Fall Picture Day

Yes, Picture Day is upon us and dang did my kids look cute! No telling how they looked by the time the pictures were taken at school but I got a few shots in so here is the before school pictures. Aren't they sweet?!?

GFIN--already has toothpaste and water all over his shirt

HJ--only has half of her beautiful smile, I guess it was just too early for that but hopefully she will perk up for 'real' pictures

MJ--Very photogenic but lost 2 buttons at school before real photo shoot at school but at least the pictures were taken before lunch!

We are ready for our close-ups!

Just a Halloween reminder.....

Do Not
leave alcohol next to your pumpkins

Dude he's really chuckin his guts out!! :>

I'm not Pretty I'm Handsome!

Griffin forgot to get his jammies on last night before we put Lewis down so I told him to get a t-shirt from Helen or Mary and get into bed and not go in and wake up Lewis. When I checked on him later I found that we now had 3 pretty princesses in our house! Griffy just kept saying he was Handsome not Pretty! I think he was as pretty as could be!

Isn't he just the cutest thing ever? I told him I wanted to take his picture and he decided on the poses.. "now this side Mommy, did you get my scary face Mommy? now the other side Mommy, aren't I handsome Mommy?

Bye, Bye Cute Curl

Yes, the time has come for the curl to go. Brad has been nagging like a fishwife about getting the Handsome Prince's hair cut. I have been holding out because once the curl is cut, it never returns and it is soooo ch-ute! But, alas, the cutest curls ever have become a bit unruly and I have given in. Lewis will be 2 very soon so I guess it's ok that he looks like a little boy now. And so I bid adieu to the cutest curl.

Now you see it

now you don't

lookin better!

almost there

all done

You can tell Kay has done this before since she set Lewy up in front of the TV and we fed him fruit snacks to keep him from wiggling. He did fantastic! He didn't fuss and hardly wiggled at all, in fact, I think Griffin wiggled more than Lewy and he is 5!

101 Things about ME

My Niece Terrin did 100 randoms and I found it very informative and interesting so I wondered if I could do it for myself. Once I got started I was on a roll and could have done quite a few more. My friend Molly tagged me to do 7 items so I guess I'm covered on that as well! Enjoy the facts.....

1. I can’t stand lettuce. When I was waiting for my mission call my mom said “I hope you go to Africa so you will learn to like salad.” went there, still hate it, let the dream die mom!
2. I always get my toenails painted some shade of red
3. I love my husband
   
4. If it takes longer than 5 minutes to fix my hair it won’t happen
5. I wear skirts all summer—much cooler than shorts or capri’s
6. I avoid long pants if at all possible, capri’s, shorts or skirts only
7. I still bite my nails
8. I hate the sight of blood but love all the detective shows like CSI and Forensic Files; I just close my eyes half the show!
9. I have never had a nickname
10. I have an even number of children because I was one of 3 and always the odd man out
11. If I had the money, I’d hire a maid
12. I love washing laundry but I hate folding it and putting it away
13. I never watch reality TV
14. I have used the same Bath & Bodyworks lotion for 11 years—Green Tea & Cucumber essence
15. I hated being pregnant
16. I love my children
17. I call my mom every day
18. I refuse to watch a movie where the main character dies in the end
19. I dislike cooking but love baking
20. I love to nap when the baby is napping
21. I am never on time to church; no matter what time it starts I am always 5-10 min late.
22. I have known my hubby all my life but only dated him for 9 days before we were engaged
23. I do not like watching sports on TV only live at the ballpark/field.
24. I am a certified scuba diver
25. I have never been to Europe
26. I never drive the speed limit—over on freeway’s—under in residential areas
27. I could eat air popped popcorn with real butter every day
28. Diet Coke not Pepsi, yes there is a difference!
29. I always wear sunglasses
30. I balk at expensive clothes for myself but will shell it out for cute clothes for my children
31. I love peaches picked ripe from the tree
32. I am 5’2 and never worried about dating someone too short for me :>
33. I love to scrapbook but am soooo far behind it stress me out
34. I graduated from BYU in Secondary Education
35. I’m new to the blogging world but have written a Jenkins Journals email for 10 years
36. I color code my clothes that I hang in the closet—and my children’s too
37. All of my children’s first and middle names are family names
38. I rarely wear make-up
39. Spiders are from the DEVIL and must die
40. I love to sing super loud in the car
41. I was a cheerleader all 4 years of High School
42. I don’t like fish but love shell fish—Crab, Lobster, & Shrimp
43. I want a Ferrari
44. I haven’t used my iron in at least 5 years—pull it from the dryer and hang it up quick!
45. I love See’s Candies dark chocolates
46. The hotter the shower the better
47. I still know where all my best friends from High School live after 21 years!
48. I love the smell of rain
49. I have a desert tortoise living in my backyard
50. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
51. I have no idea what popular music is anymore, I only listen to country music
52. My most embarrassing moment occurred in church, on the podium, in front of the whole congregation, I was 16. It is a hilarious story! :>
53. I learned to swim when I was 6 months old
54. I love Idaho
55. I love Lake Powell
56. I wish I could play the piano but not enough to actually practice
57. Rude people make me want to laugh in their face
58. I am a total night owl
59. I don’t do mornings with a smile
60. I have never even considered jogging
61. I love to play volleyball
62. I love to go out to lunch with friends
63. I have to have fun ring tones on my phone, the standard ones are not an option
64. My favorite dessert is Claim Jumpers Chocolate Chip Calzone—try it and you’ll never look back
65. I know every fast food restaurant with a play-place in a 20 mile radius of my house
66. I love going to the zoo
67. Disneyland is truly my happy place
    
68. I can barely draw a stick figure
69. I have almost 2,000 fonts on my computer
70. The first thing I do in the mornings is fire up my computer and check my email
71. As soon as I walk in the door my shoes come off—so do my children’s
72. I despise the sound of an alarm clock going off
73. I love going on vacation
74. I wish I could get a massage once a week
75. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t get headaches almost every day
76. I wish I was more organized
77. I wear Birkenstocks every day
78. I am my dad's only daughter but I answer to Loa, Karma, Sherie, Berwyn or Darhl, his 5 sisters which he usually went through before he got to Kathy
    
79. My favorite breakfast is eggs benedict
80. The best gift you can give me is a clean house
81. I was a volunteer for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics South African Delegations
82. I don’t think movie stars are hero’s
83. I’d love to visit the Holy Land
84. I think about my Granddad, Gram and Aunt Judy at least once a day and wish they were still alive
85. I know I have the cutest, smartest, most wonderful kids in the whole world
86. I can speak Afrikaans
87. My eyes are green like my dad’s, both my brothers are blue like my mom’s
88. I know most of my neighbors
89. I was named after my grandmother Helen Kathryn, she was the 3^rd person in the world to have open heart surgery, the surgery was successful but she died from complications the next day, my mother was only 12 years old when she died
90. I’d rather read than watch TV
91. I want to see the pyramids
92. I could watch “Some Kind of Wonderful” over and over, especially the kissing part
93. I detest hand washing dishes
94. There are almost no pictures of me since I am the main picture taker of the family and I am ok with that!
95. Once, I got 2 speeding tickets in one day in 2 different states
96. I can’t seem to stop myself from talking to the screen during movies so to spare those around me I usually wait for it to come out on DVD or watch the screening with Matt & Molly Doodle
    
97. If my husband can’t fix it you need a new one and I’m spoiled because of it, he is amazing
98. I love the beach but hate sand in hard to reach places…
99. I helped on an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house that was built in Flagstaff and I met all the designers...I even have a picture with Ty! :>
    
100. I was a missionary in South Africa for 18 months
101. I will always Believe in Santa

Good Morning Girlfriends/BFF's

Life is too short to wake up with regrets..
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Forgive quickly.
Say I love you and mean it!

Play always

I have a dream...

Yes, I have a dream. A dream that one day my bathroom will be more zen like. It will be a spa-like oasis that is free of random toys, plastic steps and stools and brightly colored rugs
but alas, this is my spa....

bath-tub basketball

pool toys aren't just for the pool ya know!

Griffin "Car Washin" Lewis

and yet, I have a dream.....

Zoo Fun

So the family spent 5 hours at the Zoo on Saturday and it was great. We saw lots of animals and drank tons of water. Here are a few of our favorite animals from this trip.

The following are my favorite animals! We really enjoyed ourselves and then we all come home and took a 2 hour nap, and I mean everyone!

We ended the day playing at the new splash pad at the back of the zoo by the monkey village. That was a hit. It has a big cave with 2 slides, a little river running all around the perimeter, water that shoots up from the splash pad and from the rocks and sweet, sweet misters. You could seriously stay there all day when it is 101 outside.

Mary

Griffin

Helen and Lewis

Breakfast with Timeless Tortoises

Whenever we go to the Zoo Griffin always wants to see the giant Galapagos Tortoises and the turtles all over the place. So I found out you could have breakfast with the Timeless Tortoises and I signed us up. Unfortunately we had to get up at 6 am on a Saturday to get there on time but we suffered through and had a fantastic time. We got to go right on in with them and pet them and feed them carrots. Their shells are like our fingernails so they can feel through them and when you pet them they stand up tall so you know they are lovin it. They are HUGE with Al being over 625 lbs and the oldest at over 122 years old. We fed Pete the 2nd biggest and oldest. He was so funny. He was shlumped on the ground looking half dead when we got there but he got a whiff of that carrot and got up and started chomping. Griffin was in HEAVEN and has already asked when we will be going to feed them again. Al was much more savvy than Pete and was practically running kids down to find the next small person with a carrot. Pete took his sweet time and only Griffin fed him. I guess Al just has more wisdom than Pete. Al also really liked you to scratch him softly and he stood up and stretched his neck to show you his delight. It was so fun and Griffin isn't the only one who wants to go back soon!

Griffin, Mommy & Al--122+ years old 624+ lbs

Al

Grif feeding Pete

Griffin & Pete

Fall is here?

Here in the valley of the sun we have been pretending it is fall since it has only been 100-102 this past week, lookin for 90's next week. So to get in the mood, I got some fall decorations out and hung up some new ones in the kitchen/dining room. There are metal pumpkins by the front door and we are ready to go. Fall is here!!

In light of the cooler temperatures, ;> Lewis and I went to the Wildlife World Zoo on Friday. It is only 5 miles from our house as opposed to 25 miles to the Phx Zoo which is much nicer when you gotta be back for nap time in 2 hours. We saw Lions, and Tigers and Ducks, oh my! Guess what was the favorite? Yep, that would be the ducks! One little duck followed us around for about 15 minutes which made Lewy very happy. He also loved the reptile house because the crocodiles were all right up against the glass and Lewis loved touching their noses and saying no, no. (He can do eyes, ears, hair, mouth and nose now!)

I have also failed to mention how happy we were to see the backside of August. It wasn't the best month for us. Lewis and Griffin both had double ear infections; Griffin missed 5 of the first 10 days of school. Then I had this little cough that I just couldn't shake and wham--walking pneumonia. Sweet. Brad got himself a pinched sciatic nerve in his back and then he made the mistake of saying "I wish I'd have had a kidney stone instead, at least that pain goes away." And wham--3 days later--kidney stone. Be careful what you wish for!!!! And yes, the pinched nerve is still with us 6 weeks later :<

The girls are in choir now and are singing all the time. It is great! We love to hear their beautiful voices. My biggest problem is I keep forgetting I have to go get Griffin off the bus when they stay after because kindergartners can't get off the bus without an older sibling or parent. Luckily Helen--bless her heart--calls me from school every week to remind me! What a sweetie!