Garrett's Best Friend

Aaron's Post:

Growing up as a child, I had alot of things. I was pretty well blessed because of my parents sacrifice. At the age of three something very special came into my life. Her name was Fawn. She was the runt out of a litter of black Lab/German short haired puppies. I don't remember a day of my childhood that she wasn't a part of.

Fawn was part of our family until I was 18, I remember the day that I found her in the backyard. I new something was wrong, because she didn't come to the gate to greet me when I got home from work. There are many fond memories of that old dog and me covering the pages of family albums.

Well, all these memories led me two years ago to getting Koda, and as you can see by the pictures, Garrett and him are best friends. They love to play together, which includes playing dress-up.

There have been many movies of boys and their dogs, "Ol' Yeller", "Where the Red Fern Grows", ok even "Homeward Bound." It's true that they have an attachment that really is inexplicable. I think Garrett will benefit from this friendship for many years to come.

Koda is a great dog, still a puppy, but a great dog. He is really part of the family and he watches Garrett like a hawk. We love him to death and truly consider him a blessing!

Gordon B. Hinckley

From LDS.ORG

President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.

President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.

The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from causes incident to age. Members of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days.

He was truly a remarkable man, that I looked up to in every way. He was such an example of humility and tenderness. He will be missed, but we know he is in a happier place with his sweet wife.

Rainy Day Craft Ideas

Sock puppets








Cute Valentine's Day love bouquet using conversation hearts.












Great idea for when your little girls pants get too short.

Crayon carrier








Chalk board mat on one side, placemat on the other. Roll-up design for purse or diaper bag.

For Those Office Fans!

The Office personality quiz, which character are you?

Which Office Character Are You?
	You are part Pam. You are sweet and likable, but your shyness makes it hard for you to express yourself sometimes. Regardless, you are always there for your friends and will usually come out of your shell to help anyone.
	You are part Ryan. You are extremely smart and perceptive, and it irritates you to no end when inferior people try to tell you what to do. Sometimes, though, your critical eye makes you come off as aloof and bitter to others, and it may take awhile for people to get to know you.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

James "Garrett" Brown

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

OLE' MEXICO

I just got back from another adventure in Ole Mexico. I went down to the state of Sonora to hunt Coues Whitetail. Man is this a blast. These little deer only weighs about 100 lbs, when they are fully mature. (Average Whitetail weighs about 200 lbs) They are very difficult to see and most shots are 300+ yards.

Its also allot of fun because it gives me a great opportunity to polish up on my Spanish. I still can speak it and seem to be the life of the camp for the Mexican guides who only speak a little English and most of that is foul. I enjoy talking to them and hearing the stories they tell in Spanish. What a great culture. As you can see I was quite the Vaquero, taking a little time to help gather cattle one afternoon.

Anyway, we had a great trip and even got home early. Sarah was happy about that. I wasn't supposed to be home until Saturday but I got home yesterday afternoon. Hope everyone is well. Stay tuned for the the next adventure.

Paso Children's Muesum

New Year's Day

Happy New Year to all! Hope you all had a safe and happy New Year's Eve. We took Garrett to the 6-hole course across the street this morning to golf with Daddy. He LOVED it! Pedestrians were walking by and calling Garrett the next Tiger Woods. I made sure people knew he is still seeking sponsorships:-)





Aaron's Papa made Garrett a small golf club and we brought the red wagon and called it "Garrett's golf cart". We had a great time!










Sending you a HAPPY NEW YEAR in 2008!

Christmas 2007

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS this year. We were able to see almost all our family (we missed my brother and his family). We went to Riverside and Tehachapi, had three Christmas' and loads of fun. I love the Christmas season, but it's always sad to say good-bye and have to wait a whole year for it to return! Thank you to everyone that helped make this holiday season special.

Here are some of our favorite Christmas highlights:
1. Pedicures with Momma Lockwood
2. Having a yummy pot roast with the Jones'
3. Mom's Tacos
4. Matching purple PJ's with Smith girls
5. Garrett being inseparable with his cousin Peyton
6. Dirt Dawg dance (video of dance)
7. Kandi's pumpkin pies
8. The Dooney and Burke beast bag
9. Aaron golfing with Chris and Robert
10. Shopping and going out to dinner with all the siblings

Mr.G and Mommy and Me with Santa

Garrett has so much fun at Mommy and Me, he loves his new teacher Ms. Dorthy! Santa Claus came to visit our class last week, Garrett was the first one to jump on Santa's lap...he's his biggest fan! Oh, please ignore the bruises all over Garrett's head he has been a little rambunctious lately!

Christmas Projects

I made these fun hooded bath towels for my nieces and my Mr. G for Christmas. This was a time consuming, but fun, creative project! I even thinking about selling them!

Christmas Card 2007

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Vine Street

Last weekend Aaron's family came over to attend the Vine Street Christmas Celebration in downtown Paso Robles. I'm really getting to love this city more and more each day. It has great charm with all the cute eatery's downtown, safe and quite neighborhoods and a great school district. The whole Smith crew came on Saturday and we women had a great time hanging out, while the men went golfing.

That night we went to AJ Spurs for dinner, its a cute western style steak house. It is a tradition that almost everytime the Smith Family comes to town we go AJ's for their great food and fun autmosphere. After dinner we went to Vine Street where the old Victorian houses were all decorated for Christmas. There were carolers, Ebenezer Scrooge's house and Santa Claus. It was a magical experience.

On Sunday, we all attended church after church I went over to the golf course across the street to take Christmas pictures for Shelli and Robert. Shelli is so photogenic, I love taking pictures of her, because they always turn out good! Thanks for dealing with us girls Robert!

Christmas Pictures

Last weekend we went to Meadow Park in SLO with Trevor and Kiwi (Alina too) to take our Christmas pics, they turned out really cute. We took each others pictures, so we could get our Christmas cards completed! It was fun trying to get the kids to smile for the camera...it is amazing what you'll do for a good picture. We really should of got a picture of me doing the chicken dance for Alina...oh dear!

Thanksgiving Travels

Still recovering from the holiday travels, laundry to do, messages to return, and colds to fight off. We had a great time visiting with my family in Riverside. We went to my grandparents house on Thanksgiving and had a great time watching Garrett trying to play tennis. Since Garrett is really into golf, he proceeded to use the tennis racket as a golf club...that's our little Tiger in the making!

Went shopping on Black Friday, also just figured out the retailers call it Black Friday:) On Friday night we went to the Mission Inn, place were Aaron and I honeymooned our first night as a married couple. They had a Christmas lighting ceremony that included fireworks, ice skating, hot cocoa, all the little mom and pop shops were open as we walked down the historic downtown area of Riverside. It was truly charming, and a great way to welcome in the holiday season.

The Big Proposal

Shelli, Aaron's younger sister, was proposed to by her boyfriend of a couple years on Thanksgiving Day! We are so happy for them and are excited to have Robert as a part of our family.

Congratulations Shelli and Robert!

Where in the World is Aaron Fall 2007

Well I am back, after traveling North America I have a little break. (Three weeks to be exact) I have been to CO, WY, GA, and MT since the end of September. I have to say it has never felt so good to be home. I miss home, I miss Sarah, and I miss Garrett. Above are some photos of my recent trips. I hunted in CO for elk with the Magazine Outdoor Life. I probably wouldn't have gone on this hunt, but it was a paid archery hunt, and since I am addicted to archery elk hunting I couldn't resist. Working for a firearms company I don't get to do much feather flicking that often. This was a great trip but I unfortunately missed a big bull at 40 yards and wasn't able to fill my tag. It was a great trip with allot of horseback riding and walking. Always good for the physical fitness.

Then, the travel really heated up with two trips in October. I went to Glenrock, WY for my normal antelope and mule deer hunt, this was a great trip and is alway relaxing. We stay in a hotel that was built in 1903 and is supposedly haunted. My boss has had 3 encounters with the female ghost who comes and visits the people who stay in room 208. Its pretty cool I think. We had a great time but was very excited to fly to Sacramento to meet up with Sarah and Garrett at Sarah's cousins wedding in Auburn.

I return home just in time to pack and travel to GA for a little quail hunting. All I can say about this trip is that I won't live in GA. I did the humid thing on my mission and don't want any part of it any more.

And now today. I just returned from MT, where I went into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for 8 day to elk hunt. What an experience. I rode over 100 miles on horseback and spent half of my time in snow. It was a true wilderness adventure. The writer I took was successful on the first day and then I missed a bull elk on the third. I wasn't successful on this hunt but the experience will provide memories for an eternity.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am looking forward to seeing everyone for the holiday. Talk to ya'll soon.