Clay Jenni Kaila Justice Griffin Jensen

2009-07-10T02:47:00.005-06:00

July 9, 2009

I am officially caught up with all the pictures that I have on my camera card. So, I now need to go and print about 1000 (maybe more) pictures that I have on memory cards, so that I can burn them to discs, and then delete so that I have room to take more pictures.

I am really going to try to do better on this blog thing and not get so frustrated with it. I will try to post pictures within a few days of the event when I know what I want to write about it. It is too hard to do months at a time and be very accurate with what happened and trying to remember what it was I wanted to say and remember about it.

To Julie - I hope that you have time to catch up before you get here on Saturday, since I have been telling you that it will be done for sometime now. Thank you for your comment by the way, it motivated me to just get it finished. That gives you 1 day to catch up, pack for 4 weeks, have the house clean for when you get home, get what ever else you need to get done, so that you have time to play when you get here. Oh yea, and maybe post a blog since I haven't seen a new one on yours for quite some time. Ha Ha!! Maybe the next 4 weeks will give you something to blog about. We miss you and can't wait to see you Sunday!

2009-07-10T01:52:00.006-06:00

Clay's 30th Birthday!!!

July 7, 2009

Justice, Griffin and Clay - MY BOYS!!!

Clay wanted Peanut Rice Crispies with Chocolate melted on top for his birthday cake. He cut into it before we could take a picture of him so we got a picture with a piece and a candle. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said he wanted me to bake him this, that was all. So, I figured I could do at least that much. His mom also made him one, so he had his day made. Todd made him a steak for lunch, then Todd and LuAnn took us out to dinner for his birthday as well. He chose Ruby Tuesday, his favorite!

Clay you truly are the BEST!!! You no longer can tease me, OLD MAN!!! We are the same age again, but I look forward to the old lady jokes next year. For the last 1 1/2 months all he has done is make old lady jokes, but it gives me something to laugh at. Babe, you keep me laughing, that is one of the many things I love about you. Happy 30th Birthday!!!

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4th of July - Evening

We celebrated the 4th of July with some fireworks at home. It is so fun to see the excitement in your three little faces as the fireworks went off. Of course, you had to have your poppers, you may have had the most fun with those and the sparklers.

Justice, Griff, Kaila Clay lighting the fireworks, Justice's head
Clay, just being so cute!!
Justice, Griff, and Kaila sitting on the curb watching the fireworks

Just look at them go. Not quite like the stadium, but close, right?!

Kaila with her sparkler

Justice with his sparkler

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4th of July - Day

We went for a Rhino, Motorcycle, and 4-wheeler ride up Strawberry Canyon with the Scott, Jodie, Blake, and Carter Bishop Family. It was really fun to go with another family. It was an awesome ride as usual. I think that this might be my favorite trail, at least so far. There were a few tricky spots with the Rhino, there was also a few fallen trees that made it fun. Over all, it was an AWESOME ride!!!

Clay in the meadow - in his riding gear - I think I have mentioned before, but I am a succor for a guy in riding gear, there is just something about it I can't explain it. I LOVE it!!

I like this picture a lot. It was so green up there. They are looking for frogs/tadpoles in a little stream that goes out into the meadow. Kaila, Justice, and Griff

Carter, Justice, Kaila, Griff, and Blake

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Celebrating the 4th of July (on the 3rd)

Logan City is a little strange, yes they celebrate the 4th of July on the 3rd, with fireworks at the stadium and everything. I don't think I will ever get used to it, but I guess I can handle it. The kids really wanted to go and see the fireworks again this year. We decided to take them inside the stadium again this year. I think it is good for them to get the feel of patriotism as songs are being sung, as they bring out the flag, as they see the soldiers stand in the stadium. It is always so humbling to see just how many soldiers there have been and still are that are willing to fight for our freedoms. I thank them and salute them, I gave each group that stood a big, long whistle and an applaude to show my appreciation to them. I am proud to be an American, and I hope that my kids can see that, and I hope I can teach them to show their appreciation to the many soldiers who are willing to serve our country. God Bless the USA!!!

Here are a few of the fireworks that I could capture.

Griff and Kaila

My sexy hubby - Clay

Justice - he was pissed most of the show because he really wanted a glow stick.

Mom and Griff

Kaila and Clay

Justice and Mom - see what I mean he was grumpy!

Mom, Griff, and Kaila

Justice, Clay, and Griff - My boys walking to the Stadium

2009-07-10T01:37:00.003-06:00

Justice's T-ball

July 8, 2009

This is his team - Justice is the last one on the bottom row.

Justice #5
Justice going down for a slide
Going for the HOMERUN!

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T-Ball Game

June 24, 2009

Justice down for a slide at home base.

Justice takes a single
Justice at bat

Justice taking a swing

Hey #5 get a helmet on!

Justice in the middle of the three players by second base. He is chatting with a team mate.

2009-07-10T01:12:00.003-06:00

Swimming Lesson Graduates

June 19, 2009

Kaila and Justice graduated from swimming lessons. We chose to start the week after school got out, and we could not have chosen a worse week. It only did not rain about 3 days of the 9 (11 counting the make up days). It looks all nice in this picture below, but this was taken at 11:30 am, the gray clouds were rolling in and it ended up raining about 1 hour later for the rest of the day. In fact, we had to do a makeup day on Saturday and the next Friday because of the rain. They swam in the pool while it rained for 3 days. They had fun, however, Griff and I took cover under the pool umbrellas.

Kaila and Justice

Justice
Kaila is a little fish!
Kaila about to jump in
Kaila and her back float
Justice

Kaila

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Strawberry Days Rodeo

June 18, 2009

We had to go down to the Strawberry Days Rodeo, the kids loved it last year because of the motorcycle half time entertainment. They also like the bull riding!!

Justice and Griff

Kaila

Kaila, Grandma Mona, Kevin

Grandpa Dave holding Griff

Justice giving me his "cool" fingers when the motorcycles came out. Yep, they even did a few back flips for the crowd. I think this has become my favorite part of the rodeo too!!

Justice's happy smile inbetween jumps. I took some pictures of the riders doing tricks, but with my crappy camera and them being at a distance they didn't work.

2009-07-10T00:54:00.003-06:00

Last Day of School

Sunrise Elementary School
Smithfield

June 4, 2009

Kaila and Mrs. Groll

Kaila loved Mrs. Groll as a teacher, she had so much fun in her class.
Justice and Mrs. Dutson

Justice loved Mrs. Dutson, he would get so excited when it was time for school.

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Kaila's Parent Program

May 26, 2009

Kaila was the Emperior as her part in the program. She read her part very well. They also sang such cute songs.

Here Kaila is singing a song
They made these cow faces as part of a song, it was pretty funny.

Kaila made friends with the girl on the left, Megan Martin, she and Kaila had a lot of fun together. They would take turns going home from school with eachother.

Kaila, finally looking at me so I could take a picture.

2009-07-10T00:39:00.004-06:00

Slip 'n Slide Time!

May 21, 2009

So the weather had been suprisingly warm for a few days so the kids wanting to get out the slip 'n slide. So they invited one of their neighbor friends, Cole, over to play with them. We did this 2 days in a row, and of course I didn't get the camera out the secound time. The second day they had over a few more friends.. Cole, Chloe, Ethan, Emma, Derek and then Kaila, Justice, and Griff. It is so much fun to watch them having fun, can't you just see the excitement!

Kaila

Cole

Justice
You just have to lay out by the towels to get dry.

2009-07-09T23:56:00.006-06:00

Birthday Trip to the Salt Flatts

May 16, 2009

So it was decided that for a few combined birthdays (Griffin; May 11, Jenni; May 17, Todd and Jake; May 19) that we would take the 4 wheelers, Rhino, and Motorcycles and go to the Salt Flatts and go camping. We have been promising Justice that we would take him out to teach him how to ride his 50 without the training wheels, and he had really wanting to go riding with Jake, so this was the perfect opportunity to do both. And of course we brought Bronco.

This here is Griffin, standing so proudly on this log that he was balancing on. He walked the entire length of it (it is a telephone pole).Stopped for lunch. Tony, Todd, Jenni, LuAnn
Griff and his balancing pole, Jake riding his 50 in the back ground.
Jake
Justice on Jake's bike

Justice riding his 50 without training wheels!!!

These two were crazy, they just took off and rode. I was so proud of both of them.

Yep, that is Justice and Jake all the way out there in the distance.

Tony, LuAnn, Clay, Kaila Griff, Todd

Bronco, he loved playing in that stinky water.

Tony on top of an old rail road bridge

Justice on Jake's 2 stoke motorcycle, Jake on Justice's 4 stroke motorcycle. They kept trading back and forth, they were so funny. Jake liked Justice's bike because it has more power than his, and I was glad that Justice liked Jake's because it went a little slower, being his first time without training wheels.

This is how Bronco rode. He was so good in the back of the Rhino. When the kids where in the back with him, he just laid on the floor and stuck his head out. However, when the kids rode with Grandma and Grandpa, he took up the whole back seat.

Justice riding Jake's motorcycle

Clay on his motorcycle - I love it!

I tried to drive really close in the Rhino, so that I could get a good picture while we were driving. This is going about 20 mph. Grandpa Todd relaxing in the back ground.

Kaila taking Grandma Lu for a ride. Yep, she is driving! She is actually pretty good!! She has her little 50 4-wheeler, so she thinks that she is a professional driver.

Justice on Jake's bike.

Clay - I kept trying to get a picture with Clay and Justice in the same frame, but then Clay would take off so fast I could not do it.

Kaila and LuAnn

Justice

I was so proud of Justice! The first time ever riding without training wheels and he did awesome! We all went on a really long ride, it was about 2+ hours out and then 2+ hours back, and he and Jake rode their 50's the entire time. There were some places that were pretty bumpy, and rutty, but they both did great.

2009-07-09T23:43:00.003-06:00

Griffin being so damn cute!

May 12, 2009

This just goes to show you just a little bit of his funny personality. The day after our birthday ride, I put Clay's washed riding gear and boots by the back door so that he could take them out to his riding bag and this is what happened...

I am not sure why he decided to take off his pants and get in the boots naked, but that is the way we found his, so I just had to take pictures.

Is that not the most pinchable butt? I love it!

He is pouting here because we told him to take them off

2009-07-09T21:13:00.014-06:00

Griffin's 3rd Birthday!!!

May 11, 2009

For Griffin's birthday we went for a Rhino & motorcycle ride up by the SV. We met Dee Downs, Jake Lee, Matt Wiser, Scott Bishop, and a few of their friends there. We went on some of the trails. There were a few that were really rocky, but for the most part it was a fun ride. The other guys just kept going up these steep hills, and stopping and talking, so we just went on our own for awhile. It ended up being pretty fun. I think that just being outdoors and on the Rhino & motorcycles that our family has fun, so it was a great way to spend Griffin's birthday. (I have no idea why this lettering went so big, I tried to fix it and it looked right, but then I went to preview and it shows it like this, little things like this make me mad) :(

Griffin checking out all his toys

Isn't he just so freak'n cute?
He was so happy to get Woody - from Toy Story
Here he is mom!
Trying to try on Woody's hat

Woody came with a sleeping bag and a lantern. Here he is showing Justice how it lights up.

He also got some Cars stuff

I know this looks a little girly, being pink and purpley, but he likes Dora the Explorer

He also loves to color, so he got a coloring book

See, he also got a Diego one, this one is not as girly. He also loves to play in the sand box, so he got some sand box toys.

Opening up something

Showing Woody off again

Telling and showing Justice to come and see one of his new toys

Justice, Griff, and Kaila. Posing by the YUMMY cake.

Griff blowing out the 3 candles.

The YUMMY cake. This cake is so good that we had it for Kaila, Justice, Griffin, and my birthday cakes. The kids all asked for the "Yummy Oreo Cake".

Kaila and Griffin in the Rhino on our ride.

Griffin Trey Jensen

3 years old

This here is the little birthday boy. He is such a cute little booger! He is starting to talk so much more and he has been potty trained for a while. He talks with a tiny little lisp right now as he is starting to learn more and more words. It is so funny! He sure keeps me going, and keeps Clay and I laughing. He still sneaks in every night to sleep by us on the floor of our room right next to my side of the bed. I try to get mad but it is so cute, and I know that it will be our last so as long as he does not start to snore too loud, I guess he is welcome to sleep there. I love you Griffin, you make me so happy! You really do complete our family and we can't imagine our family without you in it. WE LOVE YOU!!!

2009-07-09T21:01:00.003-06:00

Mother's Day Celebration

May 9, 2009

We went down to American Fork on Saturday to celebrate Mother's Day. We roasted hot dogs in the fire pit and had some really good food (as always). We don't always get to see my family on the actual day of a holiday, so I am glad that they are up for a celebration a few days before. It was nice to see my mom for Mother's Day, she is such a great example to me. She has always been such a great mom, and I look up to her in so many aspects of my like. I LOVE YOU MOM!! Thank you for always being there whenever I need anything! Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!

Kevin and Justice

Uncle Randy playing with JusticeGriff and MaKayla on the swingset
Justice making and coloring a Mother's Day card for Grandma Mona

2009-07-09T14:52:00.007-06:00

Jessica Smith's Wedding

May 9, 2009

I was so excited for Jessica to get married. She was married at the Alpine Art Center, it was very pretty. She looked so happy and so beautiful!!!

Jessica and Addison walking down the aisle.

Jessica meeting Alex at the altar. Isn't the back of her dress beautiful!
Jessica and Alex
Jessica and Alex - saying their vows.

Alex giving Jessica her ring

Jessica giving Alex his ring

First kiss as a married couple

Jessica and Alex walking back down the aisle, hand in hand as a married couple.

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Meeting Nick Vujicic- A Big Day!!!

May 7, 2009

We drove down to Salt Lake to the State Capital to see Nick speak. It was National Prayer Day, so there was a lot of prayers given but we really went to hear Nick speak. I am not sure that Kevin totally understood what a big deal it was to finally meet someone else who is like him. As a member of the family, it was amazing to meet him. We were able to meet and speak with Nick before the event started, and he was very cool. He signed some of his DVD's for Kevin, and he said a prayer with them, that was pretty cool to hear. He gave Marisa and Neil his phone number to be able to reach him with any questions. I think that will be very helpful in the future. It would have been nice to be able to have a little more one on one time with him to ask more personal questions. When he spoke, you could feel the love he has for the Lord. He is a member of a different church, but the underlaying message was the same.... GOD LOVES US!!! He is scheduled to speak again in Utah in Octoberish, he is going to be speaking at the LDS Conference Center, I hope that we will be able to meet him again and talk with him a little more. He was very cool, and he was awesome with Kevin. It was awesome to speak with him and to meet him.

Marisa, Kevin, Nick, and Neil

MaKayla, Kevin, Marisa, Nick, Neil, and Kawi
Giving Nick a hug
Nick saying a prayer with Marisa, Neil and Kevin. It was very touching.
Nick signing his DVD's for Kevin

2009-07-09T14:27:00.005-06:00

SLC Supercross 2009

April 25, 2009

We were so excited for Supercross to come back to SLC. Clay, Jon and I went. Because the tickets cost quite a lot of money, we decided that we would just go and that we would take the kids next year. They really would have had a lot of fun too. We came early to walk the pits, that was pretty fun to see all of the excitement that happens before the show. We were able to see some of the riders up close, it was cool. We had a lot of fun! We didn't get a picture of us through out the whole thing, pretty pathetic right?! But here are so pictures of the coolest sport ever!!!

Blurry, because my camera sucks for close ups, but this is Chad Reed.

James Stewart
Chad Reed, again
Chad Reed in 1st, James Stewart 2nd

Sorry for the blurriness, but Reed in 1st, Stewart 2nd

Reed and Stewart taking the corner.

Starting Line

The race is on!

Reed

Getting harder to stay in 1st Reed.

In the end, Stewart passed Reed to win the race. I did not take a picture because I don't like James Stewart at all, he is too cocky for me. Being there in person, not just watching it on TV, was awesome! We will definitely be going every year that they decide to bring it to Utah!!!

2009-07-09T14:18:00.003-06:00

Ride up Clarkston Canyon

April 23, 2009

So, after the first attempt up Clarkston Canyon we back back a few days later. This time we made sure that we had the Rhino keys. There was still a lot of snow, so we were only able to go up part way. The kids thought it was cool to see the snow and Bronco liked playing in it. There was a little spot that we stopped by that had these trees laying down. Of course they had to play on them.

Kaila and Justice

Griff, Kaila, Justice
Justice, Griff, Kaila

2009-07-09T13:58:00.003-06:00

Ride/Walk up Clarkston Canyon

April 20, 2009

We thought it would be a fun family night to go and take the Rhino on a ride up Clarkston Canyon. When we got out of the truck and ready to unload the Rhino, we noticed there are no keys. Usually you would think that if you load it on the trailer that you would be the last one with the key, but when Clay went to pick it up it was already on the trailer, so he just figured that they would be left in it or in the cup holder. He didn't really check. So he gets on the trailer and notices no keys. So, instead of leaving, we decided to just walk up to the little pond that is just up the trail a little ways. We brought Bronco and we thought he would probably have fun in the pond. The kids wanted to see if he would fetch a stick in the water.

We ended up having a lot of fun, even through it was not what we really planned on doing.

Mom and Griff

Clay and Jenni
Griff playing by the water. I think he wanted to jump in, but it was pretty cold.
Bronco ended up fetching the stick in the water. He loved it!!

Clay and Bronco

Bronco (behind the weed),Kaila, Clay, Justice, Griff

Bronco - 5 months old

Justice - I love this look he gives the camera.

Bronco bringing the stick for another throw.

Clay, Bronco, Kaila

2009-07-07T12:45:00.009-06:00

Kaila's Baptism

April 11, 2009

We finally got Kaila Baptized! The previous month Grandma Lu was in Ohio visiting Julie, and Uncle Jon was going to be out of town for USU game, se we decided that we would wait another month so they could both be with us. So, even though it was Easter weekend and some other members of the family we not able to be there we decided to just to get it done.

It was supposed to start at 12:00pm but when we got to the church there was quite the mix up. The baptism before us had drained the water and for some reason the Stake Baptism Font Fillers had not known that they had another baptism that day. So, after the wonderful Primary President, Sis. Suzanne Johnson, tracked down the Stake people, we had them fill it back up. This takes about 1 hour so we decided to go back to our house to have lunch, then meet back at the church at 2:00pm. A few people were not able to come back, so we missed Sis. Johnson. One of Kaila's primary teachers, Sis. Maughan was there with her daughter, as well as Dee Downs, Clay's friend, and Bro. Matt Larson from the Bishopric was there as well. They are missing from this picture.

Kaila was baptised by Clay, Unlce Jon gave a talk on Baptism, Grandpa Dave gave a talk on Confirmation. Grandpa Wiser and Cami gave prayers. Clay did awesome, he only had to dunk her one time. Kaila was amazing! She and Clay had practiced so she wasn't too scared. We are so proud of her and her decision to get baptized a member of our church.

It was very nice for everyone to come, even though it was Easter weekend. We appreciate everyone coming to celebrate with us!!!

Back: Megan, Andy, Marisa, Neil, Kawi, Grandma Mona, Kevin, Grandpa Dave, Jon, Cami, Tony (hiding) Grandma Lu, Grandpa Todd, Jenni, Great-Grandpa Wiser.

Front: Jake, Lindsay, MaKayla, Tessa, Justice, Jaycee, Cheyenne, Kaila, Clay, Griffin.

Kaila and Clay

Kaila on her Baptism Day!

Kaila getting ready

Here are some pictures that we had taken at Kiddie Kandids. They turned out pretty cute. We were able to make an announcement/invitation to send to everyone. She also has a collection of pictures in her room. Her baptism dress was really pretty.

2009-07-07T11:31:00.012-06:00

Easter Celebration with the Jensen's

April 12, 2009

Justice having fun on the swingset. The kids LOVE it!

Jon showing us his SWEET SKILLS! With a broken leg.
Jake, Jon, Justice

Jensen cousins - Jake, Justice, Jaycee, Kaila, Cheyenne, Tessa, Griffin.

All the cousins again - Justice, Griff, Tessa, Cheyenne, Kaila, Jaycee, Jake

Grandpa Todd helping Griff find the eggs.

Justice finding his eggs.

Clay helping Griff

Clay and Griff

Tony, Todd, Kaila, Lindsay

Kaila and Cheyenne

Griff

Griff and Tessa
Griff

Clay's Butt!!!
Tessa, Clay, Griff

A family pic after church - Kaila in her Baptism Dress.

Griff helping dye the eggs

Kaila dyeing her eggs

Justice and his egg

Kaila, Griff, Justice and me

Griffin, Kaila, Justice -checking out what the Easter Bunny broughtKaila

Griff and Clay

Justice

They were excited to get their toys

Griff and Justice on the egg hunt

Justice showing Griff were one was.

Kaila

Griff finding them where he could reach before Kaila and Justice got them.

Griff checking behind the pillows

Justice

Kaila, Clay, Griff

Justice

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Griffin was so cute that I had to take a picture of him. I don't remember what we did that day,
but he really must have been tired.

2009-07-07T10:40:00.006-06:00

Easter Celebration in American Fork with the Matthews Family

April 4, 2009

It was cold this year, but that did not stop the kids. They were excited as ever and the cold did not slow them down at all.

Here is the Matthews Grandkids that were able to be there this year.

Griff, MaKayla, Leilani (Dd), Kaila, Zach, Meikana, Justice, Kawi, Kalani, and Kevin.

We missed you - River, Gunner, Sierra, and Ridge!!

This is Zach, showing me his Easter candy.
Justice and his Easter Loot

Clay helping Griffin take apart the eggs to see just what is inside.
Kaila counting her eggs before empting them out.
Grffin being so cute, I made him stop hunting to take a pic.
Dd counting out hers. They just didn't want to wait until we got inside, but it was pretty cold.
Megan petting the dog nextdoor, and Wendy. They are checking to make sure that all the eggs were found.
Kawi and Kalani
Dd, MaKayla, Kevin, and Neil
Kaila, Clay making the rounds to make sure no eggs are left.
Justice, still on the hunt

Griff on the hunt for the best ones

Griff

Kaila showing off her eggs. Meikani, Kalani, Kawi, MaKayla, Justice and Megan in the background.

Kaila

Griffin

Frustrated BIG Time!!

2009-07-07T09:50:00.003-06:00

I am getting so pissed, I have been working on a BIG blog catch up post for the last month or so. I went on and downloaded a lot of pics from the last few months since the last post, and it had no problem doing that, but when I go back to add text, it takes FOREVER. When I go to write the text, it is so slow, it is like every line has to reload again after every key stroke. It has double and triple spaced everything and when I go in to delete the spacing it takes so long and then it re-saves every 3 minutes so then it takes even longer just to delete a line or a word. It is pissing me off so much that I am finally going in to just delete it and do it again. So, I am going to try to do one event at a time from now one like I should be doing anyway I guess. So I am going to try this again, I hope that it will not take too long.

Julie, I hope to have this done so that you can see before you get here in 4 days! I am so pathetic!!! Sorry, I have been trying, it just gets so frustrating every time I try that
after a few hours of working on it and the only thing that I have done is to delete about 20 lines in between a few pictures, so I am now going to delete it and try again.

So to anyone else who has checked in to see what we are up to since the last post, try back again soon and hopefully it will be updated to at least July 4th.

Today is July 7th and it is Clay's 30th Birthday, so I will take pics and hopefully post it as well.

2009-03-23T13:30:00.003-07:00

More Birthday Celebration

March 22, 2009

This is a picture of all the Jensen side cousins. Kaila, Cheyenne, Justice, Jake, Griffin, Tessa, and Jaycee. We are having a birthday dinner for Justice and Cheyenne.

Singing Happy Birthday to Justice and Cheyenne. Uncle Jon in the background.

Here are the Birthday Kids! Cheyenne #7, and Justice #6.

Justice got so excited when he opened the card from Grandma and Grandpa Wiser. $$$$

This is Grandma Lu playing ball with cute little Tessa.

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Fast Asleep

This was so cute. The kids had been playing hard outside all day since they came home from school. As soon as it was dark they had to be pulled inside. We thought we would be nice and order pizza since they were soooo hungry. Justice fell asleep at the table and Griffin fell asleep on the couch waiting for it to come. About an hour or so later, Justice woke up and asked why the pizza was not here yet. He had himself a piece, then went back to sleep for the night.

He doesn't really look all that comfortable, but he somehow slept like that without falling off the chair.

2009-03-23T11:47:00.006-07:00

Scrapfest 2009

February 5-8, 2009

(Better Late Than Never)

So, I know that Scrapfest was a long time ago, but I keep getting asked what it is and why I go, so I will post a few pictures from this year . I believe it started out by a few friends wanting to get away to have a fun weekend and scrapbook. My friend Annilee Griffin, who was my neighbor in Richmond and who also started my investment in scrapbooking (yes, I am now blaming her for my addiction to buying scrapbook stuff and my huge collection of scrap stuff. But I do still love ya Annilee!) invited me to come down scrapbook with this group. They are a group of girls from Las Vegas who drive up to St. George to scrap for the weekend. So, I flew down to Vegas on Thursday evening, stayed at Annilee and Cole's beautiful home, then the next morning, we take off to St. George. This year Sherri, Toni, Annilee, and I made the drive.

So I will make the story short... we get to St. George, shop at Tai Pan, hit a few other stores, eat, scrap, stay up ALL NIGHT, and I mean ALL NIGHT, sleep for just a few hours, scrap again for hours, eat, back to scrapping ALL NIGHT, and then wake up Sunday morning, farewell Breakfast at Cracker Barrel, drive back to Las Vegas, drop me off at the airport, have to say goodbye, and then the family is at the airport waiting for me, they loose my luggage (my OGIO lugguage so I am pissed) so while waiting a couple of hours hoping that it will be on the next flight we go get something to eat, get the call from the airport (happy again because they have found my bags full of expensive scrap stuff, not to mention again my cute OGIO luggage) so we head for home, a 1 1/2 hour drive, now I majorly need a nap!!! It was a awesome weekend, always fun to see Annilee and friends, Sherri, Justiel, and all the Scrapfesters.

So, a BIG shout to Annilee, from your SB (ha ha!). THANK YOU for the invite, letting me stay at your house, and for such a great weekend way from home. I always have such a great time with you and have so many laughs. You are always the one I think about when I think about scrapping, and wish that I had more great friends like you to scrap with. You have always been such a great friend to me, also to Clay and our family. We have definitely missed hanging out with you, Cole, and your family. Just like old times when we get together, laughing and staying up all night. I can't wait until next time!

This is as we are arriving in St. George for Scrapfest! This is me, Sherri, and Toni.

The Very SEXY Annilee and I just casually posing for a pic! This here is me scrapping away. Please notice my nice and clean side of the table, I can't say the same for Annilee, she always was a messy scrapper.
This is Sherri and Justiel just scrapping there little hearts out. It was good to see Sherri pay her dues to the bet that we made last year. It was sooo worth it!!The girls on my table: Sherri, Annilee, and Justiel, also my room mates.
Farewell Breakfast at Cracker Barrel. This is so not a great pic of me, but the other girls look great. Please remember that we only had 4 hours of sleep or so the whole weekend.

2009-03-20T12:17:00.012-07:00

March 13, 2009

Justice's Birthday - 6 years old !!!

I can't believe that Justice is 6 years old!!! We have been counting down for so long, but it doesn't seem like he should be 6 years old. It feels like just a few years ago that he was born. He loves to hear the story about when he was born, which is great because he keeps it fresh in my memory. I hope that I never forget those feelings that I had that day. It was amazing, I was so excited to have a boy. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you JUSTICE. I love you so much. You are such a sweet little boy, and you bring so much love to our home.

We really didn't get to celebrate on his real birthday because we were driving down to American Fork to look at some brick for a job with my dad. But on the way down, Clay stopped at Tai Pan and Ikea. So, I got to shop!!! I think that I might let Clay come shopping with me again, because he really let me shop. Given the kids were with us, we actually got a lot done. We have been fixing up the house so that is more what we like since we figure that we may be living here for a while, at least until we can get what we want out of the house. So we have been painting, and new flooring, and making it look like people actually live here. We now have more than one picture on the wall. We also picked up a dog kennel from my sister Megan's house in Pleasant Grove.

You will see Justice is still in his cast. He gets it off hopefully on March 25. We have to go to the doctor and they will take x-rays to make sure it healed okay. If not, they will put another one on for a few more weeks. He has been the best little boy with a cast. I can only imagine how much it itches, and hurts not being able to move it the way you want to. But he has not complained much at all. We try to make him do finger exercises because he says his little pinky hurts alot and he can't straighten it all the way. I think he will be happy to get it off. But until then, he has loved to have lots of people sign it.

In AF, we went to a Chinese Resturant for dinner. Justice would not look at the camera. He thought he was being so funny, so I took a picture anyway.

We celebrated his birthday the next day (Saturday) and here he is oh so excited. This is his rock out face. Isn't he so cool?!!!

A ninja move. Classic for Justice!

He really wanted a skateboard. I am not so sure about this seeming as how he already has a broken arm. But he got to pick, so that is what he chose. He also chose some shoes.

He also really wanted this ball. I told him it will just get popped, but he really wanted it.

And of course, baseball stuff. He got a t-ball bat, balls, a bag to carry everything to the field.

This is one of his moves. Watch out here he comes!!!

Him with his cake. It was so good!!!

When he came home from school on Monday (they were out of school for PTC on Friday) this is what he had on. He loved it.

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Sweet Dreams

Griffin fell asleep with the ipod on and next to Buzz. Kaila said, "mom get the camera and come here, you have to take a pictue of this". She thought he was so cute. I think this was a few days after we got the new black leather couches.

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February 28, 2009

Clay at the Rhino Rally

What is the Rhino Rally? It is a desert race for motorcyles were you ride 55 + miles. Clays class had to ride a 55 mile loop. This race was Clay's first desert race. He had so much fun, but I think I may have had just as much fun watching him. I am so glad that he likes it, because I love to go and watch. This race was in St. George. So Clay, Jon (his little brother), Griffin, and I went on down to the warm weather. A couple of Clay's riding friends were down there as well, so we met up with them, and hung out with them a little bit.

We were walking across the field to watch the start of the pee wee/pit bikes. Griffin got a free ride. It was kind of a walk over to the starting lines. I am glad I did not have to carry him, because he gets heavy.

Griffin waiting for Clay's race to start. Kind of a weird smile, but he was being such a good little boy.
Jon took this picture of us. Here I am telling him good luck, and be careful.

Jon took the camera over to the starting lines, and took some good shots. Here is Clay getting ready in all the gear. (There is something I love about a guy in motorcross gear!)

Does anyone know which one is Clay? It is okay, neither do we.

With all the dust we can't really tell, but we think that one of those riders is Clay.

Griffin and Jon

We think that the person on the left side of the picture is Clay.

Jon, waiting to help in the pits.

Jon pitting for Jeven Weeks.

Jevan Weeks

Steve Summers

This is Clay as he was finishing. They take some sticker off your helmet to put on the board.

I was so proud of him. He rode the last 10 miles of the coarse with a flat tire, but he finished!!! He actually did pretty well being his first race and all. Steve Summers was having some suspension problems so he was only able to do the first loop, and Jevan Weeks had some electrical problems and had wait to be push-start a few times. But overall, they all did well and no one was hurt.

Birthday, Broken Arm, and First Tooth!

2009-02-18T12:11:00.015-07:00

February 14, 2009

Kaila's Birthday #8

I can't believe that I have an 8 year old! That makes me feel really old, when I still feel somewhat young (at least at heart). So with Kaila's birthday being on Valentine's Day, and also on her Grandma LuAnn's birthday, we try to celebrate with our family on the actual day, then with family the next. So we just kept it low key on the actual day (Valentine's Day).

Kaila and I went to lunch wo our favorite place.... Cafe Rio! It is always so yummy! She and I share a Shredded Chicken Salad, half black beans/half pinto, minus the tomato stuff, and no quac, with the green ranch dressing. YUM!!!

Then on Sunday we went up to Grandma's house to celebrate the birthday's together. All of the Jensen's were there except Aunt Julie and Uncle Brady. We missed you guys!

The Birthday Girls!!!

Then on Monday, since there was no school, my mom and dad came up for a birthday visit. It was so good to see them. I of course did not get a picture. Kaila took a few very close pictures of her cousin Makayla, and a extremely close up of Grandma Mona (I will not post them since they are not great quaility).

Kaila is going to be baptised on March 14, 2009. That will be an exciting day for her. We still have to go and pick out her scriptures and baptism day dress, so she is excited about that. I hope that everyone is able to make it. To my family: it really is "just a little drive".

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February 11, 2009

Justice Broke His Arm!

Justice broke his arm. He is the bravest little boy. The kids were climbing our headboard which is about 6 1/2 feet tall, and when they get to the top they jump onto the mattress. They think it is sooo fun!

Clay and I were down stairs catching up on NCIS when all of the sudden we hear a cry from Justice that we have never heard before. We look at each other and haul butt up the stairs. He met us in the hallway, holding his arm. It was very noticeably broken. He was trying to move it and it was flopping around. So I immediately yell to not try to move his arm and am trying to hold it to stabilize it. At this point he is not really crying, just fussing because I think he sees mine and Clay's reaction and knows that this is serious. (I am pretty low key when it comes to taking the kids to the doctor, so I think when I yelled to Clay to get the kids ready and meet me in the car because we have to go to the ER NOW, this must have scared him a little).

So we try to get the story about what happen out of them, and Kaila starts to cry and say she is sorry and that it was an accident. Apparently, Kaila and Justice were taking turns climbing the headboard and Justice started climbing out of turn so Kaila tried to hit at him to get him down, when Justice falls. We are still not sure what happened after that, because the story differs a little from each of them, but because it happened so fast that they don't really remember. Justice says that he fell from the top of the headboard to the floor and that he tried to break the fall with this arms. Kaila says that he hit the mattress first and that it bounced him and them he fell to the floor. Either way, we have a broken arm.

So on the way he is still trying to fling his arm around, and I am trying to hold it very still. It is bowing and I know it is pretty serious. But he is saying that his fingers are numb, and he is holding them because he has to let himself know that they are there. He starts asking what is going to happen when we get to the hospital. So I give him the run down that they will have to go and get x-rays, which he is thinking is pretty cool. Then I tell him that he will probably have to have some kind of a cast. He says that he doesn't know what a cast is. He is still whimpering a little at this point. So I tell him that Travis Pastrana (his favorite motorcyclist) has had a lot of casts because when you ride motorcycles sometimes you get hurt enough that you break bones and have to have casts. So when I tell him that all motorcycle riders have casts he says to me "okay" and suddenly he is fine.

Sad to say that this will probably not be his last broken arm, or cast. He still wants to be a motorcycle rider. He is already planning the tricks that he can do when he gets his cast off.

We are supposed to meet with the Orthopedist on Friday and hopefully get a real cast and not this temporary one. Right now he is not able to bend his arm because the temp cast is up above the elbow. He is wearing the sling, which he hates, and having to keep it elevated. But on Friday as long as it looks like it is healing okay, the doctor says he will most likely get a real cast that will be right below the elbow. It is pretty swollen right now so that is another reason for the temp cast.

He is such a strong boy. The doctor thought that they may have to put him under to re-break and position the arm. After the x-rays he came back to say that he broke it just right. He ended up breaking both bones of the forearm. He thought that since Justice was being so brave that maybe he would just be able to give him a medication that would make him be out of it enough to be out of pain, and not remember them re-breaking it.

So before he gets this medication, I was telling him that since he was being to brave and not crying at all that he could probably get a toy motorcycle, maybe two. So then Clay as to up me and tell him that he thought he deserved more and that he was going to get him 5. So Justice was very excited. As soon as the medication wore off, he asked if he really could get 5 since he was sooo good. So what can you say to that?? OF COURSE!!!

I will have to take a picture of him with his 5 motorcycles that Clay got for him. He loves motorcycles!!

I have seen quite a few broken arms, and too many crying kids at work, so it really made me appreciate just how great of a patient Justice was. Seriously, THE BEST!!!

Justice showing his broken arm.

Justice before bathtime. He does not like the plastic bag.

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January 17, 2009

Justice Lost His FIRST Tooth!

He has lost another one since then, but I was not home and Clay sent it to me via cell phone and I am not sure how to get it on the computer from my phone. I thought I took one when I got home from my vacation, but I don't see it on the camera card. I will take another one and post it (Julie).

44 ODD things about ME!

2009-02-13T16:43:00.003-07:00

1. Do you like blue cheese? absolutely not

2. Have you ever smoked? no

3. Do you own a gun? my husband does, but I don't, I do know how to shoot it. I shoot to kill, baby!!!

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Fruit Punch

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I can only eat a cheese hot dog, every once in a while, usually in the summer.

7. Favorite Holiday movie? A Christmas Story!! I have it memorized.

8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Ice Water

9. Can you do push ups? Yes, but not as many as I used to do.

10. What is your favorite piece of jewelry? my wedding ring

11. What is your favorite hobby? scrapbooking, reading, thinking about organizing, and all sports.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? no

13. What is one trait you hate about yourself? I don't hate anything about me, but I hate my habit of not being on time. I'm terrible about it.

14. Middle name? Kehaulani (Hawaiian - meaning is - Mist from Heaven

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: The kids better start being quite, or I am going to go crazy, I need to start planning more of Girls Camp (I just got called as the Camp Director), I wish I was at scrapfest getting more caught up on my scrapbooks.

16. What do you read in the bathroom? Motorcycle Magazines, Creating Keepsakes Magazine, Victoria Secret Catalog (that is just gross, I know)

17. Current worry? Laundry, I leave for 4 days to Scrapfest and now I have a very full laundry room. I really do not want to do it, but Justice is out of pants that have no holes in the knees.

18. Current hate right now? The flabby skin hanging over my pants. (not good!)

19. Favorite place to be? Sand Dunes with my family, family parties with my families.

20. How did you ring in the New Year? At my parents in laws house watching the ball drop on TV with all the kids. They all stayed up till midnight this year, which was a first. Clay finally stayed up!!!

21. Where would you like to go? to the dunes!!! but since it is so cold maybe on a cruise with Clay, maybe to the Caribbean, or Hawaii.

22. Name three people who will complete this. Who knows! Surprise me!!

23. Do you own slippers? No, but I do wear Clays sometimes.

24. What shirt are you wearing? A new Roxy shirt, with a new Billabong zip up sweatshirt.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never tried satin sheets. I love flannel because I love to be cozy!!!

26. Can you whistle? Yes

27. Favorite color? Red

28. Would you be a pirate? I don't think so. I would like the boat, but not the eye patch and missing teeth.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I do not sing in the shower. If you know me at all, you know that I can't sing at all. It is our family joke that I am NOT going to HOLLYWOOD.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Jenni - Hello, it is the best name in the world. I love the Hawaiian names and spelling of Maile Malea. If I were to have an surprise baby girl, that would be her name. ***NO ONE is able to use those names in that order or with that spelling. If I find out, you die!!

31. Favorite boy's name? Griffin - I am glad that I got a boy so I was able to use this.

32. What is in your pocket right now? Cell Phone

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Griffin. When he wants a chocolate milk sippy he will pucker up in his fish kiss face. Makes me laugh every time.

34. What vehicle do you drive? White Chevy Tahoe

35. Worst injury you have ever had. Thanksgiving 1988, I put my had through a window at my cousins house, and had to have stitches.

36. Do you love where you live? It is a nice place, and the neighbors are awesome, but it not our final place. We need more land so that we can have a track for the motorcycles in the back yard.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 5 (that's rather embarrassing, I agree Connie)

38. Who is your loudest friend? after being with my kids all day, none of my friends seem loud.

39. Do you have any pets? yes, Clay brought homes a chocolate lab puppy 5 weeks ago. He is cute, but I hate the mess!!

40. Does someone have a crush on you? don't think so

41. Your favorite book(s)? I used to hate to read, but for about a year now I have enjoyed it. I have read about 75+ books in the last year. I enjoy war books, Nicholas Sparks books, Richard Paul Evans, (?) Hughes, Children of the Promise, Hearts of the Children, Work and the Glory, (?) Zion, pioneer books. Stephanie Meyer (of course), Gerald Lund, Traci Abram, most LDS writers. Right now I am reading a series of 3 books about some of the first African-American people that came west with the handcart companies. It is pretty interesting.

42. Do you collect anything? I like to decorate with snowmen instead of Santa, I would like to start collecting the Willow Tree Nativity. We have had so much of our stuff in storage while we have moved from house to house, that so much had gotten thrown away. Someday soon I will have my house decorated like I want to.

43. Favorite Sports Team? I would rather not watch sports on TV , I would rather be playing. I do like to watch Supercross/Motorcross they don't really have teams, more of an individual sport.

44. What song do you want played at your funeral? This is a strange question that I've never thought about before, I like the Hymn " Have I Done Any Good ", but I heard a primary song that I absolutely love, it is called "If the Savior Stood Beside Me", I am not sure that it would be a good funeral song, but I love it. In fact, I am going to teach myself to play it on the piano.

Update!

2009-01-04T21:02:00.030-07:00

January 2, 2009
Surprise!! Look what dad brought home!

The kids are so excited to have a puppy. I have been telling them for years that they had to wait until we were in the last house to have a puppy. But Clay started looking at puppies on KSL and then had Kaila looking up puppies on the internet. We kind of talked about it, but then I just really wasn't sure, we don't really have a place to put it. Clay would like him to be an indoor dog, I am not so sure. The kids were supposed to be really good to earn him, and the day that Clay brought him home (3 days earlier than planned) they were being very naughty. They really do not deserve a puppy for as naughty as they have been. But what are we to do now? So we now have a puppy, his name is BRONCO.

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December 31,2008

Boys and their Toys - at the Dunes

So Clay, Jon, and Brady decided to go to the dunes (Little Sahara) while Brady was still here, and it looks like they had a lot of fun. Maybe too much fun!!! Thanks to Brady for bring the camera because they took alot of funny pictures. We were trying to plan a trip where everyone could go with the Rhino and 4 Wheelers, but it just didn't happen with everyones schedules. So next time Julie and Brady are here we will make sure we get to go together. He are just a few of the funny/sexy pictures that they took of eachother.

Brady and his motorcycle Honda 450 (?)

Who knows why they are posing and taking pictures. HaHa!

This is Clays butt! HOT!!

Jon with his new motorcycle. Honda CRF250X

Clays 2nd to best side! ha! ha!

Clay on his new motorcycle. KTM250XC (?)

The motorcycles

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Christmas Day 2008

Christmas Morning we opened presents at our house, but since we did the Christmas morning thing at the Jensen's a day early we just took our time. Later in the afternoon Grandma Lu, Grandpa Todd,and Unlce Jon came over for a few hours. Normally we also leave and go to American Fork to Grandpa Dave and Grandma Mona's house to exchange gifts. This year it was snowing pretty bad so we didn't want to chance it. So the kids go to enjoy their toys and did not have to leave them. It was kind of nice not to have to rush around, but I missed seeing everyone on Christmas morning.

This is the kids wanting to come down the stairs to open presents. Dad was down turning on lights and making sure that Santa actually did come.

Justice opening a Xbox game that he really wanted.

Kaila checking out want is in the stocking.

It was a DVD.

Griff loved the Lighting McQueen remote control.

Justice holding up another thing he really wanted, a finger skateboard.

Kaila and the ipuppy that she asked Santa for at the Wiser party.

Kaila loves this game, Tumbling Monkeys.

Griff is actually excited to open shoes. He has a smile and everything. Too bad they were too small, so now we need to return them.

What could this be? Green, talking fingers? Nope, Hulk hands!

Justice with his Hulk hands. We could not have gotten just one pair. Clay beat the crap out of me later on with these. I tried to defend myself, but I could not stop laughing.

Griff with his Hulk hands on, ready to punch someone out!

Griff loves his Lightning McQueen car. I can't believe how happy he was playing with it.

Kaila aiming on of the many Nerf guns that we got. We all had a lot of fun shooting them at eachother.

Clay rocking out with the Guiter Hero. I think he was glad to just sit home and relax!

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Christmas Eve at the Wiser Christmas Party 2008

Every year since Clay can remember they have had a Wiser Christmas Party on Christmas Eve. So since we have been married every year we go and have some fun. There is always such great food, games, presents, and the past few years... chimes. Hopefully next year we may just be good enough to be able to know what song we are actually trying to play. Ha! Ha! We always have some good laughs. Nan is the best song leader, she sang so well that she started losing her voice.

This is Griff playing his chime proudly. I don't think that he actually rang it on the right note, but he sure had fun hitting it.
Justice is just waiting for Nan to point to his number so that he can ring his chime. He is being very patient.

Then look who shows up!!!!! That's right SANTA!! The same Santa has come to this party every since Clay can remember. So it must be the real Santa right? At least that is what the kids think.

This is Santa trying to get every one to sing "O Christmas Tree".
Kaila telling Santa that she wanted a ipuppy. (She did get it the next morning). From Santa at the party she got a drawing kit with markers, crayons, colored pencils, and a notebook. Kaila loved it because she loves to draw.
Justice telling Samta that he wanted a remote control motorcycle. Santa told him that if he couldn't fit that in the bag then he would bring his something just as cool. (He did not get it the next morning, but the neighbor boy did, so Justice thinks that he stole it from him). I told him that he can get it for his birthday in March. Justice got a toy motorcycle with rider Ricky Carmicheal, his favorite!
Griff telling Santa that he wanted a motorcycle. Which is what he opened up! Griff got a toy motorcycle as well but with a Honda rider. He also loved it!
And look who else got to sit on Santa's lap. That's right, Clay and I. Clay is asking for a motorcycle I think. He opened up some work gloves. Almost just as cool right?! And I also asked for a motorcycle (although I was the first one to sit on Santa's lap from our family so really everyone else just copied me). I got to open up the next best thing, pj pants. There is nothing better than a new pair of pj's. Love it! Thanks SANTA!!!

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Christmas Eve Day 2008
We spent all day with the Jensen's, it was great! Because Julie and Brady had to go back up to Declo, ID., we had Christmas Day with the Jensen's on Christmas Eve morning. We had the ham and potatoes that we usually have Christmas morning, it was yummy!! It was nice to have everyone together after 2 very long years. We had a lot of fun hanging out together.

Kaila and Justice got ipod shuffles from Grandma Lu and Grandpa Todd. They love them!! The kids were dancing around and rocking out, it was pretty funny. Just look at the expression on Justice's face. That is his "Rock On" face.
Griffin got this Hulk toy and was not sure what to think of it at first. It took him a while to play with it, he was afraid of the scary voice that it made.
Kaila, Cheyenne, Jaycee

Uncle Jon putting together the race track that Grangpa Todd ordered. It was fun for the kids to play with, but the cars kept flying off the track and hitting people.

Justice getting the car set up on the starting line.

Griff is kissing one of the Fur-real cats that Jaycee and Tessa got. This thing acted just like a real cat, it purred, meowed and everything. He liked it!

Uncle Brady showing Griff how to control the remote control helicopter. All the boys got them and all the kids learned to play.

Clay and Griff watching the helicopter as it is getting higher and higher.

Justice "rocking out" again.

This time Jake joined him. (his pants are in the dryer).

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December 23, 2008

He is HOME!!!

So Jon is now home and our family is so excited. Clay and I went back to California to pick him up, and of course I brought my camera but didn't take any pictures (so typical). It was awesome to see him as an Elder, and to see him with his companion in their apartment. It was so neat to meet some of the people that he was able to teach. Everyone we met had such great things to say about him, so that was awesome to hear. A few ladies told me that they didn't want us to take him home. But I told them that we were there to bring him home. We had a good time at church with him too. It is amazing how much he has grown up in just 2 years. His mission has helped him and his testimony, and it was inspiring to hear him bear his testimony to some of the members.
He also spoke in sacrement meeting the following sunday, he did such a great job. His testimony is so heartfelt. (If that makes sense). In California the members in the ward said that you could feel the love that he has for the Savior as you look into his eyes. I would have to agree, he is diffinitely a changed person. Welcome Home Jon !!! We love you!

This is right before he left to go and get released. He looks like such a dork!

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December 12, 2008

Matthews Family Christmas Party 2008

We have tried to keep the Matthews Family Tradition of having the Nativity Scene. I remember doing this when I was growing up with my Aunts, Uncle, and Cousins. Back then we had a lot more particiation with donkeys, cattle,and everything. Now that we have our own "Matthews Family Christmas Party" we have limited people, so just the grandkids dress up. I think they love it. But you have seen us "grown-ups", we were laughing so hard, when we are supposed to be being reverent. Dad (grandpa) reads from the Bible as someone helps in the kitchen telling the kids when it is time to have their turn. When it is time for the wisemen to come make their enterance, Randy lets the biggest fart and scares Griff, he laughs which sends us all laughing (but still trying to be reverent). So everyone makes their appearance in the big show we have to snaps some pictures. Every year mom (grandma) draws out the assignments and so we get to mix it up a little bit. We just get towels, ties, shawls, the basic wisemen/shephard gear, and the angel gets to be a little more beautiful. So here is our attempt at the Nativity Scene....

This is MaKayla as Mary, Zach as Joseph, and Leilani as The Inn Keeper.

Here is the Baby Jesus played by Kevin. Mary holding him tight.
Is this not the cutest little Angel! This year played by Meikana.

The Shepards were Justice and Kawi.

These are the 3 Wisemen. Kaila, Kalani, and Griff (hiding, you can see his arm).

Here is a picture of the Wisemen offering their gifts to Baby Jesus (a better pic of Griff).

And this is the Nativity Scene, Matthews Family Style!

Kawi and Justice as Shepards, Zach as Joseph, Kevin as Baby Jesus, MaKayla as Mary, Meikana as the Angel, Leilani (Dd) as The Inn Keeper, Griffin, Kaila, and Kalani as Wisemen. And Grandpa Dave as the Narator.

15 days and counting down!

2008-12-08T19:41:00.004-07:00

So, I don't have any pictures because not a lot has really been going on. But I am really excited because it is getting so close to the time that we get to go on a small vacation to pick up Elder Jonathan Jensen!!!! That's right, my brother in law Jon is coming home from his mission!!! Clay and I are so excited because we are going to go and pick him up in California. It will be a very short vacation, but so well worth the get away. Jon is serving in the Roseville California Mission. He will be coming home on December 23, just in time to spend Christmas with the family. Can you ask for a better gift? I think not!!!

My SIL Julie and Brady will be coming home, from Ohio, in 6 days and we are all so excited. We are going to have a girls trip to Park City. Sometime while she is here we are all planning to go and see Twilight. I know, I am probably one of the only people left that still has not seen it. I have been told to just go now and then see it again with them, but I'll wait. So, we can't wait to see Julie and Brady in just a few days!! I hope that the weather cooperates over the next few weeks because we have got to go the dunes while they area here.

Really, nothing very interesting has happened, so I will post again later when I have some pictures.

Update is out of order.

2008-11-03T00:55:00.002-07:00

I am not very good at this. The next four posts are out of order, they are dated correctly.

Sand Dunes

2008-11-02T23:28:00.010-07:00

Sand Dunes - Conference Weekend
10/3/2008 - 10/5/2008

We decided to go to the dunes for General Conference Weekend. Clay did't have to work Friday, so we left Friday morning and headed to Little Sahara Sand Dunes. The weather on Friday afternoon was okay so as soon as we unloaded the trailer, we headed out for a ride. The kids have fun playing in the sand while Clay was off playing on his motorcycle.

That evening Grandpa Todd and Grandma Lu were on their way to join us for the weekend. They brought the rain from Logan with them. It rained so hard that night, that we woke to a huge puddle on the tarp/rug when we stepped out of the trailer. We wet up an extra canopy to have just a little more room to sit around. We ended up moving up around the fire for something to do while we kept warm. It rained all day on Saturday. It did not even stop for us to get a little ride in. On Sunday morning the rain let up a little bit. We could not decided if we should pack up or wait it out a while to see if it would stop long enough for a little ride. So before we packed up, we all got to go on a ride. The rain finally stopped. YEAH!!! We all just went out on some trails and onto the dunes for a few hours. It ended up being really fun.

We had brought Justice's little motorcycle and it would not go very well in the dry sand on Friday, so when the sand was wet the kids got to ride it. Clay set them up a little track to go around, and they had a blast. We misplaced the key to Kaila's fourwheeler (again) so she had to ride the motorcycle. I think she had a blast. These first few pictures are of the kids playing on Friday before it rained the rest of the weekend.

Griff sliding down the sand hill. Kaila was showing him how to do it just right. He got so much sand in his diaper, but he was having so much fun to even care.

Griff just being so cute, showing me that he could fly.

Kaila playing in the sand. This is here favorite thing to do at the dunes. She could sit for hours and play in the sand. She loves that on the surface the sand is warm, but when you dig down it is cold on your hands and feet.

She found this flower and stuck it behind her ear. After the picture she gave it to me and made me put it behind my ear for a while.

Justice showing me his "hang loose" pose. He loves to do this lately in his pictures. He thinks he is pretty dang cool in his gear.

Kaila, Griff, and Justice having fun in the back of the Rhino. They got to take their helmets off to take a picture. This was the second ride on Friday before Todd and Lu arrived with the rain. We did start to head back because the sky was getting pretty gray and there was lightening in the distance. Clay was giving me a break from driving.

Justice giving Clay a little break from driving. Don't worry, he didn't drive longer that 1-2 minutes. He actually did pretty good steering.

This is Saturday when the rained had slowed down a little, not enough to go out for a ride, but enough to roast hot dogs without getting too wet.

Sunday before we went out for a ride, the kids tried out the wet sand. The motorcycle did a lot better on the wet sand than it did on dry. On dry sand it would dig the sand out under the tires and just leave the training wheels holding it up. Justice likes to go fast. Going up these little hills we would have to stand there and tell him "more throttle" to get him up the hills.

Kaila's turn. She did very well, she was a little nervous at first but once she understood that the training wheels would keep her from falling over she did great. I think she is just used to the stability of the fourwheeler.

Griff begged Clay to take him on a ride. Just as he finished one ride, he would cry for another one. He has a smile because he got his way without too much pouting.

Kaila was helping Grandpa find wood for the fire.

Justice found a tumble weed to burn.

This is not the best picture, but thanks to LuAnn we might actually have one of me. Griff begged me this time, he wanted a ride on Grandmas fourwheeler. He talks the entire ride, and says "wee" over the littlest hills. He loves it as much as I do. Man, am I lucky!

Griffin taking the motorcycle for a spin. He would sit on it and beg until someone gave him a ride. He would just go and sit on it, he started to stand up and act like he was doing tricks.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-02T22:41:00.011-07:00

Pumpkin Patch 10-17-2008

Usually we just get a pumpkin from the store and go home to carve it, but this year we mixed it up a little bit. On the way out to Smithfield, there was this pumpkin patch on the side of the highway where you could pick a pumpkin off of a trailer, or you could go walk through and find your own. The kids decided that they wanted to pick there own, so we ventured out into the field. Kaila and Justice had a lot of fun finding the perfect pumpkin. They were all kind of smaller so I told them they could pick 2 or 3. Griff takes a nap alot when we drive and this day was not exception. He did not want to wake up but I made him, so he was pretty onry and did not want pictures. He had an okay time finding a pumpkin, until he stepped in a little rutt and fell down. Then it was down hill after that. I still wanted to get pics of Kaila and Justice, Griff wanted to be held, all the crying, people looking at us, etc.. Not as I pictured, but turned out okay I guess.

Kaila's perfect pumpkin!

Hauling another one back to the pile.

Justice thought that this one was perfect until I told him to turn it around and look at the green on the backside. He put it down and off he went on his search.

Griffin crying, again! Believe it or not, this is the best picture of him. He was sick of me still trying to take pictures of him while he was wanting me to pick him up. What a bad mom I am.

The other kids didn't care he was crying, they kept on looking! They ended up telling me that they wanted to look for a pumpkin patch every year because it was more fun looking for the perfect one from the patch than just picking one out of a box. I think next year we will just make sure that no one is waken up from a nap!

Then we went home to decorate them ...

Now usually we would carve them, but we found these cute Mr. Pumpkin Head things instead. I told them that because we didn't want them to freeze and then get all mushy like last year, that we would just buy these things and then when it got closer to Halloween we could carve them. They ended up liking these a lot and decided to keep them and not carve this year. I was okay with that, no mess this year!!! I think they turned out pretty dang cute, better than I could have carved them that is for dang sure. So, I think that we will keep them and hope that they want to do it again next year.

As you can see, Griff got a little happier when we got home and he was able to make funny faces into the pumpkins. They were so proud of their creations.

Justice by his favorite one he decorated.

Griff sitting by the 2 he decorated.

Kaila with her favorite one she did.

Salt Flats

2008-11-02T21:44:00.009-07:00

Salt Flats 10-18-2008

We went to the Salt Flats with Grandpa Todd and Grandma Lu, and our little family. It is always so fun! We thought it would be fun for Justice to ride his motorcycle where he didn't have to worry about running into anything. He is getting pretty good! He really likes to ride it and all summer has been riding it with Clay or I on the back to help with balance as he is doing the throttle. Uncle Tony and Jake let us borrow some training wheels (thank you!) so that he could learn to ride by himself. I think he was ready to try, but then we realized that we forgot the foot pegs (whoops), but Justice didn't mind. I love it so much that he likes to ride motorcycles. I hope that he continues to enjoy it because I have big plans for him, I am kidding, sort of. Ha! Ha! No really he tells me that when he grows up he wants to be a motorcycle rider and a swim diver. That is music to my ears.

We are very lucky to have kids that let us haul them around. We enjoy riding so much that it would really suck if our kids didn't like it. We have had four wheelers around since Kaila was born, and now with motorcycles, I feel very fortunate that my kids love it as much as I do. I seriously could ride everyday/all day and camp everyday as long as I got a shower every once and a while (thank goodness for the toyhauler)!

Justice checking in after being out on a ride. I just love how cute he looks in his gear!

Taking off for a ride. He did let Kaila ride it since we had misplaced the key to her fourwheeler and could not bring it. Kaila is getting pretty good as well, but I think she likes the fourwheeler a litte bit more. Griffin also likes to be taken for rides, he climbs up it and begs and waits until someone will take him for his turn.

Griff in the back seat of the rhino. Always a smile on his face when he is riding, oh how I love it!

Kaila with her big piece of salt. The salt is so thick that we had to chip at it to get a few pieces off. Thanks to Grandma Lu's example, they even tasted it. YUMMY!!

Here is Justice with his piece. He is also showing me how strong he is. Can't you just see those muscles bulging out of his shirt?

Griff woke up from his nap he was taking while I was driving. He was wondering what everyone was doing by the water. He also wanted to go and walk in it.

Justice showing me his muddy hands. He did try to wipe them all over me until I told him that if he did he would die.

Playing by the waters edge with Grandpa Todd.

Have to have little pit stops to have a treat. Justice loves to ride on the back of Grandpa because he goes so fast. However, Grandma gives him a run for his money on her Rancher.

Clay would seriously kill me if he knew I put this on here. Please do not tell!! He is just hitting a small jump here, but he has a lot of fun.

And lastly, this is me on Clay's motorcycle. I can barely reach the ground with my tip-toes, but that won't stop me from having fun on it. He still owes me my own, so I had to make sure that this one wasn't going to work. I think I may get one just a little smaller. This one has so much power, it is such a blast to ride! I LOVE it!!!

Finally updating the blog!

2008-11-02T20:32:00.013-07:00

Halloween 2008
10/31/2008

So I am finally updating the blog! This is for you Julie and Annilee since I have been telling you I would do it for months now. Sorry! I have no idea how people can do this daily. I get on thinking that I will update, first I go through emails, about 30 or so daily, then I start checking my favorite blogs to get my daily fill and to feel like I know what is going on in everyones lives, then hours later (seriously, hours!) I look down at that little clock at the bottom of my screen and it says numbers like 12:30 am, or 1:45am then I think that if I am going to get the kids up on time and not be so onry in the morning that I should probably get to bed, so I shut down the computer without updating my own blog, then shut down the house, check the kids, and finally about 30 minutes later get into bed. I do this daily! So for those who even care to read, I will try to do more photos than words, because I don't really want to type much. I hope I can get this to work the first time or I will get very pissed and probably not try again for a month or so. Ha! Ha!
So someone please tell me how I get the pics to come after the enrty. Tell me if I do this wrong, but I write first, then I put the curser down a few lines, then I go in to get the pics, then when I go to see thm, they appear before the post. This makes it harder for me to do several updated blog posts at a time. PLEASE HELP!! tell me what I am doing wrong, because everyone else seems to know how to do this. This is what makes me mad!!

Okay I figured it out with Clays help, what a head ache, he selected it, then did a drag up to the top. There has to be another way that is easier than that. There is no cut and paste? What?! I know that sounded easy as I said that, but I tried it before he came and it did not work for me. He has that kind of effect on technology, it instantly likes to work for him after I try it, for hours sometimes, but only about 10 minutes today. Anyway, if there is an easier way please let me know.

This is Griffin showing me what a skunk does best.

He is just so freaking cute! The tail on the skunk wiggled when he walked, it was so adorable, the costume fit his personality perfectly! The butt says " Little Stinker".

Justice is a pirate, he was so pissed because I made him have a goatie, eventually, after I told him that real pirates have them, he liked it and was not so mad at me. His favorite part of the costume was the sword, although it is not in the pic here because he was hitting us all with it.

Kaila was a witch. This costume was sewn by Grandma LuAnn about 20 years ago. I bought a dang cute witch costume that had a lot of colors, but she did not want to wear it because "witches wear black mom". So LuAnn dug out this one she had in the basement and she loved it. It was black, and it had a cape! We ended up without the green makeup, because I thought it looked funny, I have to mention that it is what Clay told me to do, like the the witch on Wizard of Oz, I even bought red lipstick although you really can't tell here because it had worn off, and she hated it. Of course, because that is Kaila for you!

Justice got this eye patch and teeth from Grandma LuAnn, he loved them! This was at the very end of the night so the makeup had well worn off.

Isn't she the scariest witch you have ever seen? This is one of her faces that she pulls often.

How can you resist this face? He really is not that cooperative with pictures, I had to stand on my pip-toes and aim over his head to get this, but what a cheese!

This picture is of all the Jensen side grandkids. Tessa is Dorothy holding her little pup Todo, Jake is Iron Man holding Justice's sword, Justice is a pirate, Jaycee is Snow White with her costume falling off, Cheyenne is a Barbie witch with a little mini skirt, and Kaila also a witch dressed in black. They all were so cute!

Changing the blog a little!

2008-08-17T21:45:00.006-06:00

Thank you to Lindsay and Annilee for the suggestions to help me with the pics. I have not tried it yet, but will try tomorrow when I have my memory card with me. I hope it works. Cross you fingers for me please!!!!

So we laid sod on Thursday night and Friday morning. Thank you to Todd and LuAnn ( my in-laws) for coming and helping on Thursday night. They just came to say hi, when they saw us laying sod, they just jumped in and helped lay part of the front corner until it was dark. Then Clay went out and laid until about midnight and got part of the back yard done, while I got the kids to bed. Did I mention that it was the day of our anniversary? Yes, we laid sod for our anniversary. Aren't we so freaking lame?!!! Then on Friday morning Casey (Jorgensen), Clays friend from work came over to help lay along with Todd. They were here at 6:30 am, and by the time I woke up and got the kids ready they had just about laid most of it. I only got to help lay a few pieces, fill in the holes, and cut some that had overlapped the sidewalks. Not much help, but I really did want to. I guess I get to mow it!!! No, really I am excited about that. It has been years since we had a yard and grass to mow. We haven't put in yards in the last 2 houses, so it has been about 5 years, since the Richmond house, that we had to cut grass. Clay and I used to fight over who got to mow. Sounds lame I know, but .... I can't really find and excuse sorry! Anyway, thank you to Todd and Casey for helping, and also to the neighbor Jaelyn for having Kaila and Justice come over to play, it really did help. THANK YOU!!!

We are also finishing the family room in the basement, so we have had drywall guys in and out. Clay has been so busy, Friday evening he was doing finish work, and getting it ready to paint. He has just a little more finish work to do, then we can paint in the next few days. Carpet is supposed to come on Friday. This is great news to us, because we will have another place to hide, I mean retreat to, when we need some space from the kids.

So back to our anniversary..... we have been married for 9 years! Which means I have known Clay for 11 years. That seems so crazy. I told him ten years means a cruise right?!!! Something besides laying sod. We have always had something kind of big happen about the same time, like getting a new car (2 or 3 times), signing papers on a house (2 times), or been at Lake Powell (2 times), or something. 3 years ago we went to Cancun (2 months later) but called it our anniversary present. It is not that we don't want to, or can't financially, it is just that Clay doesn't like to miss work, or really can't because of certain jobs needing to be done. So I told him that no matter what we are doing something for #10. I may just plan it and surprise him you never know. We did go out without the kids on Saturday, this is not a norm for us, we take the kids everywhere. We went to Hamilton's for dinner, and then to a movie. You have to know Clay to know just how BIG that is, he hates the theatre (I think I have mentioned that in a previous post). We went and saw Tropical Thunder, very interesting show, we laughed, but it was a little different and I don't think I would recommend it to anyone. But it was fun holding his hand through the movie, it felt like we were on a date in college again. Thank you to Todd and LuAnn for watching the kids while we enjoyed a dinner and movie we really appreciate it!

*** But I do have to say that Clay is seriously the best husband, I could not have found any better. Clay you are the love of my life! You are my best friend, and I really don't think you know just how much I love and appreciate you. Thank you for giving me such beautiful children. You are a great dad to the kids, and they love you so much. I can not imagine my life without you, you make me so incredibly happy. Happy Anniversary, babe! I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, I love you!!!

That will end my post for the evening, hoping that I will be able to post pics next time. Good night!

I finally did it!!!

2008-08-04T20:20:00.006-06:00

I WATER SKIED!!!
That's right, I finally did it! I water skied! We are lucky that Clays parents have a boat, and that they are willing to take us out with them. So, finally I broke down and tried it again. It has been 11 years since I tried, and I remember very vividly the crash as I drank gallons of water. But after a little coaxing, I figured "What the HELL" and just jumped in to try again. I got up on two skis and I was afraid to cross the wake for fear that I would do the splits and crash, so I just held on and let the boat pull me. That's right no tricks for me! It was actually pretty dang fun, and I think I will do it again. I am kicking myself in the butt for not being brave enough to do it the last 11 years, just think how good I could be... WOW! Clay thinks that I should try the wake board next time, so I probably will. No more Mrs. Scare -D- pants, I am can be BRAVE... right?!
Here is a pic... I hope this works! Well it didn't work the first time, so I am going to continue to type, then try again.

I can not believe how good Clay was. I have not seen him ski for at least 3-4 years. It was great to see him enjoying himself out there on the water. He also wake boarded, and I was amazed. I bet he hadn't boarded in 10 years, but he was trying to do a few tricks, a 180 jump, it was pretty cool.

And of coarse brave little Justice will not be left out in the fun, he had to do it too. He has skied with Grandpa Todd a few times when we have been at Lake Powell, so he had to do it again at Glendale. He has the biggest grin on his face the entire time.

And here is a pic of Grandpa Todd and Grandma LuAnn skiing there hearts out. I really cannot believe how much they enjoy it. They are really good!

And a few random pics of Kaila (the scare -d- cat), and Griff. He loves to drive the boat, but gets in the way a little, so he is standing while still "helping".

Okay. Now this is really making me mad. It will not upload any pics. This is the reason I am so discouraged and haven't posted in a while. It is saying something about internal error. This sucks!! If anyone out there in blog world can help or has any suggestions, please help me!! Or I will really be pissed and stop this whole blogging thing altogether. HELP ME!!!
So I guess that I will have to try to continue some other time after I figure this out. I know it can be so boring without any pics, so I will try later. UGH!!!

Okay, so after playing with it for a while, I got pics in but I don't know know to insert pics into the typing. Do I need to upload image as I am typing??? Anyway, you get the idea, here are some pics of us skiing and boating.

RODEO!!

2008-06-20T02:10:00.003-06:00

So I am blogging again, it has been a long time. I think that the picture thing discouraged me for a while. But I am back, at least for now. It is very, very late and I am in American Fork spending the night at my parents house. I love spending time here!

I brought the kids down to the Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days Rodeo. I haven't been for a few years, maybe 4 or so, (I didn't miss one growing up) but I love the memories that I think of when I think of Strawberry Days, rodeo, parade. There was so many people there that this was the first time that we did not get to sit in the same stands that we have sat in every year. The anouncer says that this rodeo is the longest running rodeo at I believe he said 86 years (?) My dad has been to 58 years of it, WOW! I can definitely say this was the coolest rodeo I have ever been to in my 29 years. Thanks to the FMX (Free Style Motocross) guys! They did some awesome tricks, and had the entire audience excited. As for Justice and Griff, they had the biggest smiles. Justice was too cute, he was clapping and kept looking back with the hugest smile making sure I was seeing it. Griff loved the motocycles. The last trick was a back flip, that he did twice, the audience was amazed, and actually it had more of a reaction than the entire rodeo. Not that the rodeo was boring, because I love to watch the local guys and everyone from Utah, but as my dad says " You've seen one rodeo, you've seen them all". This was the first time that there has been MX mixed with the bulls at a rodeo, at least in PG, but that made it worth the $12 ticket, every single penny!!! And of course, I forgot my camera in my bag that I had taken in my parents house. Of course, that is how my luck is when something cool happens.

We also went swimming today at the Logan Aquatic Center, but only for about 1.5 hours. I promised the kids we will stay until we are bored next time. They were so good to help me out with Griff while I was outside filling in the trenches for the sprinklers. The time passed so quickly that when I finally looked at the clock it was past 12:30 and I still had not packed us to stay over in AF. So by the time that we left the house and finally got to the pool it was 1:45. Then they do the poo check at 2pm, and we had to leave at 3:15 to be on our way so we didn't hit too much traffic in SLC. By the time we left the valley it was already 4pm, because I had to make a few stops to the bank and the Jensens house. We actually made great time, 2 hours, and that was even in rush hour traffic. (I have been told by Clay that I drive too fast). But we where right on time, and I even got a shower.

I still need to post about Lake Powell, and Father's Day. But I would like to have some pic for that so it is not so boring. Wich me luck with the pics, I'll need it! So until then........ Good bye!

More to come later, but just blogging in to say hello!

2008-05-28T14:03:00.008-06:00

So I know I haven't posted in a while, sorry, although I am not sure if anyone even reads this. Anyway, for my own journaling purposes, I guess I will update a little. I need to post about Mother's Day, Griff's birthday (both on the same day this year) (also my brother Troy's b-day), my birthday, and a few fun things the kids get to do before school ends.

So about my birthday - May 17th -

I am an OLD woman!!! I am now 29 years old, and robbing the craddle just a little. Yes, Clay is still 28, at least for another month and a half. Clay made me an awesome magnet board to hang above my computer. It was almost full of drawings in about 20 mins. Kaila loves to draw and since there is a new place to hang stuff, she thinks it needs to be full. She also hung her award ribbon that she won in her 1st grade race. Clay and I usually don't celebrate much by ways of gifts, but this was a suprise and I LOVE IT! Thanks Clay!!! Isn't it weird to think of age, I mean, to say that I am now 29, holy crap! I sure do not feel that old, and I sure as hell hope I don't look that old. I try to do things to keep me feeling young anyway. I hope this will be a good year, I am sure it will be! So being my day and all, I chose what we were going to do. I rescheduled my haircut to open up the day so...... I chose to go to a motocross race. There is a track in Willard, Ut., by Smith and Edwards, it is an awesome track. You have to be a member to ride there, but not to just watch. I would love to get a pass to ride there, at least for Clay right now and also for Justice to learn on, but we will see. So we spent the afternoon watching motocross, the weather was great! We saw Tyler Ciriako, a neighbor boy growing up as well as I taught him in Primary. He is so cute! He did pretty well. I could spend all day, everyday, around a track and motorcycles. I love that exhaust smell, and just the atmosphere. However, the kids got hot and whiney, so Clay ended up taking the boys to the car and so Kaila and I finished watching the races. Justice only wanted to see the little kids ride. Griffin was pretty good, and loved it at first but when it started to get too hot, he just wanted to play in the dirt. On our way home, we went to eat at Maddox in Brigham City. The turkey steak and mashed potatoes are the best! I get it every time. Yum!

BTW - Thanks to everyone that called or sent a card for my b-day, I am very grateful!!

Troy and Connie, I got your messages and thanks for calling even though I never got to talk to you, it is the thought that counts right?!

Megan, better late than never!! Thanks! I know you were out of town, so that is an excuse I will except.

May 11 - I will have to break this up a little -

It is my older brother Troy's birthday. Happy Birthday!!! I was not able to get a hold of him because of such a busy day it was. I called once, but it was busy and I know they have two lines, so I checked my phone to make sure it was the correct number and it was, so I told myself to remember to call him later that evening, but then I forgot. So Happy 35th birthday!!! We love and miss you and your family! I was thinking of you though and even said "Happy Birthday Troy" outloud, to myself. If that makes sense. Please come home soon, we miss being able to visit with you (and I mean for good)!

This day is also Griffin's Birthday!!! He is 2 years old!! I can not believe that my baby is two. That 2 years has just flown by. Griffin is such a cute little man. These pics are a few of his latest. It was nice sharing my Mother's Day with him, I know that it won't happen that often. We actually had him open presents the next day because by the time we finally got home, he was tired and not really in the mood to open gifts. We did have him blow out his 2 candles on his actual birthday though. He has been such a fun addition to our family. Atfter Kaila and Justice we thought that our family was complete, one for each of us to handle. Now, even though we are out numbered, I cannot imagine our family without him. We love you Griff!!

Okay, I was trying to post a few more, but for some reason I go to add image and it will not let me add anymore. Have I mentioned that I am not very technical??? So I will have to finish my post and then add pics to another one.

Mother's Day 2008 is just another day for me I guess. However, I did get a bookmark from Kaila that she made in school that is actually pretty cool since I just discovered I like to read. (But only certain books about War, Pioneers, futuristic weapons, and a few other authors that I discovered in my in laws library. They have so many books, I started going through them and found a few that looked interesting. My latest read was Fire and the Covenant - by Dean Hughes, loved it! I read it in 4 days. That sucker almost 800 pages. I have not yet started those vampire books that everyone is talking about. I am not into that kind of stuff ie.. things that are not real or never could be. But I do have them in the back of my car, I just keep finding ones that seem so much more interesting.) I hope no one is mad at me for that... sorry! Anyway, back to Mother's Day...Justice also made me this cute card in school, he hid it in his backpack so it would be a surprise. Griffin, with help from Kaila, made me a picture with his hand and some "beautiful artwork" drawn all over it.

The great thing that I was looking forward to the most on Mother's Day was the call from Jon - Clay's brother who is on a mission in Roseville, California - talking to him was great and it made my day. He is only out another 6 months YEAH!!! He is as close to me as my own brothers and I really do think of him as my brother. We can not wait for him to come home so we can go riding. I don't think he is able to read this, but we love and miss you Jon!!!

We also had a nice dinner at the Jensen's. Julie, my SIL, made enchiladas they were great! Then after dinner the kids played on the swings, tramp and of course a game of T-ball. I think everyone had fun. It was so nice to finally have everyone (minus Jon) back together. We really have missed everyone!!

*******I was not able to see my own mom on Mother's Day, so HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM, I love you!! You have been one of the greatest examples in my life. You are such an amazing person, you have gone through so much but yet have so much faith. You are so willing to serve the Lord in any kind of calling and always have a smile doing it. You are a person I strive to be like. You are always so happy to see my kids, and they love it. Sorry I was not able to spend the day with you, but I did think about you. I love you mom!! *******

An of course 2 days after my bday is Todd's (my FIL), and Jake's (my nephew) birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We went up Providence Canyon to have a little dinner and fun. We all had our motorcycles and fourwheelers up there, and had alot of fun. My tinfoil dinner was great and fully cooked! Kaila and Cheyenne had so much fun on Kaila's little 4 wheeler, they were laughing their heads off. Griff just wanted a ride with whoever would take him. Justice had fun playing with Jake.

That will end my long post, at least for now, or until I can figure out how to post more pics. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. I look forward to no school next week. Maybe I will be able to get a few more things done. But speaking of next week... I will try to update this before I leave to Lake Powell for the week. I majorly need some sun, I am getting waxed and ready!! HaHa!!

To you from AF

2008-05-02T23:15:00.003-06:00

I am not so good at updating this blog. We don't have alot going on, or else I don't bring the camera so not much fun there.

So I finally made it back down to good old AF, my hometown. It is so amazing how much I miss this place (I know, it is only 2 hours away), I always feel so comfortable here. The reason for my visit today is for Ann Andrews wedding!!! Ann was Megan (my sis) best friend growing up. She came along to most of our family vacations for the last 15 years or so. For a while she really was part of the family. She looked amazing in her dress and all of the pictures she had out were so dang cute. I was able to see people I haven't seen in a while. A lot of my neighbors growing up. The Andrews family, Brenda and Jozette Judd, Kristi and Kevin Krommenhoek. All of Meg's HS friends (hi Jayni). It was great! I forget how much I like being in a city that I actually know people.

I really wasn't planning on staying overnight, but as it usually turns me and the kids are staying. I have to work at 9am so we will be leaving pretty dang early to make sure I get to work on time. I think the Dr that is working will not stay too long, so that will be nice, hopefully I get off by 12 noon, that would be pretty nice.

Also tomorrow by BIL Brady is graduating from Utah State University!!! Yeah for him!! Now only 7 years left. WOW! He and Julie (Clay's sis) are moving back to Ohio for med school. He is planning on being a podiatrist (feet). He has worked so hard for this, and we are so excited for him, but not happy they are leaving us. :( We are having a little dinner afterwards and I am bringing my moms famous mint brownies.

My moms brownies are the BEST!!! You have never had a better mint brownie EVER! Because I was coming down for the wedding, I asked her if she would help me make them as I have never attempted them on my own, my mom is the best she already had the brownie part made and then when we got back from the wedding, she frosted, froze, frosted them for me. So I did not even have to do anything. She is the greatest. Really I think she knows that I really can't bake, and there is a little trick to the frosting part. So they are ready to go, she covered them for me and now sitting on top the microwave for me to take them in the morning. She will not even get to taste the result of her labors.

As I am typing, my dad is making fun of me for having a blog, he is not technical at all. Just a few months ago he finally got a email addresss. Now he and his high school friend Terry can send eachother stuff. Yipee!! My dad is so funny! He still does not have a cell phone, he just figures that if he wants to talk to them, he will call them. He doesn't think anyone should be able to call him if he is not home. I always think of an emergency situation, and what would happen. Thank goodness my brother Randy, and my BIL Andy have them (they work with him). Just in case right?!

So it is late, and as usual when I am with my fam, we don't go to bed at least until midnight. I love it! At my house I am the only one that stays up late. Clay is usually in bed snoring by 10pm. Ha Ha! I tease him so bad, he really is like a grandpa. So I have to get to bed, I am getting up in 6 hours. I hope I don't fall asleep at the wheel. Bye for now!

Spring Break!!

2008-04-15T00:49:00.003-06:00

So it has been Spring Break for the kids and we have not done much at all. I got off work for the weekend wanting to go to the dunes, or something fun. Instead we went to see Horton Hears A Who on Saturday afternoon. It was not that bad actually. The kids laughed alot which makes it totally worth it. This was our first time back to the movies in probably one year. The last movie we saw was Ratatulle(?), which Clay and I spent our turn in the hall with Griffin. Before that we probably hadn't been to the movie in 2-3 years in fact the movie was Finding Nemo. But before the kids came we still hadn't gone to the movies in like 5 years because Clay hates the theatre. He always seems to get by the person that talks the entire movie, or someone kicking his chair, someone chewing really loud. HE HATES IT!! So anyway, my SIL, Cami gave him tickets for Christmas and so we used them with the kids. So THANK YOU Cami!!!

To keep you all up to date: about a month ago I cut my hair. Another 11 inches!! I actually really like it. It is probably the first time that I have had a hair style, and Clay is so excited. He has bugged me for years to style it so that I had to do it and not just put it up in a ponytail, or braid. I have been wanting to for years but seemed to go and get it cut for Locks of Love, but never get it styled. Then on Easter Sunday my sis, Megan said that she was getting her hair cut the next day, so if she could be brave (and I mean very brave) than so could I. She called me a few days later to tell me that she cut it and that she liked it, so I decided to join in and do it too. It is a little past my shoulders and layered with some longer bangs. I hate to take pics of myself, so you may not ever see it unless I happen to be a pic with the kids. IF that ever happens, I will post it.

It is so late and I have to go to bed now, the kids go back to school tomorrow. I guess I need to be able to get up and take them to school. Since we moved to Smithfield in December, we kept them going to school in River Heights, which is where we used to live, which is about 20 miles and about 30 mins in the am with all the bus zones. The drive sucks so on Mon, Wed, and Fri when Justice has preschool we just go up to Clay's parents house which is about 7 mins from the school and hang out before and after preschool. It seems like a wasted day, so on Tues, and Thurs when he has no school we just take Kaila in and then turn around and go back home so I can actually get things done at home for a few hours before we have to back to pick her up. This sucks did I say that already??? We have no idea what school to put them in next year because if the house sells we don't really know where are building yet so Justice is pre-registered at a few schools for Kindergarten. Okay I really need to go to bed now, I will see if there is anything to blog about in the am. Good Night!!

My First Post!

2008-04-11T20:52:00.001-06:00

So this is my first post and I am not sure if any one will even read any of them, but I am going to attempt this blogging thing. I have enjoyed reading blogs, but I am not in any way techinical, so don't expect anything wonderful. I mostly want to blog so that my family will be able to keep tabs on me. Since I live in Smithfield, my parents in American Fork, my sisters are in American Fork, and Pleasant Grove, my brothers in Salt Lake and Pekin, IL. So this may be a way for me to feel a little more connected to all of them. I don't get to visit as often as I would like so I am asking them... Dad, Mom, Troy, Connie, Marisa, Neil, Randy, Wendy, Megan and Andy please read this every now and again to make it worth writing. Also, Clays family I hope will read every now and then as well. So...Todd, LuAnn, Cami, Tony, Lindsay, Julie, Brady, and Jon please read once in a while. I would like to challenge everyone to make a blog page so that we all can see pictures of eachother and read about how everyone is doing on more of a daily basis. My SIL Julie and BIL Brady are leaving to Ohio in July for Brady to attend Med School for Podiatry and so we will need to keep up with them. And with Troy and Connie and their family away from us in Pekin, IL we don't really get to visit with them much. Blogs seem to be the way to keep in touch now, because you can put it out there and they can read when and if they want, and on their own time. So thank you to my friend Annilee for getting me interested in the whole blog world. I visit your site all the time, and visit a lot of your links, so keep it updated. Also, to Heather, thank you for letting me know about your blog, now I am able to see what you are up to, I also visit your links and was able to find Kelli. It is so fun to link over and read how everyone is doing and seeing pics of everyones kids, husbands, and things going on in your lifes. So thank you to all of you bloggers out there!!! So this is not the best first post, but I can work on it right? Hopefully I will be able to learn how to add pictures soon. Bye!