, so here she is..."

Let me jump back six weeks ago: Rachel had told me about a group of little girls at Aleahs school who created a club called the "Star Club". Only cool girls could be in it. (We all remember

those days. At least I do. Maybe I wasn't the coolest girl on the block in my day... ) I remembered how mean kids could be. It's not an easy life out there on the playground! So Rachel told Aleah it probably wasn't the best idea to be part of the "Star Club". And she listened. Even though they were her friends.

So I was babysitting Aleah a couple days later. I talked to her about it. And about how important it was to be nice. I asked her if she had ever seen anyone play alone at recess. She said yes. So I told her, "if you find someone playing alone at recess, I want you to go play with them. Be their friend. Boy or girl." She was a little hesitant when I said "boy", which I was secretely proud of... she's learning young- boys are baaaaad ;) . I told her that if she'd do it, I would take her anywhere she wanted to go. Just a date for the two of us.

Kids never forget what you say.

Back to present day: Aleah picked up the phone. I asked her what she wanted to tell me so badly!? In the sweetest most sincere little voice she said, "well I found a boy playing on the playground all by himself. I saw him on the swings. So I asked him if he needed a friend. And he did! So we played together the whole time on the swings!!"

Instantly remembering the promise I had made her six weeks previous, tears started streaming down my face (and no worries, I've been extremely emotional this entire week..) I was so proud of her. I also realized that she was being the friend I needed right then. A five year old.

Ahhhhhhh. I LOVE KIDS. I love how sincere their little hearts are. They mean everything they say or do. They don't do anything half-heartedly. They love and they love unconditionally. They're never too busy to listen. I'm sure they don't normally understand what you're going through, but somehow they always seem to offer the perfect sort of comfort at the perfect time. I think they would be considered one of God's little mercies. And they're SOOO adorable.

This little girl is dynamite. I've never been more excited to watch a little one grow up.

So this one's for you Aleah Claire- I love you stinkerpot.

The Ultimate Security System

(Upon Rachels request) ** Dont mind how fat Rachel looks in this picture she had a baby three weeks later. And her body was back to smokin hot within the three weeks following.

So I haven't blogged for a month now, and believe me- I think about doing it every day. I just haven't known exactly what I've wanted to say. Maybe thats because my final paper for English last semester drained my writing skills for a while.

But right now, I know exactly what I want to say.

I LOVE FAMILY.

I love that everyone has a family, I love the idea of a family, I love how no other word brings as much comfort as 'family' does, and I especially love my family..

Carson and Simone came up to Logan yesterday and stayed the night. I have never been more excited/happy about any other visitor that has come to our little house. We didn't do anything overly exciting or off the walls. We sat in my living room and played games with Christopher, Brandon, and Bailey. And that was all it took to make me excited enough to blog about it!

Sometimes I look back and regret not soaking up every minute of childhood I had with Rachel, Garrett, Carson, and Devin. Those four people have literally shaped me into who I am today, right down to every scar on my face. I wish I could go back to the days when none of us had a care in the world other than who was going to get in trouble for talking in sacrament. There's something about each one of these individuals that makes them beyond amazing.

Its a dad who will send you flowers when you've stayed up all night sobbing, a mom who stays up for hours waiting for you to call and tell her all about your night, a sister who set the absolute perfect example for the rest to follow, an older brother who can make anyone and everyone feel like a million bucks, another older brother who made the perfect best friend and advice giver through every trial life threw at me, a younger brother who is teaching me the traits that I should've taught him, and a brother and sister in-law who fit so perfectly in our clan that they feel like originals.

It is so nice to know that no matter what happens, what right or wrong decision I make, whether or not I'm successful in all my endeavors, my family wont feel one bit different about me. They're the people who know my heart inside and out, and love it. I'm not sure how I got so lucky to be part of the family that I am, but I did. They are like the ultimate security system. With them, I have no fear. And I love them.

Robinns

So.. I think it's about time I introduce a very special someone on this here bloggity of mine.

Today is his birthday! The big 24 and counting. I always tease him about being "so old". I mostly love it because it's the one thing he can't tease me back about.. He doesn't like saying I'm young. He's still in denial that I'm only 19. That's okay.

I wish I knew where to start. I could start from April 21st, the day it all began.. but that would be a killer long blog.

I will start by giving you a brief introduction:

His name is Christopher Dan Jepsen. I call him Christopher Robins.

He is 24 years old, as of today!!

He grew up in Bountiful, and graduated from Bountiful High in 2005. When I was in 8th grade... hahahhaaha.

He is the baby (spoiled? maybe) of a very wonderful family.

He served his mission in Australia... luckiest.

He is majoring in Accounting at Utah State and will be done next December.

So there are your basics. But lucky for me, I got a sweet package deal. This boy comes with so much more than your average "basic boy package". I wish I could tell you everything that makes him so absolutely wonderful, but I would take the risk of making every girl that reads this blog to fall in love with him. And truly- I don't want that. So I will just tell you a few.

Chris is one of the kindest human-beings that I have ever come across. He would doing anything for anyone, and does all the time. He was probably one of those little kids that would start crying when he saw another kid crying. He just simply cares about others. He doesn't get offended when I tease him. Actually, lets be honest, he's the first boy who has ever teased me more than I tease him. PERFECT. He is responsible. So incredibly responsible. He works hard, but he is always making time for something fun. He is the perfect example to everyone around him.

Let me finish with one of my favorite stories of Chris.. which he doesn't even know that I know. And it really isn't monumental, but every time I think of it, it gives me chills. Because it is SO him.

My best friend Ali was at the school library (where Chris works) a couple months ago and she was in line to pay for the paper she had just printed off. Chris didn't see her standing there, so she just watched from a distance. Ali said there was a girl in line who just seemed to be down. Didn't have much self-confidence, didn't seem very happy, etc.. As this girl reached the front of the line, she handed Chris her card to be swiped. He swiped it, and then with a huge grin on his face, he looked up and asked, "Is today your birthday?!?!" The girl was shocked that someone had even noticed. Ali said that this girl instantly lit up!! She was so happy!! She replied, "Yeah, it is!" "Well, happy birthday!! I hope you have a really great day!" he said.

He is the sweetest most endearing guy I know. I'm so lucky to know him. Happy 24th big guy!

You'll flip your lid.

This is one of the greatest/funniest things I have ever seen. I've been google stalking these little monsters for the past twenty minutes. And they keep getting funnier. And maybe that's because I've been in the library studying (or playing snake) for quite some time now. I may or may not be going crazy. But just. LOOK. They're hilarious. I hope they bring joy to your heart, like they did mine.

Merry Christmas.

Angora Rabbits.

*personal favorite*

Cat? Beats me..

oh sad day...