New Star of the show for this year's Paula Deen Weekend!!!!

Miss Kalai and Carissa accompanied Julie, Amanda and me to Headland for our second annual Paula Deen weekend and all eyes were on her. We did have fun and eat lots. I think it would be impossible to spend enough time with Nana and D-Dad, but we were grateful for a few blissful hours. They both look great and us 'girls' had fun visiting on the way there and back. I am constantly amazed by the wisdom and strength of my sisters. When I'm with them they teach me so much I have to remind myself that I'm the oldest! Carissa had some wisdom to share too and I've really enjoyed getting to know her. And Kalai doesn't have to be wise - she can just be cute.

Hope all is well in the rest of the Brannon world!!!

"Paula Deen Week-end #2"

We need a report on the above when someone has time.
Love to all, Dad(Wayne)

Anziano Brannon is on the move!

In our email this morning Jonathan told us he is being transferred. He will travel tomorrow (Thursday) to Collegno (pronounced "co Lane yo" for those less fluent in Italian than me.) We actually got the pronunciation off the internet. It is very close to Turin/Torino home of the Shroud of Turin and the site of the 2006 winter olympics. He will be the "senior" companion. His new companion has been in Italy about 6 weeks. He says they speak Ancora Italian, a dialect, with some regional differences to what he has been speaking. He will be at the foot of the Italian Alps. Maybe a little cooler but not much. He gave himself a little haircut a couple of weeks ago. He says it is one less thing to worry about. Thanks for your prayers and support. We are grateful to be part of such a wonderful family! Friday night is Decatur/Austin and Emma will be cheering from the sidelines!

Baby Kalai in Texas

Mr. & Mrs. Russell Lee Brown

We had a wonderful time at the wedding! Sally & Jim Bennett came down from Dallas and Betsy, Emily & Clay came all the way from Alabama! Thanks so much!

Here are a few pictures of the big event.

Here comes the bride!!!

Well, now three of my four daughters are married. It was a wild few weeks around here, getting ready for the wedding. Then it was even a wilder few days with everyone here (except Tommy - picture me frowning here). The wedding went well and we appreciate all who came (and missed those who couldn't - but understand how busy life is). Hillary (Grace's former roommate from Provo) left on Sunday. Laura, Josh and Harrison left on Tuesday morning and my niece, Ruth-Anne, left on Tuesday night. After a fun - if short - honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Grace and Aaron returned very late Tuesday night and were back and work and school on Wednesday.

So now I'm trying to get back to regular life and not miss everyone too much. Christmas will be here before we know it!!

Anziano Brannon/family update

I know it has been awhile since I updated our family. Jonathan is still in Trieste. It is possible he will get transferred next week. He really is enjoying himself and working very hard. He was a long way from the train explosion last week. It is summer now and they don't do much air conditioning over there. His apartment is on the seventh floor and they don't have an elevator. His current companion is Anziano Bosco. He is Italian. Jonathan's Italian is improving. He is even learning some cooking tips. He recently informed us of an important lesson he learned. He forgot to buy hamburger to go with his "pasta and red sauce" (that's spaghetti to you and me.) In looking for a substitute he learned that hot dogs are not a good replacement for hamburger. Please note that in your recipe books for future reference. He is my son! Emma has had a busy summer with cheerleading practices and cheer camp, as well as girls camp and youth conference at church. She thinks she is ready to start high school. I hope I am! Pam enjoyed her summer off by going to AMSTI training and handling her duties as the new Young Women's President in our ward. I'm enjoying a cool summer at the ice rink. I teach the 9 year-olds in Primary. We have 11 on the roll and 10 show up almost every week. It is a challenge, but I am frequently reminded of the old adage about paying for your raising. We hope everyone is well and we look forward to seeing some if not all of you next weekend. Much love, James

Welcome Kalai Lydia Brown!!!

Hey this is Julie and I am excited to announce the arrival of my first grandchild.......Welcome Kalai Lydia Brown!!! I copied and pasted the announcement from Michael and Carissa's blog.


We just wanted to pass on the good news that we had our baby!!! We successfully kept our baby's gender a secret for 9 whole months! On June 24, 2009 I gave birth to a beautiful baby..............GIRL! Her name is Kalai Lydia Brown! She was born on Wednesday, her due date, at 8:58am. She weighed six pounds and 5 ounces and is 19 inches long. She is so tiny and beautiful and we just love being with her. We are so happy that she has joined our family! We love you Kalai!





Kalai's Birth Story
In my Daughter's eyes.....

This is when our family members found out it was a girl! Most of our family thought for sure she was a he.....oh, and if I look a little out of it, it's cause I was.






Okay, I had to make one more, I couldn't help myself. This one has no music so you can hear better what is going on.

Another wedding this summer!

Hi guys! Russ has proposed to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Speirs, and she said, "Yes!" She is a very sweet young lady, and we are so happy to have her in the family. Sarah was raised in Raleigh, NC but moved to Austin, Texas for her senior year of high school. She & Russ will be married in the San Antonio temple on August 8th. We'll have an Open House for them here on August 15th.

Michael & Carissa have decided on Samford (the 1/2 tuition scholarship was a big incentive!), so we are busy looking for a place for them to live. The baby is due June 24th! :) Carissa looks great and we are all anxious to hold our precious angel!

Logan is in Grand Rapids, Michigan selling security systems for the summer. He's up there with several of his buddies, so he's having a good time. We don't usually have to worry about Logan having a good time. He's pretty happy wherever he is!

Ruth-Anne is taking a few classes for Spring Term. She will start the Elementary Education program this fall. She's also working in the Children's Literature section of the BYU library and loves it! She'll be home in about a month.

Well, that's the news from the Browns. Hope y'all are all doing well. We love you!

Grace and Aaron are engaged!!!

Everyone mark your calendars for July 18th. Details to follow! We're pretty excited!
Betsy

The James Brannons are doing well. Jonathan has arrived in Italy. He is currently serving in Trieste. He says he can understand more than he can speak right now. That is an unusual situation for us Brannons to be in. He is healthy and doing well. Emma had a big week. She got her braces off on Wednesday and made the freshmen cheerleading squad on Friday. Pam is about to finish up another great year of teaching the 5th grade. I am completing my 7th year at the ice rink. We are healthy and happy and trying to mind our p's and q's. We hope all of you are well. It was good to here that all went well with D-Daddy's surgery. Take care. james

It is a shame...

Life is so busy sometimes I wish I could just make everything stop for a few minutes and enjoy it! But time marches on and thankfully it marches in mostly positive directions!!!! Above are a few pictures that reflect a lot of what has been going on with me and mine. Laura and her family visited and while here we tried to cram in as many activities as possible - including pedicures for the sisters, a trip to the zoo, a trip to the McWane Center, a trip to Habaneros Mexican Restaurant, a March Combo Bday Party (Laura 25, Grace 22, Tommy 20), and a session at a ceramic place.

Here's a brief update by person-

Cathy - Her family is doing well. Abbie has now lost 2 teeth and is on good terms with the Toothfairy. Andie can talk and we're all enjoying that. Cathy and Ricky are both doing well - trying to keep up.

Laura - We really enjoyed our brief visit with Josh and the longer visit with Laura and Harrison. Josh has some career decisions to make and we're anxious to see how that turns out (since it will determine where they end up living). Harrison and Laura leave today and we're all pretty sad about that, but we're thankful for the time we've had together.

Jamie - Paris doesn't look like she's ever had a baby but she's turned into a confident, experienced mom. Banx is precious and smiling and huge. They invited us all over to eat at their Subway on Sat and then the men went shooting while the girls went back to their house to visit.

Grace - Still loves her new job, is doing well in school and spends every spare minute with Aaron. I hear wedding bells ringing in the not to distant future.

Tommy - Inexplicably loves Ethiopia and is having a wonderful experience there. He's been gone nearly 9 months. We'll get to talk to him on Mother's Day and we're all looking forward to that.

Emily - Leaves for BYU-I on April 16 - her 18th birthday. We are not ready to let her go but are thankful to have so many friends in the Rexburg area if she needs any help. I'll drive her out and fly straight back since we'll still be in school at that point. I'll be back out in June to check on her.

Andy - Is gearing up for Spring Football and the end of his scouting career which will culminate with an Eagle Project on April 18th (conveniently while I'm in Rexburg - I didn't plan it that way I promise)

Clay - Just finished basketball and decided too late he'd like to play baseball so I get a break and he'll be starting football in just a few months - this time for the McAdory Middle School Yellow Jackets. Heaven help me where did the time go?

Butch - Still works hard both for UPS and the church. And I feel like I work hard but never accomplish anything. I'll be glad when school is over so I can take a deep breath and figure out where I am at least - if not get to where I want to be. I have a new book coming out at the first of June (release date changed AGAIN) and I'm working on a new Haggerty one that I hope will come out in the fall if I can get it finished. If...

So even though life is busy it's good and we're extremely blessed and grateful.

Hello everybody

It's a shame that nobody has shared with all of us your family happenings. We know that Banx arrived, Jonathan left, Logan came home and left again. I've heard that Laura and Harrison are coming for a visit. We are fine. I stay busy around Hillsboro, Rachel is busy teaching and going to school on Saturdays and Will is winding up his first year of graduate work at Auburn. Brandi, Sidney and Olivia Shankle seem to be doing fine, also.
Love to you all, Dad(Pa,Wayne etc.)