This past Sunday, the 28th, Kennedy turned "The Big One Ohhh". I can't believe she is 10 years old already. My baby girl is growing up so fast. I can't believe I am totally out of the "little girl" stage. It seems like yesterday that Kennedy was 2 years old, my little side kick, and did everything with me. She was a darling baby and child, and made me smile constantly with her cute questions and her cute little voice. She is growing into a wonderful young girl now. I love being Kennedy's mom. She is so fun to talk to and can explain things in a way no one else can. She wants to know details about everything, and she wants to do things the right way. She is an incredible help to me and her teachers rave about her. She is a good sibling, friend, cousin, daughter, and granddaughter. We love you Kennedy!
Since Kennedy's birthday was on Sunday, we started out the celebration on Saturday night and we took her out to eat at TGIFriday's. We had a fun meal and she even got a birthday Sunday...and a song from the waiters...which she cringed from (she does not like to be singled out or be the center of attention...makes her super uncomfortable)
Kennedy got this fun new lamp for her room, some clothes, a purse, and some music. She is really into "The Jonas Brothers" right now.
Kinsey decorated the whole kitchen with paper lanterns, balloons, and signs. Kennedy was so surprised in the morning and it looked so cute all day. We spent Sunday going to church and Kennedy and Carver actually performed in the Primary program (and it was beautiful). We had one of Kennedy's favorite dinners (Lemon-pesto pasta with chicken), and went on a family bike ride, and then had cake and ice cream. Kennedy will have a slumber party next week-end with a few friends.
It was homecoming week for Timbercreek high school. Kinsey and her friends were very involved. They stayed after school countless days preparing a skit for homecoming (they won third place), and they also participated in the homecoming parade. They marched with the Chorus club and danced, sang, and twirled ribbons. Every day at school was a different theme (spirit day, P.J day, etc), and Kinsey and her friends totally got into it. They had a blast at the homecoming game with a big group of friends. Timbercreek won the game. Go Wolves!!!!
Shaina, Kinsey and Savannah. Some of her best friends from church, and now they go to the same high school. Kinsey LOVES that fact.
If you look carefully you can see Kinsey in the parade on the back row. I certainly didn't have the right timing with my camera.
The parade was in our neighborhood "Town Center" which is less than a mile from our house. It was so fun to sit and watch all the high school kids have such a good time, in our own little local neighborhood.
Me, Shaun Von Hack, and Miryam Owens, with our kids...watching for our daughters...and enjoying a perfect fall evening (yes...if you can believe it, it was even a little cool this night).
We have wanted a piano for soooo long. WE FINALLY GOT ONE! Kinsey has been taking piano for the past three years and she is such a great pianist. I think she knew how to read the music before she even started playing (learned in school...and it comes pretty naturally to her...very unlike her mother). We have a small keyboard that she has been able to practice on, but it is not the same as a piano. I found this piano on Craig's list for an amazing price, and it sounds BEAUTIFUL. I didn't even realize how well Kinsey could play because I didn't hear her practicing very much before (the keyboard is upstairs and she would turn the volume way down). I love hearing the sound of the piano echoing through the house now. Kinsey's latest song is Cannon in D and it is one of my favorites. Even though I don't play much, I find myself sitting at the piano learning to play songs myself. It is quite addicting.
Kennedy just started piano lessons this year too and she seems to be loving it. We love the girl's teacher Colleen Potter.
Carver has been SO excited to start soccer this Fall. He has been having practices for a couple of weeks, but could not wait for the actual games to begin. He is on the same team as in the spring (The Sharks) with awesome Coach Bobby. Carver is so excited this season because he gets to play with his best buddy Luke Rose. They had their first game Friday night and it was so much fun. I love to watch these cute kids run around the field. They won the game 6 to one, and we had some pretty excited boys on our hands.
There was a score directly after this toss-in. Way to go Carver! I love how in the picture below, all these little boys are just kicking their little legs, and getting all tangled...looking like they are just trying to be the first one to kick the ball, but notice...no sign of the ball. Best Buds Luke and Carver enjoying a little rest during half time. I love the joy on Carv's face just to be giving the final high fives. Some cute spectators were cheering Carver on. Carver got a huge grin on his face and jumped up and down when he saw that Kinsey was at the game (she came straight from a club meeting at high school). Emma Rose (Luke's sister), is also one of Carver's biggest fans, and best friends...and hopefully future wife (a mom can always dream).
I know that many of you are getting into the "fall" feeling of things right now. Well, a friend asked me recently if we have "Fall" here. The answer is...not so much. Actually, we have still been having weather in the 90's lately, and that will last through October. As much as I miss Fall, I really don't miss what Fall leads to. WINTER. So, as I am missing the crispness of fall, I figure we might as well enjoy the extended summer. Our kids love this splash pad near our house and so we have taken them there the last two week-ends and we got some fun shots.
This chair in my bedroom has become one of Cooper's favorite new spots. I can tell when he just wants to "chill" or hang out because he will run to this chair, climb in, and just relax. He likes to watch his movies in there, or sometimes just hang out and watch me. Sometimes he will grab his blankie and wants a sippy cup to make it complete. When I set him in that chair, he sometimes just lets out a sigh of relief like he is de-stressing. What a cute little man.
Sometimes both brother's get into the "chilling" chair and relax a little. Cooper loves to do ANYTHING with Carver.
This past Saturday I participated in a Relay for the OUC Triathlon in Down Town Orlando. I am training for a Triathlon taking place the end of October, so I didn't really want to do a full Tri right now, but I liked the idea of doing "part" of it. I was the swimmer for my team, and I think I lucked out with the easiest part. Only a 1/4 mile swim (1/2 the distance I swim regularly). We had three Tri Relay teams from our ward, and then two of my friends did the whole race. It was fun to be there with so many people and to see the race from a different perspective. I got the swim over with and then I got to actually be a spectator and take pictures of my friends with my fun new camera. I loved it. John and the two middle kids came a long and it was fun to cheer our friends on.
But...about the swim. I just have to say, even though it was not the longest distance I have ever swam, it was a pretty difficult swim. Let me tell you why. I was swimming through weeds tall enough that they touched me the whole swim. Every time I took a stroke, I had to drag my arm through all sorts of weeds. Seriously weird. And I could see them all clearly too. Creepy. Our friend said he felt like Harry Potter in the tri-wizard tournament...swimming through all that murky green stuff. Thought I might see some mer-people at any point...or at least an alligator looking up at me.
Anyway, the whole event was fun and it was neat that the race ended down town. I loved watching my friends come in. I also loved seeing the kids having so much fun watching for their mom's or dad's. Cute stuff. Unfortunately, the biker on my team (Mark Goodell), got a flat tire, but all three of us still got to participate.
I am the kind of person that wants to remember all the wonderful moments we have had as a family...especially the ones that are void of cranky, whiny, fighting kids. Our Utah trip happens to be a time when my kids are SO HAPPY to be with cousins and grandparents and friends, that they forget to be bothered by their siblings. It is a beautiful thing. So...since we just got our computer up and running after a month of not being able to use it much (thank you Chris Dowdy...you are a rock star), I now feel the need to record all the memories that happened in Utah. I know this is all "so yesterday" and I am kind of late doing all of it, and frankly...probably kind of boring and redundant to most of you, I still can't stop myself from talking about just a few more highlights from our Utah trip for my own sake. Feel free to scroll through it all. But...if you are a family member, you might just find yourself starring in one of these pictures.
A few highlights of Utah...besides the ones previously posted...
-riding the new commuter train (The Frontrunner) into Salt Lake to go to Gateway. It was me, and my mom, Wendy, Jodi and Jon, and our kids. The kids played in the fountain, we had something to eat, and it was a fun adventure. And then when John came to Utah for his week, we as a family rode in again and enjoyed the day.
-The swim party at my sister Brenda's house. I love this party every year. We all just get together and swim and eat (what else is new), but it is so fun to be at Brenda and Larry's house.
-The drive-in movie with Amy and her kids and Jon and Jodi
-Staying at Jon and Jodi's house for a week. I loved being able to hang out with Jodi so much. She is such a close friend,...besides being my sister in law. Our kids played so cute together and I just loved our time there. Their house and yard are beautiful and we loved getting to spend the every day moments with them. Loved the killer bike rides with Jodi (she likes to go straight up the mountain). I also loved it when she and I were talking and talking and getting nothing done.
-Outdoor movie in Mom's back yard on the 24th of July
-shopping with BFF Amy, Heather and Jodi. Shopping with Wendy. Shopping with Wendy and Jodi(looking for the perfect dress for my highschool reunion), shopping with my mom ,...OKAY...WE DID A LOT OF SHOPPING!
-Being at my Mom's house and getting to just chat with her and my Dad and see how much my children love interacting with them. They love Grandma and Grandpa's house and love being with them.
-the fun jewelry party that Jodi threw for me in her back yard. It was perfect. All her friends came, all Wendy's friends came, and people loved the jewelry, bought a lot, and then everyone stayed around and enjoyed the party. What a fun night.
-the way my kids just love their cousins so much. They honestly just couldn't get enough. Every night they were begging for another sleepover. Grandma Fulks even made a cool fort for Parker and Carver to sleep in one night. What a cool grandma. Carver and Madi had so many fun sleepovers at her house (they are the cutest friends even though they are two years apart) and he loved playing with Hyrum. Kennedy and Brooklyn were joined at the hip. Kinsey loved being with Joy and Dylan and Lexi and Martsie...and james and Melissa. It was so great to see them all enjoy each other so much.
Our kids wanted to know all about the "Y" on the mountain. They were kind of fascinated by it.
So BYU is where John and I met...and now we are back visiting with our 4 kids. Kind of weird, but really neat too.
My cute true blue boys
We had such a fun day taking our kids to our old stomping ground at BYU. I loved my years at BYU so much, and John did too, so we love it that our kids get so excited to visit the campus. Things have changed a lot since we graduated, but some things are just the same. Kinsey wants to go to BYU more than anything in the world, so she just loved being there. Only 4 more years and we could be bringing her here to campus to start her Freshman year. How did time fly so fast? We had fun walking around, seeing the new buildings, eating in the Cougar eat, and shopping at the book store. We drove the kids by the places we used to live and had so much fun reminiscing about our days at BYU...while I am sure the kids were rolling their eyes and thinking "our parents are so old".
Every year when we go to Utah, we make a point to see our good friends that live in Elkridge Utah (near Payson, up on the Mountain). We have been friends with the Stephen's since I was a teacher. Onna and I were teaching partners and we have been friends ever since. Our husbands hit it off and we did many things together as couples and with our kids. Onna and Travis have since divorced, but she remarried a few years back and we sure enjoy spending time with her new husband Glen and his kids. Our kids and the Stephen's kids have been friends their whole lives (Onna and I were both pregnant with our first kids one of the years we taught school together), and even though now we only see them once a year, we enjoy our visit so much. The kids act as if they have never been apart. They live in such an amazing spot, up on the mountain where you can see the entire valley from every view in the back of their house. And then in front, the view is of the mountains and canyon. It is so beautiful and relaxing. The kids love to play outside, jump on the tramp, run around, watch movies and just have fun together. We always spend the night and it turns into a couple of really fun days. Onna and I could always talk for hours, so it is so nice to see her once a year. What wonderful friends.
I just love this sequence of Carver on the slip and slide. It kind of freezes in time the kind of little boy Carver is right now. Just full of joy and excitement. I just love this boy of mine. I love how his face can tell the story. He is so expressive and he gets so much joy from small and simple things. A slip and slide in Jodi's back yard, on a beautiful hot Utah summer day. What could be better.
So I have to say that I am a true fan of the "Twilight books". I read all sorts of things, but these books are a fun escape for sure. Kinsey and her friends love the books, so I finally read them all last winter. Since we knew we were going to be in Utah when the new book came out, we thought it would be fun to go to the party at Barnes and Noble and get our books at midnight. I knew that some of my family (Wendy and Jodi and Joanne) were on board, plus we all invited friends, and it turned into such a fun big party. The young girls dressed in red and black (to match the book cover) and we started out the night by eating at Cafe Rio. We headed over to the Barnes and Noble party and had fun doing trivia and being a part of the excitement. Jodi and Kinsey had waited in line the morning before to get the wrist bands to get the books, so we were grateful to them. The crowd was AMAZING. So many fans. I think we were in group three to get our books. Each book was 50 people, and there were 30 groups. Wow. We headed back to Jodi's house and made scones, and Kinsey and Mia and Jodi stayed up reading for part of the night. It has been fun to talk about this book with my family, sisters, nieces, and sister-in-laws. Pretty much everyone loves the stories. My brother even read them all. Fun stuff.
I LOVE GIRLS NIGHT OUT! Every year when I am visiting in Utah, me and my mom, my sisters, my sister in laws, and my grown nieces have a fun little girls night out where we go to dinner and a movie. We always do it at Gateway Plaza in Salt Lake. It is one of my favorite summer family traditions (though I say that about a lot of things...cause I love it all). This year we ate at Rumbi Grill, then saw the movie "Mama Mia". But the best part of the night is always all the talking and laughing we do. And if you know my sisters...and me...then you know that we can TALK. It is so fun to be together once in a while without the kids all around. This year Kinsey graduated to "Girls Night out". She has never come with us before, and it was fun to have her along this year. This is Kinsey and Alexia, her 18 year old cousin. They are so close and spent a lot of the vacation together. Front row: my sister Wendy, my sister Brenda, me, My mom. Back row: My sister in Law Jodi, my sister in law Colleen. We missed my sister Linda who also lives and Florida and didn't make it out to Utah this summer, and we missed quite a few grown nieces ....and niece in laws (one was about to give birth...and some of them live out of state) The cousins (well, a few of them). Kinsey 14, Martsie 20, Melissa 22 (just graduated from BYU Idaho...can't believe it), Joy 14, and Joanne 32 (Joanne is my oldest niece and she actually has kids some of my kids ages...and yet, she still looks like she could fit in with these young girls. She is more like a sister than a niece)
I AM SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE ALL OF THESE WOMEN (AND MORE) IN MY LIFE. THEY MAKE ME LAUGH, TEACH ME THINGS, AND UPLIFT ME.
There was a score directly after this toss-in. Way to go Carver!
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