One Whole Hand

Happy 5th Birthday to Kenzie! This Birthday has made me realize that my baby is not so baby anymore. Kenzie is still, and I'm sure will always be, spoiled like the baby of the family is. For instance, she is well more than half my height and yet, when she wants me to, I carry her around on my hip!:) She pretty much gets what she wants, if within reason, and it drives the other kids crazy. But we all love her to pieces! Kenzie loves playing with friends, coloring pictures, going to school and dance, being a helper, acting silly, and giving hugs! This day was Birthday celebration from morning until night!

Kenzie's yummy birthday breakfast in bed: scrambled eggs w/ ketchup, toast, strawberries, and orange juice. I love how she's holding her glass to drink...so funny!
Kenzie opened up cards and gifts from Grandmama and Uncle Shane's family. Grandpa and Grandma Debbie called to sing "Happy Birthday". Thanks!

What a cutie in her Birthday outfit!

Kenzie has been showing interest in getting her ears pierced and I thought it would make the perfect Birthday present. We headed for Claire's first thing. She picked out beautiful, sparkly flower earrings. This is a before and during picture. Kenzie was so brave! It was over pretty fast. She only said, "Ow"... not a single tear was shed!

Kynlee and Karley convinced me to let them miss school so they could see Kenzie get her ears pierced. They were so sweet with her! I love these girls!

We went to McDonald's for her Birthday lunch. She enjoyed her chicken nuggets Kid Meal!

After being Queen of the Day at Pre-school, I brought the kids from her class and met others at our house for her "Soccer" Birthday party. This was her first friend Birthday party. It was rainy, so thankfully a neighbor offered their basement for our soccer game. The kids had a blast!

The little soccer pros!

We came back home and had cupcakes and Powerade drinks.

Kenzie and her friends had a lot of fun at the party!

Kenzie loves her Baby Alive doll! We ended the fun filled day with her favorite dinner, Hot Wings. Happy Birthday to the sweetest and cutest 5 year old...I love you so much Kenzie! Grandma Slider took Kenzie the next day to Build-A-Bear Workshop for her Birthday gift. Kenzie had fun picking out her purple bear, bathing and brushing her, dressing her, and giving her loves. She named her bear, "Snuggle Bug"...so cute! I know Kenzie enjoyed having Grandma all to herself for a little while. Thanks Donna!

Lights Out

Matthew gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and did a fantastic job! His topic was "How Choosing Good Friends Will Help Him Prepare For His Mission". What a great topic! He talked about having courage to live gospel standards, and how friends are an influence in thoughts and actions. I loved the quote from President Monson that he used, "Friends help to determine your future. You will tend to be like them and to be found where they choose to go. Remember, the path we follow in this life leads to the path we follow in the next." Half way through his talk, the power went out in the building...lights and microphone! He calmly looked back to the Bishop, who encouraged him to continue. Matthew didn't hesitate and started in a loud voice right where he left off. Luckily, the power outage lasted only a few seconds. In closing with his testimony he shared, "I know that if I surround myself with good friends that share the same values, I will be prepared and ready to serve a mission." I was so proud! On a side note, Matthew played on the Young Men's basketball team. Their team placed 2nd in the Stake which gave them the chance to play at the Regional level. They just finished up this weekend in 4th place...way to go! Matthew was so fun to watch and I was the "loud and proud" Mom on the sidelines screaming with each shot, including 3's, that he made!:)

Star Wars Birthday

There is a 4 year gap between Karley and Kenzie and so for those 4 years, Karley was my baby. Well, my sweet "Karley Baby" has turned 9! This girl has the best personality! It has been fun to watch her grow up over the years. She puts her whole heart into anything she does and she is often seen with a big smile on her face! She loves being active and has such a great imagination. Karley wanted a Star Wars themed birthday this year...so fun!

Karley with her special breakfast in bed: scrambled eggs & ketchup on toast, and a smoothie...nice mustache!:)
Karley opened gifts and cards from Grandmama, Grandpa & Grandma Debbie, and Uncle Shane, Aunt Wynnie, & Rynn. Thanks for your love!
Karley is so cute in her new shirt from Mom!
I look forward to Birthday lunch as much as the kids do! It's such a great tradition! I picked Karley up from school and we headed to Del Taco, where she got 4 soft tacos, no lettuce of course...yummy!

I made Karley's favorite, Hot Wings, for dinner and then we had Grandpa & Grandma Slider, and Ryann & Corbin over for a little party. These are the fun gifts she got from us! She is so fun to buy for...as long as it's not girly, she'll love it!:)

Karley loves the Star Wars figurines she got from Grandpa, Grandma and cousins!

I had to make a Star Wars cake and this is about as crafty as it gets. Karley loved it and said it was perfect!

What a cute girl getting ready to blow out the candles on her cake!

I am so glad you had a fun Birthday, Karley! I love you so much and I am grateful for the sweet girl you are and have always been. You have a gift of making others laugh. People can't help but smile when you are around. This world will never be dull as long as you are in it!

Let The Training Begin

It's official! I have talked about wanting to try a Sprint-Triathlon for about a year now. I figure I need something to show for all of the hours I spend working out. This summer, on June 5th, in my very own city, I will be participating in one! I signed up, paid the fee, and now there is no backing out or wishing that I would do one. This particular Sprint-Triathlon consists of a: 600 meter swim in the lake, 12 mile bike ride, and 5K run. That's doable, right?:) This might be the start of a new love...we'll see. I will be training hard the next few months in hopes of being ready to accomplish this goal!

A Son's Perspective

Well, my son gave me quite the laugh today as I learned that in his opinion I am doing too much around here! While in deep conversation with Matthew after school, he made the comment, "I don't even know what you do all day." He knows that I don't watch T.V., which is what he would do all day, so really, what could I possibly be doing?:) Well, he goes on to say, "All you should do is cook, wipe the counters, and have fun!" I busted up!

Thanks to Matthew I will no longer be doing dishes, sweeping, laundry (luckily he does his own), exercising, helping with homework, grocery shopping, writing bills and keeping the checkbook, picking up after everyone, helping out at Pre-school and the Elementary school, serving in my calling, and the list goes on. Well, my days just got a whole lot more open. I don't know what I will do with all the extra time. I guess I'll take my son's advice...fun times, here I come!:)

Bribery At Its Best

I have to confess! I broke the #1 "How To Be A Good Parent" rule: "Don't Bribe Your Kids" to get them to do what you want them to do. Well, when your soon to be 5 year old daughter still sneaks into your bed almost every night, AND you don't know she's there until you wake up with a foot in your back, AND because she sleeps in your back your sleeping on your side on the very edge of a King size bed, AND all the "Please don't come into my bed sweetie" talk doesn't seem to be working, what's left but to bribe!:) At the beginning of the week, I made a deal with Kenzie that she just couldn't pass up. I told her that if she slept in her own bed all night, every night, I would buy her a new toy at the end of the week. Her eyes lit up, but instead of a new toy, she wanted me to take her to McDonald's to get a Happy Meal. I'm no dummy, so I agreed!:) Each night I would remind her of the deal and each morning she woke up in her own bed! I thought for sure she would slip up one night, but the girl made it the whole week!

This morning when she woke up, I gave her the biggest hug and told her how proud I was of her! She squeezed back hard when I told her I'd be taking her to McDonald's today for lunch. I love this little girl and she taught me a great lesson - If you put your mind to something, and have a little bribery on your side, you can do impossible things! Kenzie enjoyed her Happy Meal!

Kindergarten Registration

Today I registered Kenzie for Kindergarten this next school year and it was both exciting and impossible at the same time. It's exciting because she is so excited! She can't wait to go to the big school like her older siblings and all she talks about is how fun it will be to ride on the bus with the girls...that's what it's all about!:) My sweet Kynlee and Karley are sacrificing going on B track one more year just so they can ride on the bus with Kenzie in the mornings. Now it's impossible because, well...MY BABY IS GOING TO BE IN KINDERGARTEN! I know this is what we all long for when are kids are much younger and life is crazy - a needed break - but has the time really gone by that fast? The answer is obviously YES, so instead of trying to slow down time, I'm going to keep up with it and enjoy all the "good" times and learn from the "less good" times. I know I can't keep them here with me forever!:)

Sisters In Town

I feel so lucky that I was able to have two of my sisters visit me in weekends right after each other. Each sister means the world to me! I had so much fun, but wished that it would've lasted longer! They were just what I needed and I'm thrilled that I was their needed getaway!:)

Karissa visited first. After picking her up, we went and got pedicures...so relaxing! Later that night we took the girls to a dance performance at the high school. It was very entertaining! On Saturday we were able to get out by ourselves and do what girls do best: shop, eat, watch a movie - "When In Rome", and shop some more!:) I loved every minute of it!

They love their Aunt! I had a meeting Sunday morning, so Karissa helped get the girls ready...make-up and all. So beautiful! I loved showing off my gorgeous sister to my friends at church!
Just before I took her back to the airport, we took a walk in our neighborhood up to a bench that looks out to the frozen lake and snow covered mountains. It was so peaceful and the view was gorgeous! It was sad to say goodbye. The kids enjoyed you being here, but not near as much as I did! I loved staying up late, talking and laughing with you! Thanks so much for coming up sister...I miss and love you tons!

The following weekend, I took all the kids with me to pick up Natalie and we headed straight to Temple Square. We don't mess around when company is here!:)

We went to the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to get a different view of the Temple. Then we headed in to watch the memorable Joseph Smith movie. It was such a great experience!

Cute Natalie and I in front of the waterfall at the Conference Center!

That night we made homemade pizzas...yummy!

Natalie really wanted to play in the snow, so we headed up American Fork Canyon where snow was a plenty. We brought our sleds and had a blast!

We cruised down the huge hill and it was so much fun to walk back up...NOT!:)Dad and Kenzie had lots of rides down that mostly ended in crashes! Kenzie never cried though...she would give the thumbs up sign and say, "Dat was awesome!"

Karley chilling on the tube after racing down!

It was so beautiful there and the fresh snow was a perfect recipe for a snowball fight! Later that night, Natalie and I headed to the movies and saw "Dear John". There was a part that I had major tears coming out of both eyes. When I looked over at Natalie, she did too, and we both started laughing!

These girls love their Aunt! She was so nice to paint their toenails and to trim Kynlee and Karley's hair while here...thanks seester! I hope my daughters will always have a special bond with each other just like I do with my sisters.

Too cute! While the kids were at school, we were able to get away her last day here for some shopping and lunch. The whole weekend was a lot of fun and we were able to do so much! Thanks for coming...I love you Natalie and already miss you terribly!

Christmas Vacation

We count down the days for our trips to Arizona! We were so excited to be able to go for Christmas this time! It was a new adventure to pack up our gifts and not be at home on Christmas. Matt stayed behind to work. He was sad to not have us with him for the Holidays. We left the day after the kids got out of school which was only a couple of days before Christmas. The first 3 1/2 hours of the drive were completely nerve wracking for me. It was stormy and the roads were a mess. I had to drive slow and when I couldn't handle the pressure I would tell the kids to say a prayer. They were so good. After passing a couple of roll overs, I broke down in tears, because of the overwhelming responsibility I had of getting my precious cargo to AZ safely. I know we were blessed and watched over, because every time I called Matt or Donna (who was an hour or so behind me) for support and comfort, my cell phone had service in areas I know I don't usually get it. Once we made it over the pass, the roads cleared up and we had a great rest of the drive. We were ready for our Christmas Vacation to begin!

After a long 11 1/2 hour drive down, we were so happy to finally get to Grandpa and Grandma Debbie's for the Christmas party! Debbie had a yummy feast prepared that hit the spot! They handed out their gifts to the grand kids: games and $30 in a toilet paper roll, a gift my Dad used to get from his grandpa. Kynlee and Karley gave them beanies that they had made themselves...they look good!

The kids had fun making their ginger bread houses with the cousins later that night! It's a tradition for Grandpa and Grandma Debbie that we don't get to participate in every year. So fun!
Christmas Eve day we frosted sugar cookies at Grandmama's for Santa's plate! They looked good enough to eat...lucky Santa!:)
That night we had everyone over for my Mom's homemade Chili and Indian Fry Bread...yummy! After our bellies were good and full, we all loaded up in the back of Uncle Jesse's truck to go look at lights in the neighborhood. Then we came back and the kids put on a Nativity and we did a grand kids gift exchange as we waited for a SPECIAL visitor.
Santa came! The kids love this tradition of sitting on his lap and getting their Christmas pajamas from him! When he leaves they all race out back to see Santa leave, but they have never seen the sleigh and reindeer!:)
All the cousins in their Christmas pajamas!My silly Kenzie made this face when I woke her up Christmas morning and told her that Santa had come!
Merry Christmas kids! They're wrapped in the comfy blankets Grandmama made and are ready to open presents!

The kids with their gifts from Santa! They loved the gifts from Mom and Dad too! Matthew got snowboarding boots & bindings, Kynlee got a Nintendo DS, Karley got a remote control car, and Kenzie got the Dog Park Barbie, too name the biggest ones.

Aunt Karissa invited us over for Christmas breakfast...biscuits and gravy, eggs, and bacon! It was so yummy! Thanks sister!

I'm surrounded by my beautiful sisters, Natalie and Karissa.

I was so excited to see Kristy on Christmas Eve! We were being totally retarded in this picture as I was pretending to knee her "where it counts"!:) We were laughing so hard! We went and saw Avatar in 3D later that night, which was awesome!

We went and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks with Grandpa and Grandma Debbie and the rest of the crew.

Great Grandma Schroeder's birthday is on New Year's Eve and we were able to attend her party the Monday before at Peter Piper Pizza. We love her! It was great seeing extended family, but it was most exciting to see Matt's brothers, Billy and David with his fiance. We hadn't seen them in years...we love you!
We tried something new this trip and went ice skating with the cousins...it was so much fun and we will definitely be doing that again! We went on my gorgeous niece, Kylie's birthday...Happy Birthday Ky Jo! Group Picture

I got my Mom tickets to the Broadway show, Annie, for Christmas! It of course was amazing and I loved being with just my beautiful Mom!

I have been wanting to go hiking every trip we've been down there and finally, thanks to Aunt Kristy, we did. We drove to Usery Pass to hike up a little mountain out in the desert. Well, as we were just starting our hike, we heard a pack of coyotes yipping back and forth not far away...totally freaky! We hustled the kids back to the Ramada. Aunt Kristy and Grandmama bravely stayed behind and were able to see the coyotes run away. Aunt Karissa and I stayed back with Kynlee and Karley (who were both terrified), Presley, and baby Harlow, while the others went on to hike.

The brave ones! I love this collage, because it shows the different colors the sky changed to as the sun was setting in a very short amount of time! What a gorgeous sunset!

Aunt Natalie is going to Cosmetology school and so I had her give Kenzie a needed healthy trim. She did great and it looks so much better!

Kynlee with Harlow, who we couldn't get enough of!

Our trip ended with us being over at Grandpa and Grandma Debbie's. The kids played games outside, and then we all went bowling, which is a special request each trip! We loved spending so much time with our wonderful family! We love you all!