Intacct Advantage 2013 - Las Vegas

A couple weeks ago Matt and I headed over to Las Vegas, which is actually a lot closer than I thought.  We went because I had a conference for work - Intacct Advantage 2013!  But I won't put you through the details of that because to normal people it really isn't that exciting.  It was a good conference though and I'm not so secretly hoping I get to go again next year!  

We stayed at the Luxor!  The hotel is shaped like a pyramid which is really cool because each floor of rooms are moved inward more than the last in order to create that pyramid shape.  The elevators moved at an angle too... which I was not a huge fan of.  If regular elevators don't throw off my equilibrium, a slanted one definitely does.  

Vegas may be know as Sin City, but they have a lot of cool stuff there.  I mean, where else can you go (other than Egypt) to see huge statues like this?  It did make me want to travel and go see the real pyramids someday.  

We didn't have much time to hang out and have fun because I was at the conference most of the day, but once I got back we did stroll around the strip looking for a place to eat.  Side Note: The weather was beautiful! 

(After Matt took this picture he promptly told me I official have chicken legs... )

One of my favorite parts of our trip was going to watch the Bellagio fountains.  We missed it on our last trip to Vegas because it rained the whole time we were there and our hotel was not super close.  

I have always loved fountains, seeing these shoot water up to the tops of the buildings while being perfectly coordinated to awesome music was Fabulous!  Only down side... the show was only 5 mins long.  I was hoping for more, but now I know what I want in my backyard in the future :) 

The Luxor is the home of Chris Angel, a famous magician.  He does a show there every night.  Matt really wanted to go, but it cost a little more than we were planning on spending on our trip so we had to pass.  Maybe next time.

He's kinda creepy looking...

Instead of going to the Chris Angel show we went to our neighboring hotel, the Excalibur, and went to their Tournament of Kings show.  It was cheaper and included dinner, so it ended up being the best option.  It was a fun show.  Definitely one of the Family friendly shows on the strip.  Afterward some of the "knights" came back out to talk to us, unfortunately they said I wasn't allowed to pet their horses.

However, Horses are definitely in the plan next time I go to my Grandparents house :)

We had a great time together!  It made me want to take a real vacation sometime soon to really relax and spend some good, quality time together, not to mention have FUN!  But that will come in time.  For now we are happy with our life and thankful for all of our many blessings.

Hasta Luego

This last weekend we went to Snowflake to hear my brother Jacob give his farewell talk in church.  He did a great job.  That was the first time that I have seen him as a grown up rather than just my little brother.  He can drive, he has (had?) a girlfriend, he graduated from High School, and now is going on a Mission.  

Crazy.

Jacob has been called to the California, San Jose Mission.  From the time he opened his call to his reporting date were only 6 short weeks.  In that time he was privileged to go shopping with me not once, but twice!

We're all getting so Old... Except for dad of course :)

Danielle organized a luncheon for all the family and friends who were coming up for his Farewell.  We had a pretty full house and lots of good food :)  Danielle did a great job decorating and making sure things ran smoothly.

One Elder Johnson sending out the next generation of Elder Johnson's.  

Jacob is actually the first grandchild on either side of my family to go on a mission.  It takes a lot of bravery and courage to leave everything you know for two years.  I am very proud of him for being so awesome.  

Danielle is going to have to find new babysitters...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elder Johnson

reported to the MTC in Provo, UT today at 1:00pm.  He will be headed off to California in the next few weeks.  I will miss him being around but I know that he will do great and come back changed for the better!  

See you in two years little bro!

BFR: Girls, Girls, Girls

This is for all of you who knew I actually have a lot more Brown Family Reunion pics that are just hanging out on my computer.  Maybe they have found their way to facebook, but then again, maybe not.  Either way, good memories are always welcome, right?  

To start us off...  Girls Night In!  Tracie did a great job of planning pretty much the whole reunion, we had something to do together every day.  It made the question "So... what do you want to do?"  unnecessary.  

For the girls night in we did face masks and nails, just relaxed and watched a movie (or at least had one on in the background because I honestly don't have a clue what movie it was).  The masks were super cool because they were BLACK!  Who has ever heard of a black face mask?  The only down side... The Little kids were scared of us.

I tried to smile, but my mask had hardened and made my face almost immovable. 

After face masks all I remember is falling asleep on the couch while waiting for the boys to get back from their Guys Night Out, getting some much needed rest.  

Baby Shower!

I was in charge of the Girls Night Out.  Having never gone out with just girls in Anchorage, I had NO idea what to do, then the idea came... why don't we just have a surprise baby shower for Kristen!  There were multiple times I thought the whole thing was going to fall apart completely but somehow it all worked out.    

Kristen had decided she wasn't going to join us for our night out so she could go home and get some rest, but considering the entire night was focused around her we had to find a way to keep her involved for just a little longer.  So we decided to move the party to her house.  I'm pretty sure she was less than ecstatic to come home to a house full of people when all she wanted to do was sleep, but luckily she let us stay for a while :)

We did some Delivery Day mad libs... which were hilarious.  

We also took pics with 'Mom' guessing if we thought it would be a boy or a girl.  Looks like in this case, the majority lost.  

(Tracie, Kris, Jen, Claire, Gigi)

(Beth, Trish, Me)

We also wrote notes on diapers for mom & dad.  Some were words of encouragement and others were bound to get a laugh.  

The lovely Prego woman. 

I made this adorable diaper cake!  It's the most crafty I'd been for a long time.  

Saying Goodbye and letting Kristen relax a little bit. 

Thanks for letting us crash your party that night Kristen!  I love you!  

All around I think everyone had fun and enjoyed getting to have a baby shower for our wonderful S.I.L. We may not have the opportunity to do this again for a long time!  

Life Exchange

Matt and I have lived in Flagstaff for a few months now, it's been a little crazy moving and starting a new job and everything that comes with it.  Here are some things we have been up to since we have been back on the Mainland.  

My little bro, Jacob, graduated from High School.  Now he is 18, and all old and grow up.  He even has a real, full-time job.  Weird....

Jake, Amber & Me

The Whole Fam

Slade and I hung out quite a bit that evening, I tried to run around with him in hopes it would wipe him out and he would fall asleep for the night, unfortunately that kid has loads of energy. 

The first week of moving into our apartment we didn't have furniture.  So we made a makeshift table and dined in our living room.  (Chicken Pesto sandwiches featured here)

Our apartment complex also has a pool, which is pretty awesome considering we moved from Hawaii and were used to having water a 10 minute walk away.  

When we were visiting Grandma & Grandpa we got to ride the horse for a little bit.  Matt was a little scared... so he watched.  We will have to try again next time. 

4th of July!!!  Amber had a big party and it was fun to go and enjoy not being a teenager anymore.  Matt and I ran around crazy until my 10:00 bedtime hit me right in the face and I ended up being the lame old person falling asleep on the couch.  

In Flagstaff one Saturday we drove out to the closest lake and just hung out for a while.  I decided we are definitely heading back there again soon to go Kayaking.  The water was really muddy that day... hopefully it's not always like that or I might reconsider going back.  

We go to Sedona every week because Matt sings in a BarberShop chorus down there.  It is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen.  The bright colors are rock formations amaze me every time.  I love it.  

Well thats what we have been up to lately, nothing life altering, just enjoying being in a new place and exploring a little bit.  

"The Price of Anything is the Amount of Life you Exchange for it" 

- Henry David Thoreau

Aloha 'Oe

My last semester of school brought with it hard trials, many final projects, several academic evenings, and most importantly, Graduation and the completion of my Bachelors of Science in Accounting.  

I was invited to be a member of Phi Kappa Phi, an invitation only honor society that has been around for probably 150+ years.  It is based primarily on academic standing and GPA, as far as I know you have to be in the top 10% of the class to be nominated.  I was thrilled to be invited to join and, of course, took the offer (if only to put on my resume and seem smart).  

The motto of Phi Kappa Phi is "Let the love of Learning Rule the World"  which I think is awesome.  If there is one thing I have learned in the last few months is that I truly love learning and always want to be learning something new.  Another comment that was mentioned that night was along the lines of "The curse of having intelligence is having to deal with people who lack it," it was definitely my favorite statement of the night.  

The next event was the Accounting department graduation banquet.  They took the opportunity to give out awards, everything from 'The good Samaritan Award' ie. the person who isn't necessarily the smarted but is helpful and pleasant to be around,  to the "Top accounting student".  

I was awarded "Summa Cum Laude" that night - a graduation status based on GPA, which I was hoping I had managed to achieve.  Another award that I was waiting for with anticipation was for a national test that all business majors were required to take prior to graduating.  The test is called the Major Field Test, it simple tests to see how much information has actually been retained in your brain over the passed several years.  Everything from Economics and Marketing to Accounting and Finance. 

When I took it and got my score I felt like I had done pretty well, but I wasn't sure how they scored it because it wasn't a flat percentage but instead measured against the rest of the U.S.  I had asked a few times how I measured up compared to the rest of the nation and the school but no one ever seemed to have the scores or any knowledge of the test for that matter.  So the night of the banquet when they announced they were going to be giving awards for those who scored in the top 25, 15 & 10% I was excited to see if I had made the cut.  

[Fellow Accounting Tudors also graduating]

For the top 25% award, one name was called.  The top 15%, 2 or 3 names.  The top 10% another 2 or 3 names, none of which just so happened to be 'Jessica Brown'.  I was rather disappointed but figured, those who earned it definitely deserved it.  

A few days later one of my professors called me over and asked if I had gotten that award at the banquet, I said no and he looked at me with a confused look on his face.  I asked what was up and he told me that I should have gotten an award because I had the highest score of the whole accounting department.  I thought I had done well, turns out I scored in the 96 percentile nationally.  That gave me a boost of confidence that I could actually join the real world and not be completely behind in my knowledge.  

Day of Graduation!  

We had to be there at 7:00am, three hours early, so we could do absolutely nothing for two and a half hours while we waited for everyone to show up, then get in our lines and learned where to walk.  

An Early Morning: A Wonderful last gift from the University after a week of finals.  

Our little Hawaiian posse.

Grandma, Danielle, Brinley and Amber came for graduation (or so they say... but Hawaii wasn't bad either, right?)

[Some of our best Hawaii Friends:  John & Cassie]

-  Mission Accomplished  -