....and a partrige in a pine tree.

Actually, it's four grouse in our pine tree.

They've been hanging around the yard for about two weeks now

(Yes Lib, I'm tempted!)

Christmas at Grandma & Grampa's

A Wonderful Time for Thanksgiving

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving, and the best part was that I didn't have to wash any beaters. Our thoughtful grandkids kept them clean.

Thanksgiving Slideshow

Slide Show For Grampa's Snow Day

Take a look at today!

Yesterday it snowed 24" at our house. Today it is cold, sunny, and amazing!
I put on x-country skis for the first time in my life. What a workout! There is a reason I didn't see any other skiers, the snow hadn't settled enough to ski on! It was beautiful though, and I need the exercise. Enjoy the pics.
Love,
Grampa Brown

Amazing Grace

You all know how much I love the song "Amazing Grace". Aunt Gloria sent me this link to IL Diva singing it in the Coloseum in Rome. It's 4 minutes long, and more than worth the time. Be sure to listen all the way to the end. Thanks Aunt Glo!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3F3OVCGVMBVIO

While Mom & Dad's Away...

Gini and Jasen went on a short cruise to Mexico, and that means that Grandma and Grampa got to spoil some wonderful grandkids for a few days! (Is it my imagination, or do the grandkids all mind grampa better than.., well, you know what I mean.)

Lib & Andi's High Mountain Wedding

A Wonderful Day For The Brown Clan

In a very chilly, and beautiful, high mountain meadow in Montana, sweetheart's vows were exchanged. Andi and Eryn officially became part of our family, and joined their hearts to ours.

Amelia Grace Brown Has Arrived!

Beautiful!
The medical staff say everything went fine.

Mom looks great! Just out of recovery.

Proud Parents

Hello Little Sister.

She doesn't say much does she?

Awesome!

Is that a smile?

Wonderful!

What a wonderful day! Amelia is here, and both she and her mommy are beautiful and doing fine. She weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz. and is 20 1/2 inches. Her family is bragging about her like they did all the work, but we know Candi deserves the credit. Good job Mom.

How Boys Learn

Of course, some boys never do learn. The rest of us learn by doing. (which means making mistakes, and then not making the same ones again.) So when he went to bed and heard the fireworks going off outside, Liam stretched from the top bunk to try and see the rocket's red glare outside his bedroom window. He over-balanced, fell out of his bed and hit his head on the metal firetruck parked on his floor. Four stitches later, he has learned that fireworks cause dents in firetrucks. (Girls learn by watching boys do things, and deciding that they are being "silly")

America's Past Time

The concentration is intense!

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Must get to the dog-pile!
.
The crowd goes wild!
.
Mom beams with pride!
.
Everyone pays close attention, to something else!

The smell of new-mown grass. The sharp crack of the bat! The crowd goes wild!

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A well hit ball finds it's way into the outfield..., and every kid on the team goes after it! When they all get there, the dog pile is painful and intense, but it is the most enthusiastic part of the game, for the diminutive players know that the survivor of the pile who comes out of it with the ball is a hero!

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Mean while, the opposing coach has convinced the smiling batter that it is necessary to run to 1st base where she now stands proudly, with a joyful burst of fidgeting.

.

The T-Ball game has begun!

Dragon's Source & Catching Up with the Browns

The new cover art for Dragon's Source

The blog for the book is http://dragonssource.blogspot.com/

Wow! Sorry we haven't updated in a few weeks. The list seems endless, and I'm not complaining!

I'm still working on getting Dragon's Source published, and while I've been sending the letters out fast and furious, I've been using the time to edit and rewrite whenever possible. during the editing process, the book has grown from 94,000 words, to 97,207! It's getting to the point that I'm afraid to read it again.

The cover art is finished (see photo) and I like it alot! The problem is that publishers rarely allow the author any say on the cover art, so I may have been wasting my time. I hope not, because I've seen some really poor covers on the shelves.

Chris is doing great! She's currently working in Billings and home on the weekends.

The bad news is that my little brother's wife, Neva, passed away last Sunday morning after a long fight with breast cancer. The memorial service is in Henderson, Nev. on the 6th of June, and we will be traveling down with Mom and Mac. It will be the first time we've been there since we left over 25 years ago. I can't imagine how Scott is coping. I know that if I were in his shoes, I'd be a basket case. I can't think of anything that I could say to him that would make him feel better. We had to hide from the fear of Chris' cancer this last year, and we're so grateful that she is cancer-free right now. The really scary thing is that the doctors told Scott and Neva that she was cancer-free as well, and then found out that they had read the tests wrong.

I hope everyone will keep Scott and the kids in your prayers. I'm sure he needs them.

Some people thought that the speeches were just the teensiest bit too long.

The flowers blush with envy....

Spring Flowers at Temple Square (click on them to enlarge)

Mac and Kelly earn their Bachelor's Degees

Last weekend, we had the privalege of attending the graduation ceremonies at UVU in Orem, Utah, where we were able to watch as Mac and Kelly were awarded their Bachelor's Degrees.

We are so proud of them both!

Below is a slideshow of some of the photos. If you click on the photos, you'll be able to see it full sized.

Graduation Slideshow

This is Spring?

You can always tell when spring has finally arrived in Bozeman, because that's when we get the biggest snowstorm of the year!

Easter Slide Show

Easter at Grandma and Grampa Brown's

What a wonderful weekend!
Lib, Andi, and Eryn came up from Rigby, and Pip, Candi, Charlie, Liam and Adian all particapated in a memorable holiday. We colored eggs. We hid eggs. We ate eggs. In fact, we started eating Friday, and didn't stop until Sunday evening! Now the hope is that we have found all of the eggs that we hid!
The weather was amazing, and we all got to swing a golf club or two.
Hope you enjoy the photos and that you all had a great weekend also.
Love, Grandma and Grampa Brown

Still slugging through the mud of publisher land

The Standing Stones at Callenish on the Isle of Lewis

where DRAGON'S SOURCE climaxes.

The good news for my book DRAGON'S SOURCE, is that I've had positive responses to my 'query' letters from two really wonderful agencies. Each of them has requested additional chapters, and/or synopsis pages for consideration. They each receive 100 - 200 queries a day, and I'm not certain what percentage of those are asked for more pages, but I know it isn't very many. So at least I've made the first cut!

The bad news is that even if my book sells right away, it will probably be 8 -12 months before it hits the book stores. Once it sells, it still has to go through the editing process and then be assigned a place in the line to be printed, and all that takes time.

The good news is that I've started on book two of the series. So hopefully, by the time that book one is hitting the shelves, book two will be in the system as well.

The view from the tee box, 1,400 feet above the green!

I know that we have some avid golfers who visit this blog.

You all need to go to this link to see the most extreme golf hole in the world, and it's a par 3!

http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/Quite-simply-the-most-amazing-golf-hole-on-the-p?urn=golf,152314

As you're probably already aware, I have been searching for an agent and publisher for my new book Dragon's Source. During the search, I came across this blog that you'll love. Be sure to check out the older posts. http://bentobjects.blogspot.com/

Dragon's Source is Finished!

It's done! After almost exactly 4 months of work, 94,000 words, 56 chapters, and 317 pages, my first book is finished.

I'm now shopping for agents and publishers, while I continue to edit and refine the manuscript, and this may be the hardest part. I hope not, but since I don't have any other frame of reference, I'll just have to dig in and get it done!

I've already started to outline the second book in the trilogy. The working title will be "Children of the Stones".

I'm also beginning the outline of an historical fiction book that is based on the Bennett family as they moved from the Carolinas, through the Cumberland Gap of the Great Smokey Mountains, and into western Tennessee. The story will add flesh to what our family already knows about their lives as pioneers and will climax with their experiences during the Civil War.

Now onward into publisher land!

Smiles for the Brown Family

Christine and I are more than pleased to announce the engagement of our son Liberty Ronald, to his beautiful high school sweetheart, Andi Piper and her wonderful daughter Eryn!

They will be getting married in Bozeman, sometime this summer.

So with Candi and Charlie's new baby, that means that this summer the Brown Clan will have three more members.

Browns Gu Brath!

Current Projects

Apologies to every one for the lack of postings in the last month. To say that we have been busy is an understatement of epic proportions.

With the Bozeman market officially closed, Chris is now working in Billings, and only coming home on the weekends. Normally, this sucks big time, and it does now as well, but the upside is that, with Chris gone it's giving me more time to work on my book.

That's right! I've been writing a book!

My kids have always tried to encourage me to write my stories and publish them. (The stories, not the kids) and I've always fantasized about writing books for a living. Well, here is book no. 1.

I Can't tell you a lot about it on this very unsecured format, but I can tell you that when it is published, you'll be able to find it in the Fantasy Fiction area of your book stores.

I'm almost done. So far, I've written 75,000 words, on 255 pages, in 39 chapters. This first book, in what is planned to be a trilogy, is in three parts of which I've completed the first two.

Thus far, the reviews have been enthusiastic for the chapters that I've sent out.

Now, as I come to the end of the writing process, I have begun to look for agents and publishers. This part may be more difficult than the writing portion.

Any way, wish me luck, and I'll keep you up to date on the progress.

The Year That Was

Forever Children

2008 Grampa's Perspective

We've had the chance, over the last few days, for some retro-spection about 2008. Because of this blog, it has certainly been the most documented year of our lives. One needs only to begin at the older posts and read forward to hear about all the major events that filled the year and our lives. It only remains to put the year into perspective and rate it like we do the movies. You know..., 1 to 5 stars.

The single most defining thing of the last year was, of course, Christine's bout with colon cancer. She had several surgeries and the many trips to Billings, Montana for her chemotherapy treatments. The rest of the year, spent with family and friends, had to be shoe-horned in around the logistics of those treatments.

You might be surprised when you hear that we give the year 2008, 5 stars. That's right, *****!

With all that we've learned from the battle with cancer, the rest of the year was made that much sweeter. Yes, 2008 was a very good year!

It is my prayer that all of us will learn from this last wonderful year and use the lessons it has taught us to make all of the years to come, that much better.

*****

2008 Grandma's Perspective

What a wonderful blessed year this has been. Through the trials and adventures of the past twelve months I have come to understand more completely the Lord's plan for us here on earth. He has blessed us with family and friends that have enriched not only this year but our lives before and after. I have come to a more complete understanding of how important our loved ones are to us. You have all been there when the times were hard giving your love and support to us when most needed, and were there to celebrate the good times as well. We have been able to spend time with you either in person, by phone, via email, and through our thoughts and prayers, all of them are special memories. When I reflect on the events of the year and try to pinpoint the most special, it is not where we were or what we were doing it, it was the choice memories of times shared with those we love. May we all make it a goal to spend more time together this year and to live our lives following the example of our Savior so that we may be

together forever.