More Stuff ....

To Keep Us Busy!

New Haircuts. Actually it helps with getting ready, so I'm liking them with short hair. Quite handsome. But Gary needs one now, especially because he's going to Scout Camp with Trevor and the Troop next week.

McKenzie is taking a dance class every Wednesday. She just loves doing the girlie thing and having something just for her.

This girl continues to make us laugh. We have set some goals for the summer and one of them is our morning prayers. We just all seem to get up at different times and run out the door, while during the school year it is such a habit. So this late morning we were having our morning prayers and Kodee says that she wants to say it and wants Kenzie to help her. So they start and shortly into the prayer Kodee picks her nose and wipes it on my arm (I was the closest besides Kenzie). Well I just ignore it like a good mom and I start helping Kenzie who is helping Kodee. And she does it again. And then the 3rd time I look up and Gary just starts cracking up. So we hurry and end it and have a good laugh. There really wasn't anything on my arm, but I take my arm and try to wipe it on Kodee and she starts freaking out. So she knows it's gross. What else are you supposed to do during prayers without a tissue?

Our Crazy Week

This week has been pretty busy, well every week seems to be busy. This is what we have been doing:

Monday-Sadie left for Soccer Camp. Injured her knee the first day, but continued to play and finally scored on the last day. She said it was a blast. We missed her a little! Trevor had practice all week at 7 a.m. Went to the movie at Vet's Park for Round-Up week. Kind of a late night but most of us like to be up late anyway and don't have a problem sleeping in.

Tuesday-We all had dentist appt. Yay for no cavities, so we bought lunch on the way home to celebrate. Then, YW and YM.

Wednesday-The washer started leaking. It is amazing the information on the internet. Gary tipped the washer over and took the part off. I googled washing machine parts and put our model in and matched up the part and ordered it. Way awesome how we can use technology.

Thursday-Brooke and Trevor mowed the lawn(1/2 each). We wouldn't want the work load to be unfair or anything. Blake had practice and then we went to the Rodeo. What a fun tradition.

Friday-Sadie came home. Niki helped me get some laundry done as well as running a few loads at the laundromat. Crazy how many clothes our family goes through. The air conditioning isn't working on the van, so I told Gary he could take it to work.

Saturday-Got the part. Don't pay for quicker delivery, because FedEx was pretty quick with the 2-5 day delivery. Gary and Sadie served breakfast for the Lehi Girl's Soccer Team Fundraiser from 6-10 a.m. Gary, Brooke and Trevor went fishing in the evening.

Somewhere in there Gary worked a billion hours and didn't get much sleep with the Gillato machine getting put in at work. I got my VT done, which isn't a difficult task, since I love my comp and the ladies we visit. I always look forward to Sunday because we really do get to just be together as a family and put the craziness of the world out of our minds. It is nice to just reflect and know what is really important in life. Gary had to work this Sunday. We miss him without our lifesaver supply (ok he's more than that). And I think he might miss his nap (not at church of course. after!).

Father's Day

I really don't look forward to Father's Day every year. Not that I don't have a reason to celebrate the goodness of my own dad and husband, but because of the reminder that my dad isn't around. My kids don't have fun memories of being with their Grandpa, because Jordan was 3 and Brooke was 1. It is a lot easier to just skip over things rather than face the emotions that well up inside. I think that is why I probably avoid going back to CA. It has been 16 1/2 years and when I really dwell on it, it feels like yesterday. But I find comfort in knowing that one day we will see him again and there will be time to enjoy those relationships on a different level. I hoped that he sent my children off from the preexistence with words of wisdom and helpful tidbits of information, because that is what made him unique. On the other hand, when I cherish the man that is the father of my children, I can't help but see some of my dad's qualities. Gary's dad left when he was about 2, so the dad that he has become has evolved from knowing what not to do and watching my dad and other good men. When Gary got his wisdom teeth taken out, it was my dad that sat by his side and made sure he was ok. But when Gary asked my dad if we could get married, my dad said, "Why?" He was pretty matter of fact and humorous also. I am so thankful for the Dad that Gary is. He is a constant reminder of what I am not. I feel like Ellie and Manny on Ice Age. He completes me. Thank you Gary, for being you.

We must be crazy.....

Meet Keea! She's really, really cute.

He's pretty cute too.

I guess I could go into detail. Kamree is now 9 and we really wanted to overlap having our dogs not just find a replacement when Kamree goes, so we figured that now was as good of a time as any. So now we have Kamree & Keea (2 kinds of cars). Lots of fun!!!!

McKenzie

Happy 6th Birthday!!!!!

Kenzie getting ready to go get a new bike on her birthday:

Back when McKenzie was the Baby:

McKenzie turned 6 last week and I haven't found the time to blog about her. She really is a sweet little girl that has really grown up this past year. When we moved to Utah she was just a newborn and now look at her. She is one of our sensitive children who always thinks of others' feelings. She can come up with some deep thoughts especially when she comes home from church. She got really sad when she watched UP and realized that they couldn't have a baby. I get sad knowing that she will go off to school in the fall. I get even sadder when I think of her losing her cute little baby teeth and getting big, bucky beaver teeth that seem to take a few years to grow into. I think of her getting hurt feelings at school and not having me there to tell her it's ok. Life is still good. She really has been a good little friend to have around while everyone else is at school. She likes to stay up late with me and sleeps in till noon. Some days she misses a lot of action in the morning. She has been on this crazy kick lately that her dentist will love. She brushes her teeth with me and then insists I floss for her. Kind of silly, because no one else flosses very often. She is so helpful with Kodee. When Kodee pulls her hair, she will just cry and yell for me. Some days I want to tell her to do it back, but I don't want to teach her things that will come naturally as she gets older. When I get angry at her she gets very upset and goes to her room to find her 'favorite'. That's what she has always called her blanket. (And then she sucks her thumb and thinks about things until she is calm.) We thought that she was the end, so she did all of the things I always said I would never do again. The 3 things were: suck her thumb, get attached to a blanket and sleep in our bed. We even bought her a brand new crib and she never used it. Thank goodness Kodee came along and got good use out of it.

Mckenzie is our Bashful Dwarf:

Aspen, Kenzie, Emily & Boston:

Thanks Kenzie for sharing your sweet personality with me these past 6 years.

We'd like to take credit, but we can't......

So Gary, Trevor, Niki, and I went out to Tucanos last night for our birthday dinners. It was really yummy. But a funny thing happened. We got our salad bar food and then flipped our thing for the meat servers to start bringing the meat and a guy comes by and stands between Gary and Trevor and serves us. Then Trevor says to him, "Next time will you please serve the ladies first?" We had a good laugh about it, but then I got to thinking about what the server was thinking. He probably thought what a bratty little kid, but then probably got to thinking about it and thought that his parents are probably trying to teach him manners and respect. The funny thing is he did it all on his own. I hope he remains as confident about his manners when he starts to date and with his wife when the time comes. I love this kid!!!!

She cracks me up

This is the bookcase that we bought when Jordan was probably Kodee's age. We used to reward her with books at the store when she was good and had started a great home library. I got tired of finding the books all over the floor and so I stuck them in so tight that they couldn't get them out. I am having the same problem now except I can't tell if the books were taken out first to read or if the girls got this brilliant idea to use it as bunkbeds for their dolls. I was going to pride myself on becoming a better mom over the years, but on Sat. I had picked the books up 3 times and when I went in on Mon. morning and started picking them up again I refrained from bursting into tears. So I shoved the books in the second shelf really tight and left the top one as their reading material. Today the whole top shelf is again on the floor along with the puzzles that were on top of the bookshelf. I told Kodee to go put them away and she told me no, so she officially got a spanking (ok--I just spelled it spanken and spell check showed me that it was wrong so I fixed it, but I don't like calling it a spanking because it was one swat and not so much for not picking up the books as much as for saying no really snotty like.). She can be quite the little stinker!

Ok, Kodee really loves to swim. She thought that I was going to take her swimming this evening(the 13th) and I told her that it was late and time for bed, so she said that Dad was going to take her when he got home. I convinced her to let me change her diaper because she was falling asleep and this is what she slept in. Silly, silly girl.

This is when the Blake and Kenzie play with Little People and don't clean them up. Gary went to put Kodee to bed and said, "I hope she doesn't wake up to get in our bed tonight, because she will probably trip and fall." She didn't. Instead she just slept in the Little People box with them.


This girl makes me crazy. It's a good thing she's so cute.