Santa's elves in the woodshop - Lucky and Mom

Lucky and Mom showing off their crafts. This woodshop was once the little tiny house my mom was born in. It used to be up on the ditch bank at her farm (Kramer Farm) but it is now on our neighbor's land (Uncle Lucky).

Mom and Lucky made this cowboy and little filly. That's Laura with them.

Check out http://browningfamilyunit.blogspot.com/2008/12/december-sleigh-ride.html for the way cool sled they made for Laura and Ben!

My Mom and Uncle Lucky make wonderful old-fashioned wooden toys including rocking chairs, wooden puzzles, rocking horses, pictures, etc., that they donate to schools and others. There is no charge for the toys and they use recycled wood.

Drinking 'coffee' and operating power tools. I'm wondering what these two put in their coffee?

Ho Ho Ho I'm Not Really Santa

Happy Winter Solstice! Tomorrow we get in the car to make the drive to Colorado to celebrate Christmas with family and friends.

Here is the kids' version of We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

'Sleigh' Ride

Lander finally got some snow!! And Laura and Ben could have played all night in it. We gave them dinner and baths and then bundled them up to look at Christmas lights in our neighborhood. Laura was pretending to be a sled dog (that is why her tounge is hanging out in the above shot!). So Ben would say MUSH and she would start pulling. A good way to burn off energy for her! We had a lot of fun singing Jingle Bells,which has inspired me to add some jingle bells to the sled.

This sled was made by my mom and my Uncle Lucky in their wood shop on the Kramer Farm. It is definitely one of a kind!

The lights are on in at City Park. That means..... they are flooding the baseball diamond for the ice skating rink. Yipee! Now if it would only stay cold enough.

They were a little squished, until Laura decided to get out and pull.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!

And on a completely unrelated note.

Only in Wyoming - in our local paper, the Lander Journal.

Halloween - The IncrediBrownings

Ben and Laura as Dash and Violet of The Incredibles.

It took me one and a half beers and the dark of night, but I ventured out as ElastaGirl with Dash and Violet! Note to self, red tights are not so flattering!

Our friends Mia and Abby (Fairy Princess Unicorns) with Laura and Ben waiting on the front porch for trick or treaters, drinking apple cider.

They were too excited to wait for trick or treaters to ring the door bell. They would run out and meet them at the mailbox to give them candy. Plus it was unseasonably warm out.


Some of the pumpkins we carved.

Camping in Saratoga, Lander Fly-In, and First Day of School

Laura just started first grade and really loves it. She has two wonderful teachers that team teach. One of them hugs each child and says a word to them as they line up in the morning to come into class. She also has a ranch 30 miles out of town which she takes the kids to on a field trip in the spring. The days have been so warm and sunny we try to walk home every day now that Laura is at the school closest to our house. Today we picked plums and ate them all the way home. Yesterday Laura lost one of her top teeth at gymnastics. She is also playing soccer.


Ben started preschool and also loves it because, "no babies go there." He took his first field trip the other day to the apple orchard and had a great time. He is going to the same preschool Laura went to called Tiger Tots. It's in conjunction with the high school and students interested in Early Childhood education help out the wonderful teacher Miss Jill.

Here are some random pictures from this fall.

Girls day out: Holly and Kathy went fishing at.... the secret fishing spot.

Finding the perfect fly.




Kathy, Libby (and 'junior'), Ben and Laura on a hike to Popo Agie Falls in Lander.

Laura and Ben's favorite wading pool, Popo Agie Falls.

Enjoying a warm fall day.

Latest outdoor craze: hiking in Spidey Man undies and flight jacket.

Kathy's friend Libby visited Lander for the first time. She flew from San Francisco to Jackson where we had a great dinner out on the town before driving to Lander. "World Famous" Cowboy Bar in the background.

Jackson Airport is the only airport in the lower 48 inside a national park (Grand Teton).

Hunt Field Fly-In, Lander

Scott and kids in front of a P-51 Mustang.

Laura and Kathy taking a ride in a 1928 biplane.

Laura's big, BIG smile after her airplane ride (King Cobra in the background - one of only two flying in the world today).

Ben, Kathy and Laura in front of the biplane.

School Days

Ben's first day of school at Tiger Tots.

Laura's 1st day of 1st grade at South Elementary School.

Strumming her six string with her lizard. (I love this picture)

Camping with the Powells near Saratoga, WY.

Feeding small children lots of sugar before bedtime: Laura, Hunter, and Ben

Horse packing in the Absaroka Mnts., WY

We finally made it into the wilderness with the kiddos - and our trusty steeds! Laura rode Kino and walked some, Ben rode in the backpack with Scott and I took a leisurely stroll trailing Arizona who packed all of our gear. This is the beautiful Absaroka mountains outside of Dubois, WY.

Following Scott and the horses to the trailhead, in the rain.

Arizona, Kathy, and Bud coming into Five Pockets.

Bud, Scott, Ben, Laura, and Kino.

Ben helping hobble the horses.




Stormy first evening. We had to scramble to set up camp and eat before it rained.



After a stormy evening, a bluebird day.

Laura and Scott on a day hike.

Kathy getting lots of help rigging up.

We had an early evening storm the second night and when it started to clear, the light was first greenish, then this otherworldly orange/pink/blue with a rainbow in the sunset. I just couldn't even begin to capture it here.

Jammin' Rio

Another beautiful stormy sky - driving home through the res.