Full Nelson

Kailyn Got Glasses!

2011-12-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

After she found out she needed them (she is losing sight in one eye) she was soooo upset- especially because she found out she isn't a candidate for contacts. She was crying and asked if we could get a milkshake and fries. As we went through the McDonald's drive through I was warning her of the dangers of eating to console yourself especially when you are older and don't have the metabolism for it.

I don't think my lesson sunk in because when we got home and I asked her what she wanted for dinner she said "pizza- I need more comfort food"

She picked super cute glasses that are totally funky and original and totally her. She hasn't adjusted to wearing them yet because they are forcing her bad eye to work and that makes things seem less in focus then when she has the glasses off and her brain just shuts the bad eye off all together. Plus by the end of the day her eyes are super tired because they are having to work so hard in the glasses. She is probably going to end up having vision therapy but they want her to wear her glasses for a bit first so we go in January for the consultation.

Nostalgic

2011-11-27T16:59:00.000-08:00

Travis surprised me for our anniversary by taking me to relive parts of our first date.
Instead of visiting Jimi Hendrix at his grave we went to the Experience Music Project museum. They are featuring Nirvana right now which was very cool!
Instead of staying up all night listening to Pink Floyd we went to the Dark Side of the Moon Laser show. I have never been to a laser show before and it was super trippy. I felt like I was being hypnotized lol!
We also added Thai dinner and a trip to the grocery store lol!
It was so much fun and I am so lucky to be married to such an amazing man. It was so cute to see him trying to plan the surprise. I eventually caught on and he let me help him plan our date- He had a lot of good ideas but he is super indecisive so he kind of needed my help anyway.

Happy Birthday Jimi and Happy Anniversary to us!

What if 6 was 9

High school sweethearts!

After the laser show. Is it sad that I fell asleep during the last few songs?

He likes the picture above better and I like this one better so I am including both

School Pictures 2011

2011-11-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

I FINISHED MY BOOK! (saturday lol)

I can't believe how grown up my kids are now!!! Time sure seems to be speeding by. Sometimes I want it to go faster because I am so curious to see what these kids do and become and I want grand kids lol. Other times I just want things to slow down because I am not ready to be an empty nester. A friend of mine shared her awesome talent with us and took these pictures of Allias and Kay. She took several more but these are my favorites from the shoot!

Allias is a junior this year and 16! He is all about looking fresh- it cracks me up when I go shopping with him- he is such a girl about outfits lol. And whooaa is this kid a charmer!
He isn't driving yet- we would like him to get his Eagle first but he did agree to be on the Youth Conference committee. He seems excited to be helping with the planning.
He is trying to read the Book of Mormon by March- I told him if he does I will by him a plane ticket to visit his friends in North Carolina this summer. He is also blessing the sacrament at church. He has such a strong clear voice that it really helps you focus on the prayer.
He has a super heavy class load this year with Trig, Chemistry and French plus three other classes. His grades aren't the best butttt they don't exactly suck either and he is doing a little better than previous years. We are kind of letting him be in charge of his own destiny when it comes to his grades this year.
He is trying out for the basketball team this week and I really hope he makes it. There is so much politics involved in school sports- not to mention how many select and AAU teams there are around here that parents pay thousands of dollars each year for and kids start playing in when they are seven or eight. It makes me nervous with him being the new kid and all.
When he isn't doing school work or playing basketball he is lifting weights at the gym. It is a serious obsession for him this year. We never let our boys lift weights growing up- we wanted them to wait until they were nearly done growing so he has been thrilled to start and is getting pretty buff lol.

Kailyn is 12 and in Middle School!!!!
She really is growing up and it is just crazy to me. She is as tall as me now (five foot six!) and we have worn the same size shoe for several months.
She just finished her volleyball season and starts basketball this week. She is a little nervous about playing basketball since she has only played one other time and that was a few years ago. I think she only agreed to play because a lot of people said she should with her height. I just hope she has fun. She is a hard worker and competitive so I think those two things should help her.
I love homeschooling her and she seems to be enjoying it a lot this year. I think a lot of her enjoyment comes from the fact that she takes a few classes outside of the house and she likes the social aspect of that. She gave her first talk at church on Sunday and did really really well. She was so excited to get up in front of the congregation. She really is my child in that way. I think her favorite part of the classes she is taking is when she gets to present projects. She has to work really really hard to get good grades because of some processing issues she has but I have been so proud of her and the effort she has put in this year so far.
She is getting glasses next week and is NOT happy about it. She is losing sight in one of her eyes though so they are trying to stop it from going completely blind. Allias and Travis are both blind in one eye though so I am not sure what good the glasses are going to do but I guess it is worth a try! People constantly tell me how beautiful Kailyn is and it is so true but she really has such a shining personality to match!

Tyler is back in Utah working and hanging out with friends. I talk to him often and he always sounds so good. I am really proud of him. He got promoted at Chick-fil-A to a kitchen manager and works at 5:45 every morning!!!! The owner and his boss both really love him and look out for him which is nice. He wants to get a license, car and his own place and I am sure if he puts his mind to it he can achieve all of those goals and more. I am excited to see him after Christmas!
Maybe I will be able to have my sister n law take a family picture of us while we are there!

“All the best stories in the world are but one story in reality -- the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape.”

2011-11-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends, Denise, gave me a wooden block that now sits on my bookshelf- it says "books fall open you fall in" There probably isn't a truer statement about me on the planet and well.... I have fallen in and deeply. See you all again when I come up for air!

"I was born with a reading list I will never finish." -Maud Casey

"The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."- Dr. Seuss

Pumpkin Failure

2011-11-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

Trav carves pumpkins with the kids every year and they usually turn out super cute- this year we invited my niece and nephew to join us. Allias and Gavin decided to make a Miami Heat pumpkin and the girls were going to do a haunted house on one and a ghost on the other. Needless to say things didn't quite go as planned- all of the carving tools broke and everyone gave up except for Allias who tried to do his with a regular knife. He was just about finished when the whole thing collapsed. He said "wow it is just like Miami in the playoffs- it took so much time and hard work and looked so great right up to the last minute and then it just fell apart"
All three half finished pumpkins are sitting on my counter- I wonder if Trav will buy another carving kit and finish them! I am just thankful that he likes to do this kind of stuff and I can just sit behind the camera and watch!

Kay wasn't sure she wanted to touch the "guts" this year

Travis explaining what perfection looks like to Allias

these two LOVED pulling out the goop

ewwwwwww

Fighting over who gets to scrape it out

everyone disappeared lol

almost done!

the finished products!

Future American Idol!

2011-10-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

I finally remembered to upload this video!!! Hopefully next semester Kay can take some formal vocal lessons. I think she has a lot of potential! Oh and Britt is just awesome! She was so sweet to work with Kailyn on this and play it with her! I only wish I could be half as talented!
Contrary to what the title of this post says she really doesn't have American Idol on her mind. We are still homeschooling but taking a few classes through the school district. For each class she has to reflect on what she has learned and how it will help her in the future. When I read the reflection for her beginning guitar class I almost started crying. Here is what she wrote for practical application, "I will be able to use this in the future when I want to play the guitar to my children considering I want seven of them. I could play when they go to bed as a lullaby or if we go camping together I could play it at the campfire. I could also use it if they wanted to learn how to play the guitar."
seriously can it get any sweeter than that?????
(also none of the other videos that pop up at the end are of my Kay or my Britt!)

So Angelic........

2011-10-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween- especially the dressing up part- oh and the candy part.....
This year Kailyn decided (for the first time since she could choose her own costume) to be something sweet and unscary.
Here she is- my little angel............

if you want to see the rest of the pictures they are here

I forgot to put this in the previous post!!!!

2011-10-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

I was out of town when Allias got ready for the dance and when I came home Saturday evening this is what I found open on the computer!

Spirit Week and Homecoming

2011-10-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

I think Allias is finally starting to find his groove here! He seems to be making friends, working hard on his grades and having fun. It makes me happy to see things working out for him!
He won the most spirited award for the Junior Class and had a blast at the homecoming game and dance.
I really hope the year continues to go well for him!

With the Belgium exchange students

Tacky Day

NERDY!!!!

well golly!

Love it!!!!

Hillbilly Day! He talked in a southern accent all day lol!

Living in North Carolina for 12 years really helped us get this right!

All growd up and hangin out with gurls!

Super FAN- I wish I would have got one with his eye mask on!

Homecoming

so stinkin cute!

One more of the whole group!

Being Silly!!!!

they had to get to the dance somehow!

homecoming on parade!

A Young Woman Now!

2011-10-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

Kailyn turned 12 last month!!!!!!! Trav told her she can date when these candles are turned around the other direction. We had family over for a big birthday brunch since Gav and Jen both have September birthdays as well. Super fun and we got super full!!!!! With Stake Conference, General Conference and a small Sunday emergency Kay didn't get to go to Young Woman's until last Sunday- she is thrilled to be out of Primary and part of a Beehive class with 23 girls! I took her to the doctor last week and she is 5 foot 5 and a half which is above the 95 percentile for her age. Another inch and she will be as tall as me!!! She is still the sweetest girl on the planet and I love love hanging out with her. She is getting straight As in all of her classes both at home and at HomeLink and working harder then I have ever seen her work. She is running and playing her guitar and playing volleyball and seems to be enjoying every minute of it. We are so happy to have this baby girl in my life!

Trav with his big brother and little sister

triple citrus cheescake! YUMMY!

we has some serious food and eating going on!

why yes I am a dork!

Back to School

2011-10-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have some cool stuff to blog about but I feel like I need to do a little catching up first!!!!
(sorry I skipped Tyler's 19th birthday- the camera battery was dead so I don't have any pictures but I think he had a good birthday and got some cool stuff- only one more year as a teenager! Wow that makes me feel old). I also have so many pictures from all of our travels and visiting over the summer but if I blog all of that it will be Christmas by the time I catch up!!!!!! So I am skipping it- the pictures are on Facebook if you really want to see them.

Anyway here are my cute kids on their first day of school.


JUNIOR YEAR!!!

I can't believe she is in 6th grade! It almost breaks my heart!!!!! And please ignore the huge pile of unfolded laundry in the background (even though I am pretty sure it is still in the same place)

we are still homeschooling- she is just taking four or five classes through a special program for homeschoolers- she goes once a week to the class and then does all the work at home.

Sweet? 16

2011-10-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

In June Allias turned 16! He was pretty bummed this year on his birthday. He was wishing we were back in North Carolina where he could have a HUGE party with all of his friends. I think because of how sad he was we kind of (really really really) over compensated in the gift department.
Not sure if that was the right choice or not but I did have fun shopping lol- he got clothes and a hat and sunglasses and movie tickets and treats and some very very nice basketball shoes
Allias is fiery and determined and whoaaa hard headed and I imagine ( really really hope) those qualities will serve him well someday- especially with the direction the world seems to be going.

nothing says lighting birthday candles like a blow torch!

the candles were pretty much liquid by the time he blew them out!

he needed a BIG bowl!

sometimes I seriously wonder about this family!

I wish I could remember what that card said- Kailyn picked it out and it was pretty hilarious!

Miami!

REESE'S!!!!

Probably the most expensive shoes I have ever bought. for anyone. ever.

My handsome 16 year old! He was soooo happy to have his haircut! He can't stand when it gets shaggy. We keep waiting for him to ask someone out on a date but it hasn't happened- he is ever so slightly picky when it comes to women so we shall see!

long time no post!!!

2011-10-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

Our summer was grand and I have an almost empty bottle of after sun lotion to prove it!I haven't taken the time to blog like I should but I want to get back into it- mainly to preserve the memories- my kids are growing up and I am starting to forget some of the little details- the little stories and cute things they said pop up here and there but they aren't part of my every day memory. I decided to give up all the time sucking addictive games etc that I play and I want to focus on what matters most. I am going to start a notebook where I write down the memories that come to mind. When a story pops into my head I want to write it down so it isn't lost forever.

I have a little catching up to do with all that happened this summer but to start here are some amazing pictures of Allias cresting Mt. Adams.

Allias didn't want to go- he has been fairly depressed since we moved to Washington. He was determined to have a miserable summer and didn't want to go to Youth Conference, Trek or the High Adventure hiking trip. I told him he had to do two of the three and so he reluctantly chose Youth Conference and the hiking trip. Well when the time came to go hiking he said he wasn't going. We decided to give him an ultimatum and told him that if he didn't go on the hiking trip he wasn't going on his beloved yearly trip to Lake Tahoe and he said fine. We were totally shocked and really quite sad but we felt like we had to follow through on what we had said and hold him accountable for the commitments he had made. He literally fought us on it until two nights before he was supposed to go! It took a call from my uncle with the cabin in Tahoe to finally change his mind.

Needless to say we had to rush around and get him everything he needed for the trip.

He promised us he was going to have a terrible time no matter what. He told us if he had fun he would give up basketball for a year lol- we didn't hold him to that.

He ended up being the first one to reach the top and one of the last ones down on the ending day because he was helping one of the boys who was struggling to glacade.
All of the leaders said how happy they were to have him on the trip and how impressed they were by him. They also assured us that he had a "terrible" time.
There are a ton of pictures and I couldn't decide which ones to cut out so you get to see them all! They aren't in order but hopefully you get the picture!

getting ready to go!

on the way up

view from the top!

taking a break

another view! So amazing!

glecading down

wow!

this picture really shows how tiny the boys were on that huge mountain

happy to be at the top!

I think this was taken either on the way to or the way back from the mountain.
I can't believe Allas was on the top of that thing!

base camp!

clean up

They camped out up on the mountain one night- there were 35 mile per hour winds so the boys didn't get much sleep. They had to be up bright and early the next morning for the final climb to the top!

king of the world!

this one is my favorite!!!!!

at the top!!!!

"There's a lot to talk about in this mouth"- Dr. Fred

2011-06-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

When I took Kailyn to the regular dentist last month I had already scheduled her consultation with the orthodontist but it cracked me up when the dentist looked at her and said, "There's a lot to talk about in this mouth"
Then when we had our consultation the orthodontist and after he had looked at Kailyn and was about to talk to me she said "I know....... there's a lot to talk about in this mouth"
Well she got round one of her braces last week. I can't believe how super cute she looks in braces. I don't think I have ever thought someone looked better with braces on.Here are her before and after pics. The first week was really rough and she could barely eat but things are better now.

She would kill me if she knew I put this picture up! I just wanted a picture of what her teeth looked like before. If you look down on the bottom left you can see where her eye tooth grew in two spaces back and sideways. Then on the top some of her permanent teeth are up in her gums with no space to come down. They had to pull out about six baby teeth and put in spacers the week before she got the actual hardware.

honestly you couldn't really tell when she just smiled but she was still self conscious about it- the ortho said her teeth were also shifting off center because of how things were coming (or not coming) in.

all smiles! She really was super excited to get them!

Volleyball!

2011-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am coaching Kailyn's volleyball team and that is pretty funny. I was kind of a last resort. The first three coaches backed out before the first practice and no one else stepped up. Most of the girls on my team have never played before but we are still having a good time (I think). We haven't won often (only on match in a set actually) but the girls are getting better and better every week and so I am happy.
Kailyn is doing really well and I am happy she has found a sport she loves.

yep she is precious!!!!!

yeah I know what I am doing (NOT)

at least I have cute shoes right?

our adoring public!

he is pretty cute too!

Our team is called Zoom!

I bought all the girls matching socks.

I only look like I am mad

Britt took these pictures when she was here and I am really happy to have them. She got some great ones of Kay!

Last Hurrah

2011-05-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

No trip to Washington is complete without a trip to Teriyaki Madness. Just typing the name makes me crave it. I am pretty sure I am going to have to go there tomorrow for lunch. We met at Jen's pasture and rode the horses for a bit and then took our lunch to the park and wandered around. I didn't bring my camera so I stole these pictures from Brittney!

Kailyn, Tyler and Brittney all took turns riding but Britt didn't post any pictures I could steal!

there was a giant man eating pig in this trailer- pretty sure it almost ate Lil's arm!

LOVE!

Sweetest boy ever!

This is what happens when you try and get a picture of my kids together

or this

Eventually if you are lucky you will get this!

and this!

wow can you say bad hair day? and I am not talking about Camerons

Everybody was pretty pooped on the ride home!

It was so much fun having Brittney (and Brad) here- I am just sad it had to end. Maybe someday we will live in the same town!

Pike Place

2011-05-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

After we left the zoo we headed down to Pike Place- the weather had turned UH-Mazing and we were all super excited to wander around but we were all way bummed when we got there everyone was closing up shop!!!! I couldn't believe they close that early. We ended up getting a few treats and sitting down on the water front. Then before we called it a day we went to the chocolate store and got even MORE treats. The kids had ice cream but I had a chocolate caramel covered apple- it was delish!

There is nothing like Seattle on a sunny day!

And you meet a lot of interesting characters! Some of them even let you play their drums!

Handsome!

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

Sorry had to add another one- he is just wayyy too stinkin' cute!

and so is she!

Gum licking!

apparantly licking gum that has been stuck onto walls is a favorite past time of his
(this was at the Maid Rite in Ohio back in July of 07- They had just recently powerwashed the place so it didn't have it's normal guiness book of world records gum wads.)

The essential "I was at Pike Place" picture- they seriously should have a professional photographer stand here and take pictures and sell them like they do at the Disney World entrance!

enjoying that sunshine!

Chocolate!!!!!!!!

Mommy's Taking Me to the Zoo Tomorrow

2011-05-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun at the zoo! It is funny because I remember the first time I went to the North Carolina Zoo I was disappointed because the habitats were so big you couldn't always see the animals and you had to walk for hours and hours to see everything. Well we went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and I left thinking about how much I love the NC Zoo and how much better it is for the animals to have such a large area to roam. That being said I have always loved the zoo (big or small)- especially the gorillas- while everyone went to lunch I stayed behind and watched the gorillas eat and play for like 30 minutes. They have a little 2.5 year old baby and wowsers she is cute. I even got to watch her nurse- so stinkin sweet.

I am pretty sure this is what we looked like most of the day

seriously I have the cuteness kids in my family!

Allias and Lil

kind of sad really

I threw this one in just for proof that Tyler was at the zoo with us- he and Allias are so different when it comes to cameras and having their pictures taken- Allias throws himself in front of the camera- even asks to have his picture taken in certain poses and Tyler pretty much ignores it- even if you are asking him to let you take his picture!

whoaa cuteness!

you know the animals are too close when you can get this kind of action shot!

I adore this picture- these guys would drag around burlap sacks and cardboard boxes wherever they went. Then they would lay outside and use the boxes or sacks as sunshades.

why are we soooo precious?

nasty- glad I was on stroller duty while they were looking at the bugs! I am just wondering what the heck are they eating?

love love this girl and those green eyes!

Owen adored the otters! I have the cutest video of him cracking up at them but I can't get it to upload.

me watching the gorillas

This big daddy kept watching up above for the keeper to come with his food- he would glance up like every ten seconds. The gorillas are kind of nasty in the way that they puke up their food and re-eat it like a hundred times. I wonder if they do that in the wild!

Penguins are wayyy too cute- I want one! Owen does too.

Britt's Birthday

2011-05-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

We took a drive to Whidbey Island and walked over the Deception Pass bridge. I have to admit I got a little dizzy! We also hung out and ate our lunch on the beach. It was a perfect day for it!

The "boys" were fighting over who got to be in the tallest spot!

no surprise that Travis won!

that night we left ALL of the kids at home and went to the bar- uhhhh I mean out to dinner.

We didn't have any candles so we used a flashlight!

you can still make a wish blowing out a flashlight right?

Brad and Britt come to visit!

2011-05-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Britt is like a long lost sister to me so it is always exciting when we get together! I wish she lived here- I really really do!

We even have matching feet! and Kailyn inherited them as well!

From left to right it is Kay's, mine and then Britt's- can you say super high arches!

On Mother's Day Travis had to speak in Sacrament meeting and we were having everyone over for dinner right after church so I did most of the cooking. It was actually fun and everything was super yummy. We had Caribbean Jerk burgers with all the fixings, bratwurst, corn on the cob, pasta salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

After dinner the boys played basketball and the girls took all the kids to the park

me and my girls!

Things got a little crazy!!!!

I am pretty sure we were the coolest kids at the park!

Apple Blossom!

2011-05-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up in Wenatchee, Wa we all looked forward to The Apple Blossom Festival every year. The parades, food fair, carnival, arts and crafts, live music and cruising the Ave made it a favorite time of year for small town kids.It has changed a bit since I was a kid (they don't let you cruise anymore) but I was still really looking forward to it this year(I am too old for cruising anyway). It has been a long long time since I have been able to go. Tyler went down to stay with my mom and Paul on Saturday and then Kay and I joined them the following Thursday- it was a super quick trip since we had to be back Friday evening for volleyball practice but we still had an AWESOME time. I love living so close to my mom.

My favorite picture of my mom and I ever! I adore this and I adore her. She really is beautiful inside and out!

Ty and Grandma at the food fair!!!! Can you say elephant ears, funnel cakes, proshkys, gyros, caramel apples, piles of curly fries and cotton candy?

My BFF from middle/ high school CJ and her cutie pie son

My mom's crazy dog Bailey Boo (she LOVED wearing these sunglasses lol)

Kay giving us a little concert! I love hearing my kids play music!

Mollykins! She is such a good road trip dog!

My mom let Kailyn get her caricature drawn at the fair- he captured her green eyes perfectly!

We are going to Wenatchee again this weekend for my step-grandma's memorial and I am just so happy that we live close enough to drive over even if it is just for a day!

Seattle Aquarium

2011-05-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

12 years ago anytime I wanted to go on a field trip or just go hang out for the day I would call Tamara- we lived like 2 minutes apart in Bothel. The first weekend I was back I looked through my Stake Directory and found out that she was in my stake. And lucky for me nothing has changed- I can still call her and make plans anytime. At the beginning of the month we took a trip to the Aquarium in Seattle and then we ate lunch at Ivar's. It was a cold rainy day but we still had fun. My camera battery died right after we got there so I didn't get many pictures and the ones I did get aren't that great but I am posting them anyway. Kailyn was in a don't take my picture mood anyway lol.

Kailyn and Java (K was a tiny bit scared even through the glass)

S wasn't scared at all!

what's a trip to the aquarium without seeing Nemo and his family

I love love love Otters!

Watching the octopus eat was super cool

Watching the otters eat was fun too- there was one fat one that couldn't jump up on the dock to get the clams so a smaller one would bring enough down for two and then they would share- it was pretty adorable.

He was our favorite

This guy was our second favorite

Closing out April

2011-05-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

I went to Time out for Women in Seattle with a few of my friends and it was a lot of fun and totally uplifting. S. Michael Wilcox was there and I have always wanted to hear him speak. He was amazing. We went to Red Robin for lunch one day and I got a cheeseburger. I hardly ever eat meat let alone cheeseburgers and so I was so ill the whole night after I got home- and the worst part the burger was 1250 calories!!!!! Crazy!

Trav took the kids to a Mariner's game- they rode the city bus down and back and had a great time. The weather was perfect!

sometimes I wonder about my kids!

ick

ummmm Tyler is a dork!

point proven

It was Military Appreciation night- the kids even got commemorative coins

We celebrated Easter with my in laws. It was also a sunny day- by these last few blog post you would think we have had a lot of them but honestly I think we had three sunny days in the whole month of April!

My nephew is sooo stinkin cute!

they were cracking themselves up

They laughed so hard they cried

even the teenagers got involved

Cutie Kenna!

this was the most normal picture we could get! The kids were on one that week

Spring Break!

2011-05-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

The kids and I stayed super busy during spring break and had a great time!

Kailyn and I went to a babyshower in Olympia and saw this super bright double rainbow on the way home- this picture doesn't even do it justice. It was super pretty!

Allias flew down to Lake Tahoe with my cousin Galen and went snowboarding for the week. It was his first time and he had a blast.

Here he is getting ready to go.

And here are some pictures from while he was there.

check out that view!!!!!

soooo beautiful!!!!!!!

whoaaaa SNOW!

Allias got a killer sunburn on his face even though he wore sunscreen- this is after it started to heal a little bit

Kailyn got to spend the night with two of her new friends from church and had a total blast- they have been trying to make plans again ever since. I am soooo glad there are girls her age here- crazy thing there are TWENTY beehives! Yes you heard that right TWENTY beehives! When Kay turns 12 in September she will be number Twenty-one!
Kenna and Gavin came over one day and we also went roller skating. Tamara and her kids came too! It was a lot of fun!!!!

adorable cousins!

high five!

I even took a shot at it- I didn't fall once which is more then I can say for when I went rollerskating in highschool- the fact that I was sober might have helped!

Kailyn and I and some friends took a nice hike down to the beach. The kids spent hours making a hotel for all the little crabs they found. It was so fun to see them using their imaginations.

on the trail

the little crabs

not sure there is anything cuter then this little girl!!!!

love my green eyed girl!

since I started the post with a rainbow I figured I would end it with one as well. We saw this upside down rainbow in a perfectly blue sky!

Playing Catch up (end of March)

2011-05-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Facebook has killed by blogging ambitions- I load my pictures there and feel like I am done but I guess I need to do a bit of journaling to go along with the pictures.

The weather here has been so crappy- even worse then when we lived here 12 years ago. I am really missing that Carolina sunshine! If we even see a glimpse of sun or blue skies we head outside and try to enjoy it.

We had a couple sunny days in March so my sister n law and I got some yummy teriyaki madness and took it to the park for lunch. Trav met us there and we wandered around a bit and soaked up some rays.

Trav was so cute wandering around with our sweet nephew Cameron

Strange girls!!!!!

Then that weekend Aunty Jenny took Kailyn and Riley horseback riding. Kailyn loves it and begs to go back all the time.

Kailyn and her new best friend Olaf!

Stay tuned for April and May lol

Busy Wonderful Day!!!!

2011-03-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we woke up early ready to leave for Wenatchee. Unfortunately Steven's Pass had other plans. The passes weren't clear until after 10 so we left a lot later then we wanted to. We missed the dog pull but got to my mom's in time to hang out with some really good friends of ours that had driven from Yakima to see us. We hung out for a bit and then went to Daniel's football game. It was a lot of fun and he played really well. Oh and they won!!! After the game we ordered pizza for dinner and then Paul, Kailyn and I went and listened to this really amazing guitar player in Cashmere. We were super tired but decided to go bowling anyway. Allias totally annihilated everyone- I think he bowled a 163 his first game he only had two open frames. We all had a blast though and it was so fun to be with my family. I love that I have seen them like three times this month!

I am just so happy that my kids and mom and are getting to spend more time together! It makes me cry when I think about it!

My mom's cat Nala kept holding onto Molly's leash so she couldn't go anywhere- it was the funniest thing. Molly actually really liked the cat at first and tried to lick him a few times. The cat didn't appreciate that at all and finally swiped Molly in the face. Of course Molly went ballistic and tried to chase him down.

So cute! Travis was giving K a little bowling tutorial.

She was sooo tired and needed to go to bed!

Strike!!!!

He wasn't too happy with his score

This is one of my favorite pictures ever!!!!!

He was the only one happy with the way he bowled!

My mom and Mikael (Daniel's girlfriend)

Checking out the scores

Me and my adorable kid brothers!

Off for now

2011-03-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

I took Allias into his new orthodontist last week. He hasn't seen any orthodontist since December because of school/moving issues so I was super surprised at the result of our visit.
He got braces about 18 months ago because he has a severe cross bite and some other crowding issues. The new ortho looked at his mouth and said that although his teeth were now straight- his cross bite was not improving even with the jaw lock in place. He said that as long as Allias' jaw keeps growing in the wrong direction (which is what it is doing) they will be fighting a losing battle. We made the decision to take the braces off for now and let him finish growing. In four or five years depending on the severity of the cross bite they will either put him back in braces or he will have to have surgery on his jaw. But for now he is braces free and loving it! He picked Duke Blue retainers with a basketball on them (go figure) but he doesn't get those until Thursday.

Here is the before picture-

Getting them off!

All off!!!

Allias with his I got my braces off party pack (goody bag filled with all the things he "wasn't supposed to eat" while he had braces on) jerky, gum, popcorn, fruit snacks, corn nuts etc.

Awwww look at that smile!

I can't believe this kid is turning 16 in a few months!!!

Kailyn goes in next month for her evaluation to get braces. From what I have been told so far it looks like she will be in braces for the next four years! I guess I should feel lucky I am only paying for one kid at a time!

Dates

2011-03-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

The picture of Travis and I in the last post is from our date Friday night. We went and watched the Everett Silvertips play hockey. It was fun even though the home team lost. Hockey is such an exciting sport and like most sports I liked watching the minor league/college players better then the pros. There just seems to be so much more heart involved.
Saturday Trav took Kailyn out- they went bowling and then walked around the mall. Other then a lady in the candy store acting like a total neurotic freak they had a great time.
Trav took a couple more pictures but they are on his phone and I will have to get them later.
There is a super cute picture of her devouring a cinnamon roll at Cinnabon that I have to share once I get it from his phone! Aren't they precious? They look so much alike to me in this picture! People always tell me that Kailyn looks just like me but I don't know, I think she looks a lot like her daddy.

When they got home Allias and I headed out to hangout and do a little shopping. My nephew Gavin came along as well.

The pretzel line was super long so they hung out in this sweet ride and waited for me.

I am quite proud of myself because I let him choose the radio staion (R&B- blah), the place to eat (McDonald's- YUCK). I didn't actually eat anything at Mcdonald's though but I don't think he cared. He was just bummed that I didn't tell the girl in the drive through that he thought she was hot. I was so going to but I thought he would get mad!

We spent most of our time shopping! I am pretty sure next to watching or playing sports it is his favorite past time. He got some new cologne and a belt for church from Ross, some jeans and a nice polo from the Calvin Klein outlet and some basketball shoes and a Lebron James tee from the Nike Outlet. There were some killer sales going on.

Here he is with his shopping bags.

There was a church dance that night and he wore his new outfit- I should have taken a picture. He looked so handsome. He complains that people here in Washington don't dress "fresh" enough. Not quite sure what that means but I know people ask him why he wears shirts with collars every day lol. I am glad he isn't interested in adopting the sloppy style of dress I see a lot of the kids around here wearing.

The cuteness is killing me!!!

2011-03-12T10:22:00.003-08:00

I can't believe how beautiful (inside and out) this girl is! I feel so lucky to be her mother. She is a truly amazing human being! Her guitar broke in our car accident so my mom and step-dad bought her a new one. My mom brought it over last weekend when she and Jason came to visit.

And speaking of cute........

Home sweet home

2011-03-08T09:25:00.007-08:00

The best part of being home!!!!!
Living close enough to family to hang out for the day.
My brother Jason is in Wenatchee visiting for a few weeks from Alaska so he drove over to hang out with us for the day.
(haven't seen him in like four years!)

Grandma came too!!!! All of my kids are taller then her now!

My favorite thing about being so close to my mom is that we don't have to cry when we say goodbye anymore because we are going to see each other again in a few weeks instead of a year!
Cuddle time!!!!!

My mom also brought her sewing machine and turned a ripped up bed skirt into valances for my bedroom windows. They turned out nice. She is going to do the same thing for Kay's room the next time she comes.

My dad came last week too- I can't believe I didn't take any pictures. But again I will see him again soon so I will make sure and take pictures then.

.......

2011-02-21T13:44:00.003-08:00

I can't believe it is February and I have only taken a handful of pictures since Christmas! I didn't take pictures of the packing or of any of my goodbyes or the road trip or the car accident or the moving into the new house- it is crazy.
I guess I better write it all down in a journal someplace or we will forget it ever happened.
Pictures coming soon I promise!

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-27T10:58:00.006-08:00

Allias and Kailyn were super concerned about keeping all of our Christmas traditions this year. They kept asking me over and over again if we were going to do the same things we always do. I think they just wanted things to stay as normal as possible since it was just going to be the three of us. They were very happy that we decorated the tree, opened Christmas jammies and a Christmas book, read the story of Jesus' birth from the bible, made cookies for Santa and didn't bring out any presents until after they were sound asleep Christmas Eve. They also have told me several times that going through their stocking is their favorite part of Christmas morning so I went a little crazy this year in the stocking department- it took me three tries to stuff everything in lol and they weighed a ton. I thought I took some pictures of their full stockings but I must have deleted them on accident.
Christmas Eve in front of the tree
Kailyn with the contents of her stocking

Allias with his- he always tells me he feels like their is magic in the stocking because it never seems to end.

Travis didn't get to be here to see the kids open their presents this year so these videos are mainly for him. The kids seriously had noooooo idea what they were getting this year and they were both sooooo surprised it was AWESOME!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Ours was one of our best ones yet!!!

Wise men seek Him still

2010-12-17T16:32:00.002-08:00

Duke vs State volleyball

2010-11-20T18:10:00.008-08:00

A few weeks ago we went to NC State with some friends to watch the girl's volleyball team take on Duke. Of course Allias had to come and cheer for the Duke girl's. He also recruited these two.
Trav and Allias after the game

K getting her volleyball signed- all the players remembered her (even her name) from the previous games and clinics. I have to agree that she is totally unforgettable!

Sweet Ciara (love love love love this girl) and K

K and her bff E

me and my bff

of course Allias had to take the opportunity to meet and greet with the Duke girls......

We really wanted to get his picture taken with the whole team but most of them headed right to the locker room after the game.

and in case you were wondering Duke killed it- won three straight sets

I want to blog

2010-11-09T12:15:00.007-08:00

but.......

I don't really have much to say so let me just share a couple of cute stories with you.

Sunday our whole family was fasting. Our ward meets at one o'clock so I was cooking dinner in the morning. We were having company that evening and I wanted everything to be ready when we got home. I had put chili in the crock pot and there were cornbread muffins baking in the oven and honestly the kitchen smelled delicious. Both kids came through as I was cleaning up whining about how I was torturing them. When I said how do you think I feel it is right here in my face. K looked at me and said "but you are more righteous then us!"

Travis was teaching the kids how to clean a bathroom. They started in my bathroom and he did most of the cleaning with them watching. Then they cleaned the guest bathroom with them doing most of the cleaning and him watching to make sure they were doing it the way he had taught. As we was explaining something to K she looked up at him and said, "Dad you would make a great janitor."

Yesterday I was sitting at the table studying my scriptures and getting ready for Seminary. K looked at me and said, "mom you know who you remind me of?" I asked her who and she proceeded to tell me that I reminded her of the girls in the scriptures who had the lamps and were prepared. I was having a rough day and that sure made me feel a lot better.
Love this quirky little girl!

Wake UP!

2010-10-30T23:18:00.005-07:00

One of Travis' cousins (who I consider a dear friend) started a blog encouraging members of the church to get involved politically! I am so excited to read what she has to say and so happy to have been able to spend some time with her and her husband in Washington DC at the Restoring Honor Rally.

Here is a link to her blog- her first post is AMAZING!!!! I can't wait to read more!!!!

http://wakeuplds.blogspot.com/

Volleyball

2010-10-23T22:02:00.008-07:00

Kailyn and I are LOVE LOVE LOVING volleyball!!!

She is getting so good too! I couldn't even believe how well she played in her last game. Her passes were amazing! I am super proud of her and super excited she has finally found a sport she really enjoys. She goes by Kay on the court and thinks it is so awesome that she has a nickname. This is the first time I have ever volunteered as an assitant coach on one of her teams and I am having a blast.

We have been to two volleyball clinics at NC State. The first one was after Kailyn had literally practiced one time. It was very cool to see how much she has improved since then.

We had so much fun this time around. We had our whole team and some of our friends with us- after the clinic we went out to dinner near campus and we even stayed and watched the NC State vs Virginia Tech volleyball game.

After the clinic all the girls got posters and had the player's sign them. Kailyn brought her poster to me and showed me her favorite player, Brie. Then right before the game started each of the players threw a little signed volleyball up into the crowd and Kailyn got Brie's ball. She was sooooo happy. After the game Brei was sweet enough to let us take a picture. As we were getting in the car we realized that Brei is number seven and that is Kailyn's number too. Way cool!
Kailyn also had the greatest time dancing around and acting silly with Mr. Wuf

Crashed

2010-10-18T04:16:00.008-07:00

Every weekend we end up with at least two extra teenagers in the house and every weekend they pool all their money together to get video games, movies and lots and lots of junk food and every morning this is what we see when we wake up.........

Birthday Cake (kind of)

2010-10-15T21:27:00.008-07:00

A few Sundays ago we had the missionaries over for dinner. While we were at church we found out that it was Elder Gilbert's birthday. We were totally bummed we didn't have anything at home to make him a cake and since we don't shop on Sundays we couldn't just go out and get something last minute.

After dinner we really wanted to sing Happy Birthday so we decided to get a bit creative. We took a VERY stale doughnut (they were day old when we bought them the day before) and covered it with peanut butter, Reese's Pieces and chocolate chips. Then we stuck in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up a bit and melt the chocolate.

He was a super good sport and even took a bite! He said it wasn't too bad and even offered to share some with his companion. (sadly his offer was declined).

Happy Birthday Elder Gilbert! (he actually went home this week I think)

Bathing I mean errrr Sleeping Beauty

2010-10-11T17:31:00.005-07:00

A few weeks ago just as I was falling asleep Kailyn came into my room because she saw or heard something outside her bedroom window and was scared. This is not an unusual occurrence and I was super tired so naturally I told her everything was fine and to go back to bed.

The next morning I went into my bathroom to get ready for Seminary and found this.........

Wow it has been awhile!

2010-10-09T09:11:00.009-07:00

Mom (and anyone else who actually reads my blog) I am sorry I have been such a slack blogger.
Since my last post the following things have happened (not necessarily in this order)

-We decided to move back to Washington!!!!!!
-Tyler moved to Utah (he is living with Bradley and Brittney and is seriously totally loving life out there)
-Kailyn turned 11
-Allias spent a few weeks in California with Uncle Jan
-Kailyn and I traveled all over Washington and Utah visiting friends and family
-We spent countless hours and way to much money trying to get our house ready to sell
-Kailyn, Allias and I went to the Restoring Honor Rally in Washington DC
-Allias quit the marching band
-Travis traveled to Washington for a job interview (and to visit with family)
-Travis got the job in Washington
-We put our house on the market (today actually lol)
-Allias is trying out for the high school basketball team (he is totally going to make the team)
-Our bird Frodo went to his new home and loves it
-We also found a new home for our cat Mowgli- she is doing awesome
-We painted a lot- oh did I say we? Let me rephrase that- Travis painted a lot
-New carpets
-Had a serious adventure hiring someone to refinish our hardwood floors (never take the lowest bid is our new motto)
-I have been so busy packing cleaning and painting that she has had ZERO time to work out
-I am flabby and tired now
-Kailyn started volleyball and she and her team are doing awesome!
-I am the assistant coach for her team (LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!)
-Grandpa Paul bought Kailyn her first guitar
-Kailyn started guitar lessons and is catching on quickly
-Had to fix both of our cars at the same time
-Our computer bit the dust (my lack of blogging probably has more to do with this then the fact I have been so busy)
-The broken computer was probably- no not probably- it totally was a blessing in disguise
-Realized we didn't go to the beach once this entire summer- sad

I am sure other things happened that I am forgetting and I actually have pictures to go along with many if not most of these events that I may or may not get around to posting but now that the house is actually for sale I may have time to blog again

2010-08-21T12:51:00.008-07:00

Look what we found!!!!
Travis and Tyler have been out in the yard working all day. While they were weed-eating Travis disturbed a nest of bunnies. The little furballs scattered all over the place and Tyler chased this one all the way to the woods and caught it. It seriously screamed like a severely wounded baby all the way back to the house.

After they put the little guy back in the grass we found out they have a little burrow back there.

I guess that is what happens when you let your grass grow and grow and grow and grow.............

18!!!!

2010-08-20T18:53:00.007-07:00

I can't even count how many times I have thought to myself, "when Tyler is 18 I will only be 35"

Well that day has come (this post is a little late I have been without a computer)

Tyler,

I look forward to seeing you accomplish many great things. You have your whole life ahead of you. The sky's the limit!!!!
Soon you will be heading out to Utah and I know you are looking forward to a new adventure. Even though you will be thousands of miles away you will always be on my mind and in my heart.
Remember that we will always be here for you and more importantly you can always rely on your Savior Jesus Christ. He knows you, loves you unconditionaly and only He can truly understand the trials you may face in this life. He will never let you down. I hope you know that.

Being your mother has taught me so much. I hope that I have taught you something along the way as well. I love you.

Happy 18th Birthday Tyler!!!!

More pictures from Trek

2010-07-27T06:58:00.006-07:00

Cutest Pioneer ever!
Allias and his "family"

Working hard. He looks a little more like an outlaw then a pioneer in this photo! Getting a massage after a hard day of pushing. What a nice Ma!

"Family Portrait"

They had a family reunion last week but Allias was sick and couldn't go. He was dissapointed. He loved his family and the trek.

Girl time

2010-07-15T12:45:00.011-07:00

Girl's night!!! Banana Splits and Lord of the Rings.
(ice cream with only five ingredients- add bananas, strawberries and homemade whip cream, and if you are Kailyn snickers bars for a little added kick and yeah it is pretty amazing)

(P.S. I got a new camera and I am super happy with it!)
I took this picture in my closet with the door closed and the light off. This is the first camera I have ever had that could take pictures in the dark!

knowing

2010-07-11T08:58:00.017-07:00

Having a child with mental illness is super hard. Like many things it is one of those situations that you can't really understand unless you live it day in and day out. I don't expect anyone to really know what we are going through. I actually don't even expect them to try. I even recognize that I don't truly understand what it is like for Tyler and that quite possibly it may be harder on him then it is on us.
Despite all of the mixed emotions and uncertainty there are some things I understand with absolute clarity. I know that Heavenly Father knows me and that He knows Tyler. My dependence on the Lord is real. I have been humbled in ways I didn't think were possible. I have cried out to the Lord and sometimes I have just cried. I have had my prayers answered and I have felt the love of the Lord and I have seen the "multitude of His tender mercies" continually. We have been blessed with so many Christlike people in our lives that have reached out their arms and hands in support of my son and my family in the most desperate of times.
I don't know what the years ahead hold for Tyler. Honestly I don't know what the days ahead hold for him. I can only continue to hope and to pray and to love. It isn't easy and I don't do it perfectly. I really struggle to even do it well sometimes but I am trying.
*thank you Kevin for this picture- it is a treasure

Summer so Far

2010-07-08T13:29:00.014-07:00

Having no camera is lame. Most of these pictures I stole from other people because my kids just happened to be in the pictures. It will be a little like the game Where's Waldo but I promise you they are there somewhere.
So far this summer.....
Molly got a haircut

As you can see she was in desperate need of one!
Kailyn and I hung out at the pool with friends.

Allias went on Trek (had an amazing spiritual experience)

Kailyn spent a week away from home and then preformed in the Promised Land Pageant (had an amazing spiritual experience)
I used Allias' camera to take some adorable pictures of Kailyn in her Nephite outfit at the pageant but as soon as we got home he left for scout camp and while he was there he deleted them. I am not even kidding when I say that I totally bawled like a baby when I found out. Here she is in her pioneer outfit though. So happy the Judd girls were able to loan her their trek clothes!

I only was able to talk to Kailyn once or twice while she was gone because they were so busy but every time I did she sounded like she was glowing. She told me she started crying when all the children got to go up and touch the hands of the Savior. She is totally ready to do it again next year! I really hope we can all go as a family next time.

Allias also went to scout camp. You would think since he deleted my pictures from the pageant we would have some super fantastic pictures from scout camp to make up for it but nope- he didn't take any (he only took videos of boys being stupid). He hurt his wrist the week before he left so he couldn't swim or do some of the other activities but he still had a good time.

And last but certainly not least we got to be models for a photography group! So much fun. You can see all the pictures here.

Trek

2010-06-16T12:26:00.007-07:00

Allias left this morning for the pioneer trek. He had a list of very specific items he was allowed to bring and everything had to fit in a 5 gallon bucket.
Sometime today he was assigned to a family with a Ma and Pa and siblings. He and his new "family" will push a handcart filled with all their supplies across the "plains" of Virginia. Three and a half days out in the wilderness, walking 6-7 miles a day. I am pretty sure there is even going to be a river crossing. He will spend each night sleeping under the stars. Travis and I were originally going to be a Ma and Pa but it didn't work out with our schedules. I really hope we get another chance someday. I was totally bummed this morning when they all rolled out and I didn't get to go.

I have to admit he makes a pretty cute pioneer

I told Allias three things before he left. 1st- the last time the leaders were up there scoping out the trail they saw a bear. 2nd- Friday it is supposed to be 96 degrees and HUMID and 3rd- bring honor to your name.
I really do hope he has a great time and doesn't get eaten by a bear.

15!!!

2010-06-14T20:31:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday to my favorite JERK!

Only one more year until we have to deal with the fumes (car fumes and perfumes). I know you can't wait but Dad and I would like to slow down time just a little bit.

Love you Allias!

Thanks for being such a great kid! Can't wait for another year of Dancing, ESPN, Duke, LBJ, Tennis, Marching Band, Boy Scouts, late night basketball games in the drive way, a house full of teenagers every weekend, Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Grape Nuts, and a whole lot of fun.

Raven Rock, Rose Prom and Quirky K

2010-05-30T20:06:00.010-07:00

Travis and I went to Raven Rock Saturday- just the two of us. We had the best time and are going to try to hike on a regular basis.
We did the four mile hike- they have another loop that is more like seven miles that I would love to try.
There were so many cool trees and plants- and we even found this awesome bug!

This tree was totally hollow on the inside but massive. We saw a tree that had been recently struck by lightening as well.

Travis set the camera on a cliff- set the timer for ten seconds and then raced back to get in the picture- it was great!

Raven Rock

It had rained a ton the night before so the river was super muddy.
We jogged part of the way so we were nice and sweaty by the time we reached the lookout.
This picture is adorable to me
Tyler and Allias went to Rose Prom Saturday night with a group of friends. It was a lot of fun!
Here are the boys all decked out and ready to dance.
Kailyn keeps getting taller. I have measured her three times this month and each time she has grown at least a quarter of an inch. Today we were getting ready for church and her head was about at my nose!
These next three pictures are so totally her- they make me smile!

backpacking, backtracking, basketball, barns and birthday bliss

2010-05-24T13:19:00.030-07:00

Allias has been letting me use his camera since mine is broken. I was going to do a bunch of different posts but I got lazy and did it all in one. So pull up a chair and enjoy.

I totally forgot that Travis took Kailyn and Allias camping at Raven Rock last month- Tyler had to work so he and I stayed home. Travis ended up getting off much later then expected and so that left me in charge of getting everything together. I pretty much just threw everything in the back of the van so they could go- which ended up being a mistake because they had to hike in four or five miles just to get to their campsite. And since Travis had gotten home so late they hiked the last two or so in the dark.
Luckily the ranger had a few extra packs so they only had to make one trip. Kailyn even carried one of the packs the entire way.

Here is Kailyn posing in the kitchen this morning, sometime in early spring she and I went to the mall and they were having a MAJOR clearance sale at Hudson Belk. We got over 300 dollars worth of clothes for 56 bucks! I keep meaning to have her put on a fashion show..... This is one of the outfits- so stinkin' cute and only 8 dollars. We got the shoes later- another store another clearance sale.

Swinging at the park the other night.
Tyler and Allias after playing basketball in the rain.

Our home school group went on a field trip to the Agri-fest at the fairgrounds.

I seriously almost brought one of these home!!!
They were selling them for 50 bucks!
and oh my goodness they were the CUTEST things ever!!!!! Not to mention that at only two days old they were already only pottying in one corner of the pen. Brittney do you want me to bring you one when I come to Utah this summer???

Kailyn learning how to spin wool into yarn

My birthday weekend was pretty cool. Travis and I went out to dinner Saturday night and then we went shopping. My dad had sent me some b-day money and I wanted a new dress. I even got to speak in church Sunday. (I do enjoy it actually).
And then Monday morning in seminary I got not one,

but two chocolate cakes-

which I was happy to share with the class. A couple of the kids had a cake eating contest and finished off the big cake in a matter of minutes.

Then I went out to lunch with some of my very very favorite people.
I bought this shirt with my b-day money too!
Travis had to work late but the kids and I had strawberry shortcake.

And last but not least I took Allias to get his haircut today. Kailyn decided she wanted hers cut too. It turned out soooo precious. Even Allias told her how pretty she looked when we got in the car.
This is another picture where I go wow! Allias looks so much like my younger brother!

love

2010-05-16T15:01:00.003-07:00

A few more pictures

2010-04-29T11:14:00.002-07:00

Well my camera officially bit the dust yesterday........
Time to start saving up for a new one I guess. So until then I probably wont update the blog too often but here are a couple pictures Travis took on his phone.

At church we have thirteen statements that describe our fundamental beliefs. One of the requirements for girls age 8-12 is to memorize these. The ones in bold Kailyn has memorized and was recognized for last night at the Faith in God for Girls award ceremony.

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Here is Kailyn with her award- she has eight down and five more to go. She has just over a year left to complete them all and I am sure she will do wonderfully. We have been working on them during school- not just memorizing them but talking about what they mean and why they are an important part of our beliefs. It has been such a joy to see Kailyn grow spiritually this year.

Now that is a burger!!!! No more fast food for us- we make our burgers at home!Since we have changed our eating habits I have been pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to convince Kailyn that she should eat things that are healthy. She is willing to at least try anything I put in front of her. She even reads labels at the grocery store. I love this kid!

Happenings

2010-04-26T11:16:00.010-07:00

I continue to suck at bringing my camera anywhere. My next big purchase is going to be a new camera (hahaha I wish)- but seriously our camera is having a hard time- maybe that is why I always forget to bring it anywhere- it doesn't really even work.
Kailyn and I went to the zoo with our home school group and there were a few people taking pictures so hopefully I can steal some of theirs soon.

Here are some of the things we have been up to lately.

Alyssa did Kailyn's hair with her curl stick- I stole these pictures off her facebook page. Aren't these girls so stinkin' cute? Travis took a couple pictures of Kailyn on his blackberry when she got home but he hasn't emailed them to me yet. I will post them as soon as he does.

Here is Allias getting ready for a black light church dance. I chaperoned the dance and it was sooo much fun. Allias is a really good dancer. I wish I could afford to have him in lessons. He wants to take ballroom classes and I think that would be so awesome. It is one of those someday things (kind of like a new camera)......
Tyler went to prom with his friend Andrea
He was getting mad because the camera wouldn't focus.
Cuteness!

Love this one!
The girls! Isn't Andrea's corsage pretty?
My camera would not take a picture that was in focus- so this is the best I could get even with a little help from Picassa. Luckily the kids are cute even when they are blurry.
Kailyn and I went to tax day rally in Raleigh with the totally amazing Rentz family. Can't imagine my life without them!

Love these girls!
This little girl wasn't with us but I loved her outfit and she let me snap a picture.
And just because she is adorable here is baby K.

And some non picture updates-
Allias is still playing tennis- he is getting better and better. He is planning on doing marching band one more year, playing tennis again and he also wants to try out for the basketball team. He has been wrestling in PE and doing pretty good- I wish he would try out for wrestling but it is worse on the knees then basketball.
Tyler is volunteering a few days a week at the interfaith food shuttle and getting ready to start school in the fall.
Kailyn is doing awesome in school and has made some super good friends in our homeschool group. I have got to remember to bring the camera the next time we are all together!
Travis is down to one job but staying as busy as ever. It is nice to have him home most weekends now.
I planted a garden and have strawberries, cantaloupe and sugar pumpkins growing. I may add a few starter plants sometime soon.
We are all getting excited for the school year to be over and summer vacation to start. It is going to be a busy summer and we can't wait.

A Non-Political Post

2010-03-30T18:46:00.008-07:00

Here are some pictures of Kailyn and her friends at Farm Days.
Are these girls the cutest thing you ever saw or what???

The baby goats were my favorite for sure. If they didn't grow up I would so want one.

Ropin'

2300 pounds of pure bull. The student in charge of this area came over and told the girls not put pet the bull because although he was gentle if he made any sudden movements it would break there arm.

Baby chick fell asleep in Kailyn's hands.
Love this sweet little face

And just in case you wanted an actual update....

Tyler got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is working back at Cold Stone- he is happy and we are happy.
He is planning on saving enough money to start college classes in the fall.

Allias is a bratty teenager but we do our best love him anyway. He is trying to get his grades up at school which is good and he is doing great on the tennis court.

Kailyn is playing soccer. She is doing so so so awesome in school. We just had a big math test covering everything we have learned so far this year and I was blown away by how much she remembered. We really enjoyed studying Ancient Rome and will be starting a unit on the Middle Ages after Spring Break. We are also studying plants and planted a garden last weekend.

Travis is back to just working one job which has been very very nice for all of us. He actually really enjoyed what he was doing on the weekends but he literally had no time for anything other then work and it was causing our family serious stress.

Another reason to hope!

2010-03-23T17:09:00.001-07:00

"Even this nation will be on the verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the Constitution is on the brink of ruin this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction.”
Prophet Joseph Smith - LDS Church Historical Archives, Box 1, March 10, 1844.
Ensign, June 1976, 64-65

I plan to be part of "this people". I hope that we all will join together and be the staff upon which this nation can lean on.
I hope we can save the Constitution and this country.

There is still hope!!! "Our founders got it right!"

2010-03-23T09:39:00.003-07:00

Tennis (and other random ramblings)

2010-03-15T05:05:00.017-07:00

Allias made the Tennis team for his High School. He is really enjoying it and he won his first doubles match last week. He and his partner are now 1-1. They have another match tonight but he may not play since he has band rehearsals as well.

The weather has been so nice and it makes me hope Spring is here to stay. Last week I went on a 3.5 mile walk/jog with our dog Maisy and even wore shorts to the tennis match. It was a lot of fun watching Allias compete but I am not used to being quiet during sporting events.
I don't think there is anything I love more then watching my kids be involved. It doesn't really matter what they are doing or how well they are doing it- I just love being their #1 fan.

Warming up

Nice hit!
His doubles partner is actually a member of our church but goes at a different time then us. He was in my Seminary class last year and is a really great kid. He is a total goof ball which is nice because Allias is soooooo serious. They balance each other out well.

When his serve is on it is SMOKIN!
And just for fun here are a few random pictures.
I bought these shoes a few weeks ago. I LOVE them!!!!
Tyler is pretty stinkin' cute!
Kailyn is self conscious of her teeth right now so she rarely smiles with her teeth showing- especially for pictures. She is adorable either way.
I changed my hair again. I think I am going to stick with this color for awhile because I really really like it. I am growing it out too. I want it to be really long by summer (crazy I know).
The day I decided to wear shorts- I tried on all my summer clothes because nothing fit. It is all too BIG!!! So exciting but also bummed because I don't really have money to buy new clothes. I still have a couple pairs of shorts that I can wear and maybe one pair of capris. I did finally break down and buy myself a new pair of jeans.
The other night Tyler had a couple friends over. Travis had bought this puzzle at Target so he and Kailyn would have something to do together. Tyler, Allias and their friends ended up opening it. Who knew a 500 piece puzzle could keep 4 teenage boys occupied for hours. LOL
Seriously cheap entertainment. Here is the insertion of the last piece. (at 1:30 AM)

Luckily other people still take pictures

2010-03-06T07:51:00.008-08:00

Kailyn's basketball team had their end of season/slumber party last night. Her team didn't win a single game but they really improved the entire season and had a lot of fun. The last game was soooo close but they lost by one in overtime.
Here are some pictures they took at the party last night. Kailyn is totally zonked out on the couch right now so I know they had a blast. The coach said she kept everyone laughing ALL night long- especially with her modeling skills.
This little girl was one of Kailyn's very best friends in the second grade. They were so excited to be on the same basketball team.

The whole team with their awesome coaches. This was seriously the most fun we have had on an organized sport's team. Great girls, great parents, great coaches. Fun times!

Here she is getting her plaque - I can totally hear the dialogue for this picture-
"oh thank thank you to all my adoring fans"
Now it is on to soccer. Allias volunteered to be the assistant coach for Kailyn's team which I thought was pretty adorable. He also made the high school tennis team and is doing really well. Tyler is home from Utah and going to start the job search again next week.