The Summerhays Family

Leonard & Tricia's Wedding

2011-10-20T19:26:00.003-06:00

Last weekend my little brother, Leonard, was married to his sweetheart Tricia. They were married on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was such a special and fun day. The temple was beautiful and everything turned out so nice. Mckenna absolutely was in awe of Tricia and her wedding dress and everything else about the wedding. She looked beautiful and my little brother looked so handsome and grown up. It is hard to believe he is actually old enough to be married. :)

The reception was really fun. There was a delicious, never-ending dessert bar. At the end of the reception, there was music and dancing. Mckenna LOVED every minute of it and so did Sydney. Actually...we all LOVED it. It was fun to just be with my family and have tons of fun together. It was a special day filled with lots of great memories. I was so glad that we were able to be there with my little brother for his special day! Congratulations Tricia and Leonard! We are so happy for you and wish you all the luck for the future! Welcome to the crazy Francis family Tricia! ;)

Mckenna's 4th Rainbow Birthday Party!

2011-09-17T21:59:00.002-06:00

Mckenna turns 4 tomorrow! I can't believe she is already going to be 4! We had a birthday party for her today. She chose to do Rainbow Birthday Party theme. We had a lot of fun planning this party. It turned out so cute too! My mom helped me make a really cute dress for her to go with our rainbow theme. She loved wearing it. She called it her "rainbow party dress!" :)

We did her party at the park and invited family and some of her neighborhood friends. They had so much fun. We went on a treasure hunt to find all the colors of the rainbow. The girls had a lot of fun finding the colors and helping put them back together to make the rainbow. Then we opened presents and had rainbow cupcakes! It was a pretty fun party. We handed out cute gift baggies that had rainbow twizers and worther's originals at the bottom of the bag. The top had a cute saying that said "You're My POT O' GOLD at the End of the Rainbow! Thank You for coming!" I wish I would have remembered to get a picture of them. They were super cute! Everyone loved them!

Chris and I finally were able to get Mckenna her first big girl bike! She has always had too short of legs. This year, we decided she was big enough to get one. We surprised her with it at the end of her party. She was SO EXCITED! It is a cute princess bike complete with streamers, bell, basket, and a baby carrier seat! It is really cute. She is having so much fun with it already.

Overall it was a great day! Tomorrow we have a few other things planned with just family for her real birthday. It is still hard for me to believe that I will soon have a 4 year old! I don't feel like I'm old enough myself to have a child that old! ;) She is growing up so fast. We love her so much! Happy 4th Birthday Mckenna! =)

Mckenna and her friends at her Rainbow Birthday Party! :)

Mckenna and her new bike and blowing out the candles on her Rainbow Birthday Cake! :)

Summer is over =(... School is here =)

2011-08-06T22:12:00.004-06:00

Wow... I can't believe I have been so bad at blogging this summer. And now summer is officially over for me on Monday. =( We start teacher meetings next week and school officially starts the next Monday, August 15th. I can't believe it!! I am getting really excited though for this next school year. I get to teach 2nd grade homeroom. Which at my school, is pretty much the equivalent of a regular school teacher. I get to teach reading and writing. I think it should be fun. Lately, my nerves have kind of gotten the best of me and I've had a few moments, but overall I am really excited.

This week, I went in and pretty much got my classroom in order. Chris, Chris' mom, and my sister, Geneava all helped me get it ready. (Thanks again for all your help guys!) My classroom theme is "Reach for the Stars!" I think everything turned out really cute and I hope that the students like it when they see it for the first time! :)

(p.s. my classroom is a LOT cuter in person!! but here is a gist of what it looks like! ;)

So other than school starting, things are going really well for us. We had a great summer. We got to spend a lot of time together, which was really nice. Chris took one summer school class~ Calculus, and I'm so proud of him. He got an A- in it!! He did so awesome! He is such a great student. He makes this teacher/wife very proud! Chris starts school again on August 22. He will have his Associates Degree this next semester and has already started classes for his major. He is going into Network Engineering. I'm excited for him and his is really motivated in school right now.

Mckenna is going to be starting preschool this fall. We found a preschool in Chris' parents neighborhood that she is going to go to. It is the perfect location and she only goes twice a week, so not too overwhelming all at first. I am super excited for her. She is so bright and I know that she needs this to push her and also help her with her social skills. Hmmm maybe it will make her go to bed easier too??? That would be nice!! haha

Sydney is just a cute little fireball. We love her to death. She is trying to say lots of words. She is just learning so much each day and turning into such a sweet little girl. Her and Mckenna are such great friends and even greater sisters. It is such a joy to watch them play and laugh together.

Now onto the next chapter in our lives... my 2nd year of teaching, Chris' college continuted, and Mckenna starting preschool! We will be very busy at this little house!! :) Life is good!

My Family Get Together

2011-06-29T18:39:00.004-06:00

My family has started a new tradition. Every year around the day my Dad passed away (June 18), we get together to celebrate his life and to reunite with everyone. It's hard to believe that it has been 3 years since he passed away. I miss him so much, so getting together with my mom and brothers and sisters was really important. This year we decided to get together up North. It was also Father's Day weekend so it was even more fitting to celebrate Dad's life. On Saturday, June 18, we started the day by going to the Provo Temple to do a session. It was so neat. It was the first time I've ever been to the Provo Temple. What a beautiful temple! One of the best parts about it was that we were able to take some of my dad's ancestor names through. It was such a spiritual experience. I was so glad Chris and I were able to attend. There isn't really anywhere I'd rather be with my family, than in the temple. It was so awesome to be able to go to the temple with my side of the family for a change. It doesn't happen very much so I was so grateful that it worked out. It was hard not to think of my dad while we were in the temple. I think we all felt the same way. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him. So many things remind me of him and so to be in the temple to reflect about him and our Savior was so spiritually uplifting for me. It was a great start to the day.

Later that afternoon, we went up to the Hogal Zoo in Salt Lake. The kids had so much fun. (as did their parents!!) Mckenna and Sydney loved every minute of it. It was a fun afternoon spent with all the kids and my family. That evening we all went out to dinner....and when I say all I mean ALL. There were 22 of us altogether--- 3 babies in carseats, 2 kiddos in high chairs, 2 or 3 in boosters...I can't even remember exactly how we all sat and all fit, but we did. We went to Texas Roadhouse (one of my Dad's favorite places). It was total chaos but a lot of fun!! I enjoyed spending time with my family. We always have a lot of fun when we are together. I love them all so much and I'm so glad and grateful we all got to spend that time together. My Dad left a great legacy and all 22 of us are doing our part to keep it going! :)

Mckenna and her Tonsils

2011-06-29T18:15:00.003-06:00

Mckenna has had trouble sleeping for a long time. She has always had trouble sleeping the whole night through. She usually wakes up at least once or twice. We've always noticed she kind of snored, but never thought there was a real explanation. Since she is our first, I kind of always thought maybe it was normal for kids to snore?? Well, Mckenna is fortunate enough to have some pretty fabulous grandparents, her grandma Debbie in particular. She worked at an ear, nose, and throat doctor for a long time. She watched the girls while Chris was going to school and I worked. She noticed one day that Mckenna's tonsils were abnormally huge. After looking for ourselves, Chris and I were shocked at how big they actually were. They were practically touching. Hmmm...could that possibly be why she can't sleep well and she snores? The poor girl could hardly breathe right. Well, we took her into a specialist and he said that was probably the reason. We decided to schedule her for surgery to get them taken out.

On Tuesday, June 21, Mckenna went in for her appointment. Chris, his dad, and brother Stephen gave Mckenna a blessing the night before. She was really, really, REALLY nervous. I didn't want to scare her for a long time, so I didn't talk about it until it was close to her surgery. I'm glad I did, because she was so anxious and worried about getting them out. Which she had all right to be. I'm pretty sure I would have been freaking out too! After she got the blessing, she felt so much better. It was such a sweet blessing. I was so grateful for Chris and his family members and that they were worthy to give her a priesthood blessing. I know it helped her (and her mommy) so much. On Tuesday morning, she was honestly so brave. Grandma Debbie, Chris, Mckenna and I all headed into the hospital. After playing the waiting game for a good while, she finally went back to get started. We said our goodbyes (tried to hold back the tears...it was kind of hard to say goodbye) and waited anxiously in the waiting room. The surgery lasted about 30-45 minutes. The doctor, Dr. Gardner, came out and talked to us about how she did. He said she did really well and that her tonsils were actually quite bigger than he expected so it was a good thing we decided to get them taken out.

About 45 minutes later we were able to go back in and see Mckenna. She was all wrapped up in her favorite blankey and was squeezing her baby doll (for which she named Taylee the morning of the surgery ;) so tight. She was a little out of it still. I went up to her and stroked her forehead and said, "Mckenna, It's mommy." She opened her eyes and looked at me and just started to cry. I was so proud of her and that moment I don't think I will ever forget. She was so innocent and you could just tell she wanted her mommy. I felt so bad for her too. I hate going to the doctor, let alone getting surgery all by yourself being only 3. It was a sweet moment for me. Chris and I brought her a stuffed giraffe (She said that was her favorite animal we saw at the zoo the previous weekend.) with 5 huge princess balloons attached and we gave her a present for being so brave. It was a Tangled barbie doll that she had been really wanting. Those little gifts cheered her up quite a bit. That and having her grandma right there too!

She has been recovering really well. Other than not wanting to sleep in her own bed and being a little ornery, she has been doing great. (as long as she has her Tylenol too!) We haven't noticed a big change in her sleeping yet and since she has still been swollen, the snoring hasn't exactly stopped yet either. But Chris and I are hopeful that as the weeks go on, she will get better and we will see an improvement in her sleeping. We hope so anyways! We are really grateful that everything went smoothly and that it is over (for the most part). It was quite the ordeal to go through with a 3 year old. :) A very cute 3 year old! We love you Mckenna!!

Summer is HERE!!

2011-06-15T11:34:00.005-06:00

Summer is finally here!! We went on our first camping trip of the summer last weekend to Kolob Reservoir. It was fun, but really exhausting. Camping with a 1 year old and a 3 year old is a lot of work. Chris and I were totally exhausted when we came back. We went up on Thursday and were planning on staying until Saturday. Well, by the time we had cooked dinner Friday night, we both looked at each other and said to each other, why are we staying another night?! So we quickly decided to pack up and head home. Sydney really didn't like sleeping at night. She was so fussy the whole night on Thursday. She was restless and cried. Even Mckenna was annoyed by her crying. In her words she would say "Sydney is freaking out!" We just felt that she would probably do better if we just headed home so she could get a good nights sleep in her crib. We were right! After cleaning up camp, we headed home. By the time we got home, it was about 10:00pm. We were so tired. We left unloading everything til the next morning. We had just enough energy to throw the clothes in the washing machine and get everyone showered off, then we all fell asleep. Camping really is a lot of fun, but my goodness!! It wears you out so much, especially when you have to entertain and chase around 2 rambunctious little girls!! =)

My 1st Year of Teaching...

2011-06-15T11:09:00.003-06:00

It's been quite a while since I really posted, so I am playing catch up on a few posts. Well I can't believe that the last day of school really arrived. At times, I really thought it might never come. But now that it did, I am almost having a hard time believing that summer is really here....just almost!! ;)

I loved teaching school my first year. It wasn't your typical first year of teaching. My job description changed I think a total of 3 times during the course of the year. I started off by being a simple kindergarten aide and teaching 4 classes of extended homeroom math. I loved my schedule and love, love, loved working with the kindergarten kids and their teacher. She and I became such good friends over the year. I learned so much being in Ashley's class---more than student teaching and practicums combined!!

About mid September/October (I really can't remember anymore!) I was asked to teach two new classes in the mornings. They were getting a few new 1st grade students and needed a teacher to teach them math and science/history. I was so excited when they asked me to teach this! I started off with a class of a whopping 4 students...no joke! It was kind of weird, but they assured me more would come as the year progressed. (I think it was more of an assumption than an assurance....) But we pushed forward with the small class. The kids were so sweet and great. As the year went on, our class grew and by the end of the year we had about 15 kids. I treated these kids like they were my own. I loved that we had such a small class. We all got to be so close and we could really do some fun projects because there were only the few of us. By the end of the year, I was sad to say goodbye to my 1st graders. I really grew to love them and I think these kids and these two small classes really made me begin to love being a teacher! I really saw such progress with each of them individually and that made me feel like I was actually doing something right. I am excited to see most of them next year!!

About the time for Christmas break to begin, my principal called me into his office. I wasn't totally sure what was going on. In fact, I had no idea, especially about what he was going to offer me next. He said that they needed to make some changes to the 3rd grade math class. There were some management problems and the students weren't being taught or learning what they needed to be, especially by the mid year mark. He offered me the position, which meant I would have to leave my job as a kindergarten aide. It was really a hard decision, but after much thought, prayer, and talking with Chris and just about everyone else, I decided it would be a great opportunity for me, so I took it. So I came back from Christmas break and started yet another new job, I was the new 3rd grade math teacher. I had 4 classes of 3rd graders, a total of just about 100 students. As the year went on, I learned just how much of a challenge it was going to be. I had a lot of students who were really low and I worried so much about how I was going to get them ready for their end of level test coming up at the end of the year. I just had this worry that if they failed those tests, that it would be a direct reflection of my teaching abilities. Chris had to constantly remind me that it wouldn't be my fault. I was only there trying to fix the problem, and that it wasn't my problem to begin with. Even my principal said that he knew I would only help these kids do better. I had to keep those words of encouragement in my mind pretty much all the time. It was really hard! I tried my best and I learned to really love a lot of the students. Although their management was still a struggle by the end of the year, I really feel like I took these kids from a low point and brought them to where they needed to be---even a handful of them really pushed themselves and exceeded my expectations. After looking over their end of level scores, I was so proud of them all! They all did better than I could have expected. They weren't all perfect, but I that's not what mattered. I saw even some of my lowest students improve their grades significantly and that means something. Overall, I think that taking over this class taught me a whole lot more that I probably taught the kids. I learned so much about myself as a teacher. I'm glad I had the opportunity.

Now, as far as next year goes. I am going to be teaching a 2nd grade homeroom class. I will only have to worry about language arts--reading and writing. I am excited about that. And even better, I will only have about 50 students max, rather than over 120 with all my classes combined this year. That will be wonderful when it comes time for grading papers!! It will be a new experience and challenge for me, but I guess that's what my whole teaching career has been so far! Just as long as they don't change my job description AT ALL during the year, I think I will do fine! I am excited!!

Ok, there is my whole school year in a nut shell. I loved working at Vista and I loved the people I worked with. I am so excited to continue working with the wonderful people who work there. I have made so many great friendships and have learned so much from working with the other teachers. There are so many amazing teachers and that's really what makes that school great!! So....let the summer begin!!! =)

Best Teacher on the Planet

2011-06-15T10:52:00.003-06:00

One of the radio stations in St. George (Planet 94.1) does a contest during the year for teachers. It is called "Best Teacher on the Planet." The way it works is that each week they pick a teacher who has been nominated and surprise them in their classroom with all sorts of awesome prizes. Well Chris was joking with me one day and said he was going to nominate me. Of course I told him no, because I felt like there are a lot more teachers who deserve the nomination and recognition that this little old first year teacher!! Well, despite my request not to nominate me, HE DID and I WON!!! :)

I couldn't believe it!! I haven't won anything for the longest time. Chris said there is this "Summerhays curse" where anyone with the Summerhays last name doesn't win anything. I thought that was probably the case with me. But apparently not that week! I was so embarrassed and excited at the same time. The radio station hosts, Chris and LaRae, and a bunch of other people from different places around town showed up unannounced to my 3rd period 3rd grade math class! It was nuts!! All of my administration were there with them too. We made quite the scene, to say the least!!

I was so honored to receive such a nomination, even if it was by my own husband. Everyone at school was saying how sweet it was to be nominated by my own husband and they were right!! I am one pretty lucky girl! He wrote the sweetest letter to nominate me. They gave me a copy of it. It was just nice to feel appreciated for all that I do for my students. Sometimes I felt like I was putting in all these hours upon hours of unnoticed work. But my sweet husband was noticing and that means the WORLD to this Best Teacher on the Planet!! :)

So....thanks babe for making my first year of teaching the best!! :) I love you!!

Sydney is 1!

2011-04-10T21:45:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it but my baby girl turned one this past week!! Sydney Grace celebrated her 1st birthday on Thursday, April 7, 2011. As bittersweet as this is, (because let me tell you, it has been VERY bittersweet for me!) we were so excited to see her turn one. I decided to take the day off work. (best decision I have made in a long time!!) I was able to spend the entire day with my little girls. We spend most of the day getting things ready for Sydney's party. We baked cupcakes and cakes and decorated them. It was a lot of fun. We had a nice party with family that evening. Sydney was spoiled by all her aunts, uncles, and grandparents! She was such a trooper. She was happy almost the entire day! She LOVED eating her cake and opening presents. It was such a special day. :)

It was also Chris' grandma's birthday. We did a surprise birthday party for her that night also. We made her a cake and gave her presents too. She was very surprised and it was to touching to have them spend their birthdays together. I love my little Sydney so much. She adds so much joy to our crazy little family. Mckenna loves her to pieces and Sydney returns the love tenfold. I love being these little girl's mommy and feel so lucky and blessed to have them in my life. It is still hard to believe I have a 3-year old and now a 1-year old!! Where does the time go, seriously?!!

Here are some of the 1-year old pictures I took of Sydney. She is so photogenic, that it was easy to capture some adorable pictures!! I am one lucky mommy!! :)

Catching Up...

2011-03-26T21:41:00.003-06:00

So I realize that I have become almost too busy to even blog! But I wanted to spend a spare minute and play catch up. We have been busy, very busy! Chris with going to school, myself with teaching school, and the girls with, well...just being very busy little girls....very busy cute girls!!

Mckenna has been going to Sunbeams and LOVES it! She is always singing primary songs and telling us stories. She also is going to "Princess Preschool." Grandma Debbie watches the girls everyday and they started doing preschool lessons part of the week. Mckenna named her preschool. (as if I needed to say that! :) She loves learning and I come home from school each day and ask her what she learned about that day and sure enough, she can tell me tons of things she learned. I am so happy and lucky to have such a great mother-in-law that will help teach my children!! Thanks Debbie!!

Sydney is going to be 1 in two weeks!! I can NOT believe it! So much has happened in the past year. It really did fly by. Sydney is so adorable. She has been walking for over a month now. She started taking steps at 10 months. Mckenna was walking at 9 so we were just waiting for it to happen. Now that she is really mobile, she is all over the place, and I mean ALL over the place. She tries climbing up onto everything. She loves anything that her big sister is doing. If we can't find her, we know that she will be wherever Mckenna is. (or on Mckenna's bed!) She loves climbing up on her bed and playing on it. It's really funny to go in their room and just find her sitting on Mckenna's bed! She is still the happiest baby around and you can always get a big smile out of her. We love her so much!

We had a great spring break last week. Chris and I both had school off together so it was fun to spend the week together. Spring break really made me anxious for summer break though. I really miss being home with my kids and getting to do whatever I want...like projects or just up and go shopping or to the park! I miss that! :( But, I also enjoy teaching and know that I am doing what I need to be doing right now for our family. Chris is busy with school and I know that he needs to be focusing on school and I am happy that I am able to help out financially so he can go to school.

Life is good, just always busy! We are very blessed. Chris and I got to go to the temple last night with Chris' parents and sister. We had such a wonderful time. I sometimes forget how hectic my life really is. It was nice to just sit and not think about my classes or students or whatever else always is occupying my mind and just be with my husband and think about what really matters.

Here are some pictures that I took of my sweet girls for Valentines Day. Enjoy!! :) I love them so much! Chris and I are very blessed to be their parents!

What a week...and it's only WEDNESDAY!!

2011-02-09T18:28:00.002-07:00

This has been a crazy week. To start if off, Sunday night Sydney started getting sick. She was running a little fever and a little runny nose. Well after work on Monday, I came home to a still sick baby with a high fever and Mckenna who was missing her fingernail!! Apparently she was out shopping with Chris' mom during the day and got her finger stuck under the wheel of a shopping cart and it tore her fingernail right off....whole thing!! Can I just say that even thinking of it still, I cringe! I can't imagine how painful that must be. Poor little girl!

Sydney still has a fever, a cough, and a runny nose. We took her to the InstaCare last night and the doctor gave us an antibiotic. He thought she might be getting an ear infection. I hope they start making her feel better. She has not been a very happy baby at all the whole week! She won't sleep for more than like 30 minutes at time, even at night!!! Chris and I have barely gotten any sleep this whole week. It's been so hard.

Then to top off my lovely half of a week, I got back a test from one of my 3rd students today and written completely out on her test was f*** you. Wow!! Thank you students for making me feel great! I was honestly in shock! I mean her name was on her paper and she even did her test. There must be more to the story. I honestly feel bad for this student. She must have some other problems that need attention. I hope this "cry for help" gets her what she needs. Kids these days never cease to amaze me! Everyday teaching reminds me of that!!

So, it's only Wednesday and that much has been going on...what else can happen? I better not jinx myself!! Thank goodness for tomorrow!! I hope you are a better day!! :)

Mckenna's Prayers

2011-02-04T22:40:00.003-07:00

Mckenna has gotten really good at saying her own prayers. The other night before bed, she said the cutest prayer. It went something like this...

"Please bless that Heavenly Father will sleep good in his bed too!"

It was seriously the cutest thing ever! Even after a long day of 3-year-old fighting and tantrums, she still knows how to melt her mommy's heart! =)

Feeding the Ducks

2011-01-17T20:47:00.002-07:00

We love to feed the ducks! It is one of those times as a family, where everything else doesn't seem to matter and we can just enjoy being together!! Saturday was one of those beautiful "Winter" days in St. George. Perfect weather for visiting the ducks. It was Sydney's first time seeing the ducks. She loved it. Mckenna absolutely loves feeding the ducks. I am so thankful for little moments like these spent with my adorable little family!

2010-12-19T21:37:00.003-07:00

We have been really busy lately! Here are some of the things that have been keeping us so busy during the month of December:

Chris's school! He just finished his finals this past week! He did so awesome! We are all very proud of him and are glad he has a few weeks break from school to spend time with us!
Becca's school! I'm so busy teaching school! I got offered a new position just this past week. I was offered to take over as the 3rd grade math teacher! I accepted it and am excited (I think...) to take on the job. It should be fun, but will take a lot of getting used to. I get to spend my holiday break planning for that class...not looking forward to that but I am looking forward to this great opportunity for me. I will miss being an aide for Kindergarten. I loved my little kindergartners so much! I will miss helping them out each day, but I feel taking this new position on will open up new doors for me and give me some good experience.
Mckenna....she keeps us very busy. She is always finding new things to get in to and always wants new "projects" that are suppose to keep her out of trouble.Ha ha...we try out best to keep her entertained. She loves being at grandma's during the day and keeps her very busy as well! (Thanks grandma!!)
Sydney....well this little girl is very much like her sister and is very busy. She is the fastest crawler around and pulls herself up onto EVERYTHING! She can stand by herself and will be walking in no time I am sure!

We just finished up a short trip to SLC to see the Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring David Archuleta and Micheal York. IT WAS AMAZING! Chris and I loved it. It really got us in the Christmas spirit. We were able to spend time at temple square withe Mckenna and Sydney and Chris' parents and sister too. It was a lot of fun. Mckenna loved the amazing Christmas lights!

I am excited that this year we get to go to Moab for Christmas. It will be so fun to be with my family for a week or so. We haven't gotten together for a while, so I'm very excited!

I love this time of year and am so thankful for all of my wonderful friends and family. Chris and I are truly blessed in our lives. I am thankful for this time of year where we get to pause and reflect on the most important things in our lives...friends, family, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us all remember the true meaning for the season...the birth of our Savior. I am thankful for him and I am also thankful whenever I get a small excuse to teach Mckenna about Jesus. Christmas is the perfect time to teach our children about Jesus. She loves the manger scenes at the temple and our nativities in our home. She loves Jesus so much. What a wonderful time of year! Merry Christmas to everyone!

Life...

2010-11-13T21:37:00.002-07:00

Well can I just start by saying LIFE IS TOO BUSY!! Between Chris's full-time school schedule and my full-time teaching schedule, we never seem to get a few spare minutes just to relax. Even our weekends are always jam packed with stuff we need to do and errands that need to be ran. What a crazy life we are living right now! But, I honestly wouldn't change a thing! :) We are doing what we need to be doing right now, and for the most part enjoying it! We are both happy and healthy. Our kids are both happy and healthy....I guess there isn't that much to complain about! Life is life and we are definitely living ours to the fullest right now!! :) I am thankful for life! (and I am thankful that Thanksgiving break is right around the corner!! =D)

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T22:10:00.002-06:00

We had such a FUN Halloween this year. My girls were "The Princess and The Frog." They were so cute. Kenna wouldn't be anything other than a princess, so we worked with it and made Sydney a frog! They were adorable. For school, I wanted to dress up in something easy so my mom made me a costume so I could be Little Red Riding Hood. Chris found this great "big bad wolf" costume to go along with me! It was so fun. Mckenna and I put fake Halloween finger nails on too. Mckenna picked out some for her princess costume. :) I was surprised they had some so small for her nails, but they did. I figured since it was for Halloween it would be fun. She loved them!! They were really cute too. (didn't last very long...but they were cute while they lasted!!)

We went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Kenna had a lot of fun. She got LOTS of candy. Chris was pretty thrilled about that. We carved pumpkins Friday night with my sister Sarah. Chris carved a transformers pumpkin, I did a Cinderella one (at Mckenna's request), and Sarah and Mckenna did a "cookie cutter" bat and star one together. I think they turned out really well. We had a lot of fun making them. I love Halloween!

Our Sydney Grace...

2010-10-23T20:16:00.003-06:00

I don't know how Sydney is already 6 months old? Time sure does fly by these days! We took Sydney to the doctor for her 6 month check up last week and these were her stats:

Weight: 13.3 lbs (5th percentile)
Height: 25.5 in (8th percentile)

I guess she is a little on the petite side, (surprise, surprise) but we aren't complaining. :) She was healthy as can be. She is progressing very fast. She is already crawling and starting to pull herself up on things. She rolls over so fast and has very quick reflexes. She is actually smaller than Mckenna was at this age. Mckenna weighed 15 lbs at 6 months. I would have never guessed we could have a child smaller than Mckenna! =) I love my small girls!! I guess sometimes the best things really do come in small packages!

Some of the things we love about her at this age:

Her smile!! She is always smiling and so happy! :)
Her big, beautiful, blue eyes!
Her hugs! She loves to give hugs...especially to her daddy! :)
Her laugh! She loves to giggle! (especially at her sister!)
She loves to eat baby food and sit in her high chair!
She LOVES her big sister. She is always watching her very closely.
She is a daddy's girl! She gets very excited whenever he is in the room and reaches for him!

We are very lucky to have Sydney in our family! She adds so much joy and excitement! I love the age she is at. She is learning so much and is genuinely so happy! We are having so much fun with her. Mckenna is a great big sister and loves to play with Sydney.

Everything else is going well for us. Chris is busy in school. He is half way done with this semester. He made it through midterms and is doing very well in school. I am busy at work. Teaching takes up more time than I really ever expected, but it is worth it. I love my jobs...both teaching and being a mom! Both of them take up all my time and then some!! :) Being a working mom is a full time, and most days an over time job! But, we are enjoying this phase of our lives. At times it is challenging, but together we are making it through it! :)

Family Pictures

2010-09-08T18:23:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, Nicole and Toby were down to bless Taylee. It was a special day. We all were there together as a family. We took some family pictures that same day.

Mckenna is going to be 3 next week and Sydney is 5 months. They are growing up so fast! I wish they would slow the growing down, but they are at fun stages and Chris and I are loving being their parents. (Although...Mckenna is at that age where she just makes you want to....well, you know!!) But we love her and her adorable smile makes up for it!! Little Sydney is such a happy baby. She is ALWAYS smiling. She loves tummy time and rolls over all the time! She is such a joyful little baby!

We are doing very well. I have been working for almost a month now at Vista School. I really like it. I am enjoying teaching and I really like the people I get to work with. Chris is busy in school. He studies a lot and does his homework early! I'm so proud of him. =) He is turning into a great student!

My funny little girl...

2010-08-23T17:58:00.002-06:00

Yesterday in church, the speaker was talking about being a good example. Mckenna heard him say the word "example." She turned to Chris and I and said, "I love samples! Costco has good samples!" =)

Oh my goodness! She always is saying things to make us laugh! But hey, at least she was trying to pay attention in Sacrament Meeting!!

I love my little 2 year old!!

The Blessing of a New Life...

2010-08-10T16:59:00.004-06:00

So what a whirlwind our family has been in the past 4 months!! Lets see...just to start naming a few things we have experienced....

Sydney was born April 7th =D
Chris' work went crazy and offered him 2 options (April 8th): move to Reno, NV or Turlock, CA or lose his job. We went to Reno to check it out for a week (Chris + me + 2yr old Kenna + 2 week old Sydney = not a good choice!)
Decided not to relocate and so Chris became jobless...
Because Chris was jobless we were able to spend the summer camping and swimming and just playing together as a family =D What seemed to be a horrible thing, turned into a blessing for our family. We were able to spend more time together as family! (Chris has worked 6 days a week since we were married 4 years ago, so this was a HUGE and needed change!)
Chris decided to go back to school. He starts back up at Dixie State this month. =) (another added blessing. He has not talked about going back to school for a long time. His job never allowed the time to even consider it!)
I started looking for a job and was hired at Vista Charter School. (blessing....check :) I will be in a Kindergarten Class half day and then teaching extended homeroom for Math the other half of the day.
I start officially teaching tomorrow! =) CRAZY, but I'm really excited. I love the people I am working with and feel so great about Chris watching the girls. If it was a sitter everyday or day care I would feel very differently! (another added blessing!)
Chris is now the best "stay-at-home-daddy" around! =) Seriously, he cleans the house, takes the girls on walks, plays with them, and even does their hair!! (I'm still working on getting him to cook...but that will take some time ;D) I couldn't ask for a better husband! It works out perfect because he will take night classes and online classes and watch the girls during the day! (one more blessing...that we were able to work his schedule out to do so!)
Our roles have switched places completely. I am working and he is the student and care-taker of the girls!
Oh, and Sydney is 4 months old....how that happened so fast, I don't know!!! =)

It has been a crazy few months! I am excited for the new changes in our lives though. Everything has proved to me even more that we have a Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. He is aware of our struggles and knows of the things we need in our lives. I am so grateful for that knowledge. It may be stressful at times, but I always have that faith that everything will work out. =)

Another tender blessing that recently happened to our family was with Chris' sweet sister Nicole. I feel that it was a blessing for Chris, as well as for everyone, for him to not have a job while she was so sick. We were able to be there for her, for her sweet baby Taylee, for Chris' parents, for her husband, and for everyone else. We didn't have obligations to anything other than our family while it was all happening. I felt that was such a sweet blessing. I saw and felt how important it was for Chris to be able to be with his family and with his little sister. I don't know how much of an impact we really did make, but I do know that my own personal testimony of the power of family was strengthened so much during those few short weeks. My testimony of the power of prayer and faith in our Savior was also strengthened so much.

The power of family, prayer, and faith is immeasurable and can honestly move mountains...or in our case, provide a healing miracle for a new mother! :) We love you Nicole and are so grateful for you in our lives!

Summer Happenings!

2010-07-07T18:09:00.007-06:00

Our summer so far has been very eventful! We have loved spending so much time together as a family. We have been able to go camping, go swimming, have BBQs, go to parks, feed the ducks, go fishing, go on walks, and just have FUN together...whenever we want!! I count myself so lucky that we are able to spend this time together!

We went camping at Kolob Reservoir in June for 3 days. It was a blast! A lot of Chris' family members were able to come so that made it all the more fun. We were able to fish and boat too. Mckenna had so much fun with Chris' cousin's little girl, Allison. They became the best of friends while we were up there. They were seriously inseparable. It was so cute to watch them play and have so much fun. Little Sydney was such a good camper too. She stayed in the tent most of the time because of bugs and wind, but she loved it. She slept really well too and was just a great baby! She is so full of smiles! We just love her so much! Here is some of the pictures we took while up there! We can't wait to go back!!

Kolob Camping Trip June 2010

It is really hard to believe it is already July! The summer is already flying by. Today, Sydney is 3 months old! I can't believe that!! How did it happen? She is becoming such a cutie pie! She is so happy...ALL the time! She sleeps all night long and now shares a room with Mckenna. She no longer sleeps in our room in the bassinet, she is already in her own crib! =) She is growing up too fast! She loves to smile and recently started giggling. It is SOOOO cute! I had forgotten all of the simple joys that come from having a baby. I am slowly being reminded of them and I LOVE IT!! Sydney is such a special little girl and she adds so much joy to our home!

Our 4th of July was really fun. We spent the weekend with Chris' family swimming, BBQing, and of course enjoying fireworks! It was a lot of fun....just still hard to believe it is already July!

Tomorrow, July 8th, Chris and I will celebrate our 4 year anniversary! WOW...how did 4 years already go by?! It's hard to believe. We have had our shares of ups and downs over those 4 years too. (more ups than downs though ;D) I feel so blessed and lucky to have found Chris and to have him as mine for eternity! He is truly my best friend and I love him so much!

Happy Anniversary Chris! =)
I LOVE YOU!!

Sydney's Blessing

2010-06-07T23:18:00.004-06:00

Sydney Grace Summerhays was blessed by her dad on Sunday, June 6, 2010. It was such a special day for all of us. I was so proud of my husband and for the priesthood he holds. I am grateful that he honors his priesthood and that he was worthy to give Sydney the special blessing he did.

Sydney wore the same dress Mckenna wore for her blessing. This dress was hand made by a sweet, older lady who lived in the first ward Chris and I were in right after we got married. She made it for Mckenna. It is so beautiful and Sydney looked adorable in it!

Her dress was so long that shoes really weren't necessary, but....I had to get these!! I added the cute little flower embellishments. I just think they are so sweet!!

I was so excited to have my whole family down for this special day! I felt so blessed and lucky that they would all travel to be with us for Sydney's blessing. I love my family so much. They mean the world to me and I am grateful for all of them! Thanks again you guys for coming and making it such a special day for all of us!! =)

Here are some "pre-blessing" pictures we took of the girls... I think I may be the luckiest mom around to be blessed with such cute girls!!

Sydney is 2 months old now. I can hardly believe how fast time goes by. She is starting to coo and smile so much more now. I LOVE IT!! She is so sweet and so alert. I love her big, bright eyes. (Mckenna actually took these two pictures of her. She did a good job!)

During the blessing, Chris blessed Sydney that she would be close to her big sister, Mckenna. It touched me so much. I know they are going to become best friends and will share a special bond. I love watching how sweet and gentle Mckenna can be with Sydney. She loves her so much already and I know it will only grow stronger as they grow up together. =)

Graduation

2010-05-10T16:54:00.005-06:00

Ok, so I guess I'm finally, officially a college graduate! Friday, May 7th, I dressed up in my cap and gown, complete with honors cords and sash (OH YEAH!!! =D) and walked with my friends through Dixie's famous "D." I was so excited and it turned out to be a great night. I guess now I feel a little bit more "done" with college...I mean I already got my bachelor's degree in the mail in like January, but at least I have a picture of me in my official graduation attire now!! ;)

Oh, and this is our very first family picture since Sydney was born too! Pretty good night for all of us! =)

This past week also celebrated Sydney's 1 month old birthday!! I can't believe she is already 4 weeks old. Time goes by so fast once they are here! Why can't it go by that fast when you're pregnant?? She is such a sweetie! We love her so much. Mckenna is becoming more fond of her everyday...except for when I call Sydney princess. She does not like that. She says..."No, mommy, I'm the princess NOT Sydney" pretty much every time. I have to be very careful and try to remember not to call Sydney princess around Mckenna. But nonetheless, Mckenna loves her little sister. We are very blessed to have such cute and wonderful little girls!

Here are some pictures I took of Sydney....she is so cute!!! I know I'm biased, but honestly, how can you disagree??? Look at her big beautiful eyes!! I LOVE HER!! Enjoy the pictures... =)

3 Weeks Old Already...

2010-04-27T17:33:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I don't know where the time goes! Sydney is already 3 weeks old tomorrow! I can hardly believe it! She is absolutely a doll! We love her to death---Mckenna especially!!! She is such a good baby so far. She is a great sleeper (unlike her big sister!!) and sleeps mostly through the night already. I usually have to wake her to feed her. Other than being a spitter-upper (just like her sister and mom, so I've been told), she has been fairly easy to adjust to. We are so blessed to have her in our family!

Last week was the 1st time we ventured back to church. Although we only lasted through Sacrament meeting, it was good to be back at church and see everyone. Mckenna was excited to go back to church and get to wear her pretty dress again!

My mom got Mckenna and Sydney these matching outfits. They looked so adorable in them. Mckenna sure does love her little sister...if you can't tell by her smile!! =)

These last 3 weeks have been full of excitement and pretty much just craziness. Adjusting to having 2 kids to take care of and also trying to figure out what to do with the unexpected news of Chris' job has been somewhat challenging.

Last week, we went out of town for a full week to Reno, NV for Chris' work. They want him to transfer there for work. So, we packed up the kids and went with him there for a week. We were trying to get a feel for the area and the job and to see if moving there is right for our family right now.

It was an adventure, to say the least. I was cooped up in a condo mostly the whole week with a 2 year old and a 2 week old. We didn't have anywhere to go and really even if I would have wanted to go anywhere, I probably wouldn't have with the girls. It was raining and snowing most of the week too. It was kind of a stressful week, but we survived and now we are back home. I am so grateful to be back home.

Chris decided that taking the job in Reno and moving our family so far away isn't the right choice right now in our lives. So now we are just kind of taking time to be together as a family and are awaiting what will be the next stage in our life. We love each other. We love our kids. We love the Lord and we know things will work out the way they should, in due time. Life is definitely unexpected at times, but we are just so grateful for our families and friends and the Gospel. They really are the things that help us get through tough times.

Sydney Grace is here!!

2010-04-11T13:35:00.003-06:00

Sydney Grace Summerhays made her debut into this world Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 4:16 pm weighing in at a precious 6 lbs even and measuring at 17 3/4 inches long. She came as a surprise to us all since she was born a week before her due date!! No complaints from this mom though!! =) We are so excited and grateful she is here! She is healthy, cute, and just so sweet. We love our little bundle of joy straight from Heaven!

Mckenna is absolutely in LOVE with her little sister. She is so cute with her. I love watching her hold her and seeing how, even at only a few days old, Sydney looks at her big sister with such loving eyes! Chris and I are truly so blessed to have 2 such beautiful daughters. Our lives are so full of happiness and gratitude right now! =)

Spring & Easter!

2010-04-05T11:00:00.004-06:00

We have been having a fun Spring so far! It has been nice because it has helped to get my mind off of having this baby any day now! I am due in about 10 days so we are hoping for it to happen really soon! We are very excited.

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to this Spring and Easter season.

Mckenna's Grandma Debbie made her this adorable dress for Easter. She LOVES it! We have to beg her to take it off. She is very much in love with any "pretty dress" and this one fell right into that category for her!

Easter morning, Mckenna found her Easter Basket! She was just little excited!! =) I was happy this year because we got away with re-giving her some of the stuff she already had but didn't play too much with. She didn't know the difference and was so excited to see what she got. I'm pretty sure that this was the 3rd year she got that pink bunny in her Easter basket. She even sleeps with it sometimes, but didn't even care!! Something to love about this age!!!

The Sunday before Easter, Chris had a lot of family down on his side. We had a big Easter dinner and Easter Egg hunt over at his Grandma's house. It was a lot of fun. Mckenna loved hunting for the eggs with her Daddy! (I normally would have helped, but I don't think I really could have bent down to pick any up this year!! I might not have been able to get back up! =D)

Our Family Picture....probably the last one before our new arrival gets here! (As you can see...I'm just a little bit pregnant ;D)

Last week, my mom, Sarah, and Jacob came down for part of their Spring Break. It was fun to see them. My mom helped me get some last little things ready for the baby to arrive. Mckenna absolutely LOVES it when people come visit. Obviously, she gets more attention that way! She loves her Aunt Sarah. They had fun together. One of the days, they rode scooters together. It was fun to watch them together.

Kenna has been getting pretty good at riding her scooter by herself. It is so cute to watch her because the scooter is just about as big as she is.

I love this time of year. It has been fairly nice weather down here. Mckenna and I have enjoyed playing outside together and going on walks. Right now, I'm just excited about the next little arrival to get here. Kenna is excited to be a big sister and Chris is very anxious to meet his 2nd little girl. =) Spring is just the perfect time of year!!

Chris vs. The Princess Wand

2010-03-15T13:08:00.004-06:00

In Chris' own words this is what happened....

"Around 10:30pm Thursday night Mckenna was still going berserk from having a bowl of pure sugar and a pack of fruit snacks. She was running around with her Princess magic wand casting magical spells while jumping off every piece of furniture she could climb up on. After that got boring she started to jump on the couch I was sitting on swinging her princess wand around my head when she decided to smack me in the face with it. Outraged by her reckless act I snatched the princess magical wand from her hand and dismantled it over my knee thus causing pieces of magical wand to fly every direction. Mire milliseconds after destroying the evil wand I realized my hand had suffered a significant blow located between the pointer finger and thumb. A large piece of meatiest flesh lay folded back and blood began to ooze profusely from the newly discovered wound. I shouted many hard to understand short statements in some gibberish language I’m sure only my daughter understood since she speaks mostly gibberish mixed with good English. I ran to my wife who was prepping for bed and showed her the awesomeness of ripped flesh. She responded quickly with a medical pack and taped the pieces .back together on my hand until 14 hours later I received medical attention from the Coral Desert Surgery Centers Administrator. Ken Summerhays. a.k.a Daddy. In shock he quickly administered what he called "Super Glue for the skin" to my badly severed hand and sent me on my way."

So who won the battle??? Judge for yourself!...the photo says a lot. Chris is still in pain with his hand wound and the princess wand is somewhere in the landfill by now. All I can say is that Mckenna won't be "casting magical spells" anytime soon!

Funny Story...

2010-03-03T12:29:00.003-07:00

So the other day, Mckenna and I were outside playing in the front yard. It has been really nice weather lately in St. George during the day. I've been excited to get us out of the house and into the nice warm sunshine. I was sitting watching Mckenna play with her scooter and with some of my empty flower pots. She likes to fill them with the rocks and leaves. Well, being very much pregnant, I was getting pretty thirsty. I had the windows to the house open so I figured I'd be ok to run inside and get some water. I could hear if anything happened or whatever.

Well I went inside, for seriously not more than 2 minutes tops. I came back out and as I turned the corner from inside the garage, the first thing I saw was Mckenna's clothes laying on the sidewalk, underwear and all! OH MY GOODNESS!! She had taken her clothes off and was half way to the neighbors house, bare butt and all. I ran (well...I tried to run...lol I'm not very good at running these days!) after her. She proceeded to run in the opposite direction naked and hid behind my neighbors shrub. I finally got her and walked her back to the house. (I was just hoping that none of my neighbors were secretly watching from their windows...it would have been a pretty funny sight...pregnant women being outran by her naked 2 year old...)

Once we got inside, I asked her what she was doing? Why did she take her clothes off? etc. Well she proceeded to tell me simply..."I wanted to pee on the grass mommy!" Well of course, the only logical answer really when you think about it! =) Well, needless to say I started laughing. I couldn't believe she was able to take her clothes off, pee, and run to the neighbors in the short amount of time I was gone inside getting some water. She is too fast!!! Little stinker!! or should I say Little Streaker!! It was pretty funny.

This week has been the first week really that we've played outside more than just once because of the nice weather. She gets playing and enjoying the weather that she just forgets to tell me that she has to use the potty. Yesterday we had a similar episode at Chris' parents house in their backyard...although this one wasn't #1, if you know what I mean! I'll spare the details. I am hoping this little problem stops and that we can play outside without me worrying that she is going to just stop in her tracks WHEREVER she is and just go... We are going to work on that!! =D

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T12:56:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day to my wonderful husband, Chris, my beautiful Mckenna, and to my unborn little girl! I love you all!

We finally said goodbye...

2010-02-07T14:38:00.002-07:00

Our sequoia is gone! We sold it!=( I was a little surprised to see how fast it actually went. Chris put an add up on KSL about a week ago and within days he got phone call after phone call about it. On Friday, a really nice couple from Salt Lake came down and made the sell official. We met them at the bank and signed the paperwork. We were pretty excited and sad at the same time. Excited because we made money off the sell and sad because we really grew to love it and it was hard to see it go.

On the way to the bank, we drove our Accord and the buyer drove the Sequoia. The whole way there, Mckenna was really sad and was crying saying "my black car!"=( I think that was the saddest part about the whole deal...watching a little 2 year old become so sad about her car being driven away by someone else.

So now, we don't really know what we are going to do yet. We have been looking here and there for what we will get next. Chris would love to have a 4 door truck. We'll see though. Right now we kind of like the fact that we have ABSOLUTELY NO DEBT!!! =) We'll see how long it lasts...or should I say how long Chris lasts with the only car available to drive being my older Accord that has its fair share of quirks and minor problems??? I keep telling him that it keeps us humble!! I bet it won't last too much longer....we shall see!!

Mckenna's battle wounds...

2010-01-30T13:19:00.004-07:00

This past Wednesday, Mckenna was being a good little girl and was going potty. She has become fairly independent with going potty lately and is able to do it by herself most of the time. Well, we had just gotten home from the store, and I needed to go to the bathroom too. (one of the hardest things about this potty training is that I usually always have to pee when she does but I can't very well tell a little 2 year old in training "wait for mommy" so I end up waiting)

This time, I decided to run to my bathroom to go while she went. When I was about half way there, I heard a loud thump followed by some pretty loud and serious screams and crying. I ran back to see Mckenna on the ground with her jeans on her ankles. She was trying to get down, using her step stool, and tripped because of her pants at her ankles. She fell and her poor little face landed right on the edge of the bathtub. OUCH!! I felt SOOOO bad. She was just trying to be a good "big girl" and go potty and ended up getting a nice black eye instead.

This is a picture of her eye on Wednesday after it happened.

Throughout the past few days, her eye has been displaying some beautiful colors!
Today this is what her little eye looked like... kind of yellowish-green and purple!

She is a trooper. She is not even scared to go back and go potty. I was really afraid of that. She likes to tell anyone and everyone exactly what happened too. She includes details every time...clear down to the fact that "mommy put ice on it but I ate it and it made me feel better."

I will try much better to hold my bladder and stay with her while she goes potty so that nothing like this happens again.

Pine Valley

2010-01-30T12:54:00.004-07:00

We (well, mostly me) have been very jealous of all the snow EVERYONE else in the state seemed to be getting but us. I just wished it would snow a little so we could have one "snow day" to play. Well, while we were getting all the rain last week in St. George, the mountains were getting plenty of snow!! So last Saturday, Chris got off work early and we jumped in the car and drove up to Pine Valley to play! It was so much fun. Enjoy the pictures we took up there. Mckenna loved playing in it!! It was a very fun day!!

Me and my honey!!

The snow was so deep (like 2-3 feet), Chris would pick Mckenna up and drop her in a pile of snow and she would just stick there.

Mckenna loved playing with Chris! I loved watching them! (It was a little harder for me to walk in the deep snow being 7 months pregnant!)

We didn't have a sled, so we told Mckenna to slide down on her bum. She chose backwards on her tummy most of the time!!

MY 2 SNOW ANGELS!!! =)

Valentine's Craft Projects...

2010-01-22T17:57:00.006-07:00

Since Valentine's Day is less than a month away, I wanted to make some projects. I have been seeing a lot of ideas on TV and also on various blogs and it has gotten me in the Valentine's decorating spirit.

The first project I made was inspired by a wreath I saw on the TV show Studio 5. (anyone else watch that show? I LOVE it! Well, I love most of the projects they do on it anyways...) I showed my mother-in-law, Debbie, the heart wreath they made and we decided it would be a great project. Well, who would have thought but there was NO heart shaped styrofoam wreaths to be found in St. George. We couldn't believe it. We called around everywhere. So, we decided to improvise and came up with a topiary instead. The best part about this project was that it was made entirely out of CUPCAKE WRAPPERS!! Yeah, I know...cupcake wrappers! I think it turned out really cute.

My second project was inspired after wandering around the DI. I found a frame that I thought had potential for something and since I was in the Valentine's spirit it ended up being a Valentine's decoration. Here is Mckenna painting her "project" while I worked on mine.

This is what the frame kind of looked like before I started painting it. It was a cream frame with three little yellow frames inside of it.

And here is how the finished product turned out....

Here are my 2 new projects together... I like them! Cute, easy, and definitely adding the Valentine spirit to my home!!

I am a proud Mommy!!!

2010-01-20T12:43:00.003-07:00

On Monday, I officially started potty training Mckenna. I got some advice from my sister in law, Rebecca, on what she did. The method is basically 3 days of non-stop attention to your 2 year old. And as easy as that may sound...haha it wasn't! I hate saying that I couldn't give Kenna non-stop attention but with being 6+ months pregnant, trying to keep up with her every move basically wore me out! But I have done my best!

She had lots of accidents the first day. We went through a lot of pairs of underwear. But towards the end of the day, she was picking up on it. I had to watch her so closely so that I could catch her in the act every time. Once I caught her in the act I had to rush her to the potty to finish there. It took a lot of patience and love. I am actually as proud of myself as I am of her. I didn't lose my cool with her as much as I anticipated. (I am still learning patience! It is one of my biggest weaknesses!) Trying to give her as much positive praise as I could really helped me stay with it too. She was so proud of herself too. It was pretty cute to hear her say "Mommy, I did it!" Hearing that almost made up for the tons of puddles and spots on the carpet I cleaned up all day long!

Tuesday, day 2, went really well. She woke up dry!! I was so worried about having her sleep in her bed with only panties on. I almost contemplated putting a pull up on her just so that I woudn't have a mess to clean up. The one thing about this method was that we had to "throw away" all her diapers and pull ups before starting so that we wouldn't be tempted with that exact thing. So since I "threw out" all of them I didn't have the option. (and when I say "throw out" I really mean put in a baggie and put away. Are you kidding me....I paid good money for those and I am still a Francis at heart and have a HARD time throwing out good things. So until my next child needs them...they will stay hidden and NOT in the garbage! =) )

Anyways...I really had to put my trust in Mckenna and let her sleep with just panties on and I was amazed that the next morning she woke up dry. I was so proud of my little girl. I went in to wake her up and she went right in and went potty!! The rest of the day she stayed dry and went potty on her own a few times. She only had a couple of accidents.

So today is day 3...we haven't had any accidents at all and she has been doing great! I hope it keeps up. I am a little worried about actually having to leave the house with her....I'm not so sure that she will do as well in public places or at friends houses. That will be my next hurdle to jump through with her.

She has made me one proud mommy though! I was really a skeptic about doing this in a matter of 3 days, but now that I've tried and mostly succeeded....I am a believer! Thanks again Rebecca for the advice!

Latest Projects...

2010-01-16T18:12:00.007-07:00

Since I have been out of school and officially a "stay at home mom," I have been trying to think of things to stay busy. The biggest challenge in all of this is that we are trying to save money, so my projects have to be super cheap and inexpensive. I have tried to find stuff that would keep me busy but would also be projects that were meaningful and weren't just to pass the time and become something I would later throw out.

So...this is what I have come up with so far:

Magnet Board Makeover.... I bought this ugly blue magnet board at the DI for only $3. I couldn't pass it up because these babies cost like $25 at Roberts new. I didn't know what I would do with it because I already have one in my kitchen, but for 3 bucks I couldn't pass it up.

So I decided it would be cute in the girls' room. I painted it white. (with Mckenna's help...ya what a mess but it gave us something to do together) Then I found some scrapbook paper I already owned that matched Mckenna's room. I cut it into squares and just modge podged it on. I think it turned out really cute! I found some stickers of princess fairies and flowers I already had too and made them into magnets for it too.

Mckenna already is loving putting things up on it. I think it was a good project...especially because the total cost was only 3 bucks because I owned everything else. =D I love it when I don't have to go to the store (especially with a 2 year old shopping monster!).

The other project I did was kind of a makeover to something I already made last year. I made this family sign during the summer using cheap frames from the DI, then just put vinyl letters on them in different letters to spell FAMILY. I really liked it, but after I took it down for Christmas and then got it out again to put it up...I just felt like it needed something. It looked kind of blah to me.

So I thought about what I could do to it that would be cheap and not totally change the whole thing. I found some scrapbook paper I had that was all coordinating and decided to back the glass in paper. This is how it turned out. I think it added SO much to the look of it and to the look of my living room. I really like how it turned out. (oh...and please pay no attention to the fact that this one is missing the letter "L"... Mckenna broke the glass out of it and since I've fixed it I haven't replaced the vinyl for the "L" yet...got to love 2 year olds!!)

Now, on to the next project.... =D

Highlights of 2009

2010-01-04T11:11:00.002-07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2009 was a great year! At times, it seemed to go by way too fast, but other times, I didn't know if we'd make it! However through it all, we made it! Here are some of our highlights of the year:

*Chris became manager at Sierra Communications! No more doing the managers job and only getting paid an assistant manager's salary!! Yay!! :)

*Sam marrying Holly! We all love her so much---especially for marrying Sam!! =D

*Mckenna's obsession with The Little Mermaid! I didn't think it was possible for a little 1 year old to want to watch a movie so much!

*Summer break from school! I loved having the time to spend with Mckenna before going back to school in the Fall. We swam A LOT and did lots of projects! I love summer breaks!!

*We attempted camping for the 1st time....yep, it was just that...an attempt! Maybe 2010 will bring us better luck in the camping department!

*Vacation with my family to California! I was sad that Chris couldn't join us for this week long vacation, but it was so worth the trip with my family! The beach, the sun, the shopping, and the laughs!! I love my family!!

*I turned 24, Chris turned 27, and Mckenna turned 2!!! I can't believe she is already 2. This is definitely a unique age to say the least. The term "terrible twos" is sometimes an understatement for my little monster! She has quite the strong personality. But even through all her tantrums, screams, and messes, she is still our sweet little Kenna and we love her to death!!!

*We found out we are expecting our 2nd child. Another little girl due here in April! We are very excited to have another sweet spirit enter our home! Also, we found out Sam and Holly are expecting their 1st, a boy, also in April. Our family is growing so fast!! I love it!

*Leonard left on his mission! Elder Francis is now serving the Lord in Argentina. We are so proud of him. We know he has some challenges ahead of him, but through faith and prayers and relying fully on the Lord, he will be able to touch the lives of the people of Argentina and bring souls unto Christ! I love my little brother!!

*Thanksgiving in Moab! We had a great time with my family. There is always something to do and something or someone to make us laugh. Big families are the best!

*I survived student teaching and college! It was fun, but definitely challenging, but through it all I can finally say I'M DONE!!! I finished college in December with my Bachelor's degree. It is bittersweet to know I'm actually done with college. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself sometimes...although my 2 year old and my pregnant belly seem to fill in the time nicely! =)

*Christmas in St. George! This year we stayed home for Christmas...well by home I mean in the area! We actually spent most of Christmas over at Chris' parents house. We had a lot of fun. We learned that 2 year olds dont' need as many presents on Christmas as we think. Mckenna was very content with the 1st few presents she opened and didn't want to open any more. Wish we would have known that before hand. We could have saved a lot of money!! =D Oh well, lesson learned!

Overall, we had a great year in the Summerhays family! Lots of time spent with family. We have learned a lot and have a lot to look forward to in 2010. I love new years. It is a great time to evaluate our lives and change whatever we need to to make us better people and become closer to Christ. We have already stared on some New Year's resolutions for our family.

I'm so grateful for a husband who has the same ambitions I do and who joins me in making small changes to make our lives better. I look forward to the time I have now to be a "stay at home mom" and be with my daughter (and soon to be daughters!). I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing right now with my life!

We hope everyone has a great and wonderful New Year!!

I'm done!!

2009-12-16T16:42:00.003-07:00

Well Monday made it official. I AM DONE WITH COLLEGE!! On Monday, we had our Elementary Education Graduation luncheon. My mom and Chris' parents were able to come. It was really nice. The food was good too! =D I am so happy to be finished with school. It has been a long road. At times, I definitely wondered if I'd ever finish, but I did!! I am going to miss a lot of great friends from my cohort. We all became so close, it is bittersweet leaving them.

I don't know where the next part of my education road is going to lead me. Right now, I am just happy to be able to focus on being a mom and wife, while preparing for our new little addition arrive in April. Life will definitely be different without having college classes to go to or lesson plans to write up, but I'm pretty sure I think I'm going to enjoy it!! =D

IT"S A....

2009-11-13T16:20:00.002-07:00

GIRL!!!

We are excited to announce that the new little addition to our family will be another girl in April!! Mckenna will be a great big sister. I am excited to have another girl too. It will be so fun to watch them grow up together. (Plus it makes it easier on mom and dad because we already have so much baby girl stuff!! ;D)

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-27T20:29:00.003-06:00

WOW!!! What a crazy month!! I can't believe October is over this week. I am excited for Halloween. Mckenna is going to be dressing up as a cute, fluffy little duck!! She finally agreed to try back on her costume after not liking it for about a month after buying it. When she did try it on, I was able to capture this cute little picture of her!

What a cute little chicky I have!!! =D

In other news with our family....Chris is busy as ever at work. He is putting in the hours and the hard work it takes to be a good boss. I am so proud of him and his hard work. I am grateful for a hard working husband who cares so much for his family!!!

Mckenna is busy being a 2 year old!! She is talking so much and I mean SOOOOOO much! She says things everyday that amaze me....sentences, requests, and even some orders!! She is getting pretty good at saying demands and things like "mommy, my turn!" or "just a minute, mommy!!" I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure she gets that little attitude from her daddy...just kidding, I mean her mommy! Sometimes it is hard to not laugh when she is ordering us around. A cute, bossy little two year old...that's what I have on my hands!!!

I am busy, busy, busy doing student teaching. First graders really do keep you on your toes, ALL DAY LONG!!! It has been a lot more enjoyable since I have been feeling better. I am pretty much over my morning sickness phase!! YAY!!! =D It has been nice not wanting to throw up on the kids at school. That is always a plus in any teacher's life. It makes my days go by a lot faster too. I still am tired as ever when I get home, but I feel like I'm actually getting into the teaching mode and feel like I can do this! Teaching is very overwhelming at times, especially when you are a wife, mom, and 16 weeks pregnant. I still have those days when I desperately want to just be a stay at home mom and five up this teaching bit, but I'm glad for those days as well. I am glad that I have the option of being a student/teacher now and also being a mom. I only have about 6 more weeks of student teaching and college and I'll finally be able to say I'M DONE!!! That will be a great day!! That is really what keeps me going each day!! The end is near and I AM going to make it!!! =D

Exciting News....

2009-09-16T17:30:00.002-06:00

So....

Now, if I can just survive being pregnant while being the mother of a 2 year old, wife of a full-time boss, and also student teaching full-time in a 1st grade classroom for the next 11 weeks....=D

Life is busy...

2009-09-09T19:55:00.002-06:00

Wow! Life is busy! Now that I am back in school, 5 days a week, I am realizing just how true that statement is! There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. School is at times overwhelming...not really hard, just overwhelming with stupid busy work. You'd think that since I'm finally in my last semester of school, the teachers would realize that we have paid our dues and done enough busy work to last us the rest of our lives. Apparently, they don't understand that. But I will do what it takes right now because it is worth it just to be able to say I'm done in just about 3 more months!! Yahoo!!

To add to life, Mckenna is absolutely acting like a 2 year old! She turns 2 next Friday, but oh man....She is turning into a little monster, still cute...yes, but sometimes I just can't take her tantrums....well, I'm sure most of you know what I mean! Chris is very busy at work too. I guess that's what happens when you are the boss.

But, even though life is busy, life is still pretty darn good!
Now if I can only keep my house clean....=D

Final days of summer....

2009-08-20T12:26:00.006-06:00

I can't believe that summer is almost officially over for me! =( It went by way too fast! I start my last semester of school up on Monday! It will be nice to get it started because then I will be that much closer to being done!!

To play catch up a little on my blog.... The first part of August I went on a trip with all of my family to Southern California! Mckenna and I went, but Chris was too busy at work to come! We definitely missed having him there! (I did especially as I was driving in heavy freeway traffic!) We spent a week there! We had a great time. We went to Newport Beach for two days and we went to the LA ZOO, and did some other fun things. It was just really nice to be able to spend that time with my family! I needed it!

Me and my little girl!! =D

The boys!! (Jacob, Leonard, Sam, Andy, and Charles)

The girls! (Mom, Geneava, Kenna, Me, Heather, Sarah, and Holly)

Well since I have been back from California, I have still be really busy playing catch up on the laundry, cleaning, and getting everything ready for school to start. I have missed the time I used to have to just sit and craft or sew for hours. I had to make a little time for that though, because for my birthday, my mom gave me a new digital sewing machine!! I hadn't had any time to play with it, let alone even open it! So I knew I had to at least get it out of the box! Well I did and so far I LOVE IT!!! It is so nice and does so many fun stitches and things that my old one didn't do. The first thing I made with it was a sewing machine cover. Since I had been cleaning, I specifically made a spot for it to be able to sit out in our back room/converted office/craft room. I made a cover for it so it can stay clean and also so Mckenna doesn't see it right off and go for it! I think it turned out really cute! I got the idea from the make it and love it blog. I ended up using two placemats I had gotten as a gift that I never used. They worked out perfect.

Another project I did was also based off of another birthday present I got from my brothers. They all pitched in and got me a new Cricut cartridge. I love it! It does so many cute fonts and has a lot of cute functions too!

This is the project I was inspired by the BLVD Home Furnishings to do. I went there with my inlaws over a month ago and we saw a bunch of these type of things hanging up for sale there. They were quite pricey (of course!) and so I told Debbie that we could make it ourselves so we did!! I think it turned out really nice and I have lots of other projects in my head of things we could make using this general procedure! It's just cut vinyl letters put onto the glass of frames I painted. It was very inexpensive and really could go in any room with any saying with any colors.

Even though summer is ending, =( I'm hoping that I will still have a few minutes here and there to craft or sew. I love doing it and it really gives me a break. I think during this last semester of school/student teaching that is probably what I am going to be needing a lot of.....BREAKS! I am looking forward to student teaching and just hope that this semester goes by fast.

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-31T18:34:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday, July 29th, I celebrated my 24th birthday! I had a really great day. Mckenna and I hung out most of the day together because Chris had to work. We went shopping and went out for ice cream. =D It was fun. My next door neighbor's little girl that is Mckenna's age happens to share my birthday too, so later in the afternoon we went over there for a small birthday party for her. She was turning 2! It was fun. Chris came home early for work. (That was a great birthday present!!!) Later that evening, we went out to dinner at Bajio's with all of Chris' family. It was really fun. I am so blessed and thankful for my family and friends. They made my special day even more special! Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes and gifts!!

One of the best presents I got for my birthday was from Mckenna. She sang me Happy Birthday...the ENTIRE song!! It was so cute I had to record it! So enjoy..... it's pretty cute!! Oh and sorry it's hard to see. It's pretty dark, but listening is more important that seeing it. And if you are wondering what she is doing at the end of the song...that's her blowing out candles. Apparently she things a great big blow at the end is part of the song!! =D She's cute!

Camping Attempt #1

2009-07-26T13:23:00.003-06:00

Yesterday after Chris got off from work, we decided it would be fun if we just took off and went camping. We have never been camping as a family (or couple for that matter) before. It has been so hot in St. George lately, so camping in the mountains sounded really cool and relaxing. We headed off to stay at Chris' sister's in-laws camping site at Duck Creek (which is up past Cedar City if you were wondering). We were grateful for knowing people that had an empty camp site reserved because it was full everywhere else...guess that's what happens on the weekend of the 24th of July.

Well, we got up to the campsite about 6 or so in the evening. We unloaded and Chris started a fire. We made dinner on the fire, hiked around a little bit, and just enjoyed being together as a family with no distractions like cell phones, internet, or TV. (That was my favorite part!! =D) It was really nice and a much needed break to be together! As it got later, and it got darker we decided it was time to go to bed in the tent. We put out the fire and headed to bed. Mckenna was pretty tired by this point. I thought that she'd fall asleep fast and we would all be to sleep in no time.

Well, right when we all got into the tent and changed into our pajamas, Mckenna started to be really fussy. She was whining and crying and kept reaching for the door of the tent. She wanted out! To our surprise, she was scared of being in the tent in the dark. We tried to lay her down in the middle of us to calm her down, but nothing seemed to be working. She was seriously scared. It was really sad. She just kept saying "go home" or "leave please." She did not like being there. So after about 20 or 30 mins of attempting to get to sleep, we decided it would be best for everyone (the other campers, included!) if we packed up and just headed home. By this time it was well after 10 pm and we had about a 2 hour drive home too.

So we got home late last night and thus ending our 1st attempt at camping as a family. Not exactly how we imagined the night going, but oh well, such is life! We did have fun together while it lasted. We will have to try camping out again when Mckenna gets a little older. Maybe by then, she won't be so scared of being inside of a tent. It was a fun family outing, nonetheless!!! =D At least we have a story to tell!

Summerhays Happenings!!

2009-07-10T17:21:00.004-06:00

Wow!! It has been an eventful summer! We just finished up June and started July with a Summerhays' Family Reunion. It was fun to finally meet most of Chris' extended family. We had a lot of fun with everyone. It was nice to be able to spend time with Chris especially. He doesn't get too much time off from work so Mckenna and I were so happy that he was able to get the weekend off!!

One of the activities we did at the reunion was bowling!! Oh my goodness Mckenna LOVED it!! I would have never thought she would be at the age right now where she would like it so much but it was absolutely adorable watching her!! She got so excited about bowling. It will definitely have to be a family activity we do more often now.

Bowling with mommy (above) and with daddy (below)!! So much fun!!

We were able to take some family picture with everyone too. It was so hot we all opted to take the pictures under the shaded pavilion rather than on the planned grassy area in the sun. Here is a cute picture we captured while we were waiting.... Mckenna and her Auntie Nicole with the giggles! =D Makes me smile!!!

Mckenna and her cousin Charity and Chris' cousin Andi. All of the little girls had matching white daisy flower clips for their hair. (I made 12 of these clips total! =D So worth the time.) They looked so darling!!

Chris' family picture...There was a lot more people there but this is just the immediate family picture. The large family picture had so many people in it, it looked like a where's waldo picture. We were all in white shirts and jeans....So instead of posting it...I'll let you all imagine what it might look like! =D

Most of our evenings at the reunion were spent at the park. It was really a nice park. Chris' aunt planned lots of fun activities for the kids to do. Both nights, they had 4th of July pinatas for the kids. Mckenna was excited to hit it. I told her there was candy in it so she got super excited. Although the time I told her that, the pinata was actually filled with little toys and stuff...no candy. She was kind of disappointed. But the next night, the pinata was filled with plenty of candy!! =) She was happier that night!!

The 4th of July was the last day of the reunion. That day was spent at Chris' parents house. There was plenty to do to keep everyone....of all ages....busy!

As you can see there was a bounce house. Chris and Stephen apparently thought it was ok for them to bounce in it with Mckenna. I'm pretty sure they were over the age/height/weight/etc limits but oh well...it kept Mckenna entertained and also kept them from playing xbox or being on the computer inside so it was perfectly fine with me!! After all...they are really just big kids at heart!!

Chris' cousin has a little boy named Brendan who is just a few months older than Mckenna. They had a blast playing together. It was really cute to watch them. Brendan is small and so is Kenna...they practically looked like they could be twins. They loved playing in the little pool and slide together.

It was a fun week, full of lots of family laughs and fun! I was happy to meet and re-meet most of Chris' extended family. I was especially grateful to spend the time with Chris. I enjoy the little moments I get with him these days. He works so hard and puts in so many long, long days. I don't get to see him that much so I was thrilled he was able to get the time off to spend with us!

Summer Smiles!

2009-06-17T19:53:00.003-06:00

This summer has been filled with a lot of fun days so far! We have been really busy and so I'm trying to play catch up with my blogging. Last week Mckenna and I went to Moab to visit my mom and brothers and sisters. It was really fun. It was a much needed get-away to visit family.

Tomorrow will be the 1 year anniversary of my dad passing away. It has been an emotional year, but one that has also been filled with many blessings. I am so blessed to have such a strong family. I know that with my dad's death came the strong unity of my family. We have drawn closer to each other and have helped each other through the tough parts of the last year. I love them all so much! The Lord truly does bless us...especially when we are least expecting it. I am so grateful for the gift of eternal families. I know that we will see my dad again one day! The truth of that statement really does keep me going each day.

On a slightly happier note....I finally took some really cute pictures of Mckenna. She has turned into a real stinker when it comes to taking pictures. She won't smile for me when I get the camera out. She does everything possible to avoid pictures. I have tried everything. Recently I found out that she nearly blushes to death when I sing "Happy Birthday." I don't even know what brought me to this idea or why I tried this or why it works either. All I know is that she melts for this song. Monday night, we went to the temple for Family Night. We walked around the grounds and looked at all the flowers. That night is when I captured these cute pictures of my little girl! She is quite the little stinker, but absolutely adorable too! Got to love her!!

Mckenna loves flowers. She had to stop and look at and smell every flower she passed at the temple grounds. I was playing with my camera and captured this really cute picture of her by some bright yellow flowers. I love how it turned out too. We had a fun time walking around with her there. Chris and I will definately have to take her back because she loves it!

Mckenna's New Obsession...

2009-05-20T14:52:00.005-06:00

For Christmas my mom gave me a few Disney DVDs to get my childhood collection growing in my own home. One of the dvds she gave me was The Little Mermaid...Oh my goodness....MCKENNA LOVES IT!!! Just recently, all she wants to do, every minute of the day, is watch "mermaid mommy, mermaid!" We seriously watch it at least 2 to 3 times A DAY!

So far, I actually haven't gotten that annoyed with it yet. I like the songs in it and they keep me company while I clean house or do whatever. I just think it is so funny that she is so obsessed with it. She absolutely loves it! She will sit on the couch or her camp chair right in front of the tv and watch the whole movie. She used to have a hard time sitting through a full episode of Dora. I guess the Little Mermaid is just ten times better in her eyes.

But, if anyone has any good suggestions for a new movie she might like, let me know! I don't think I can handle watching it all summer long.

Summer Update

2009-05-15T13:51:00.004-06:00

So far this summer has been really fun. I've only been out of school for about 2 weeks now and I have moved past the bored stage! I have started doing a lot of really cute projects. They are keeping me busy.

So far the projects I have completed are:
1 apron for Mckenna

1 skirt for me (for mother's day =D)

1 purse for me =)

and 2 tiles with vinyl lettering on them

I think so far I have done pretty good. I still have a lot of ideas running through my head of projects to make too. I am happy that I have this time to sew and make craft projects. It is so much fun! So if anyone has any good ideas of cute craft projects, let me know! I'd love to make them.

Besides craft and sewing projects, the beginning of my summer has consisted of swimming with Mckenna. She has actually gotten a lot braver in the couple weeks we have been going. She will jump in to me off of the side of the pool with her arm floaties on. She loves the water. I am so glad because at first she wasn't liking the water too much. Probably because it was colder than she would have liked. It's warming up so much now that she loves it!

This picture was taken at the community center. We went there with Mckenna's cousins. She had a lot of fun.

Although Mckenna loves the water...she LOVES to sunbathe too! It is so cute. She will lay outside on a towel on the lawn chair and just soak up the sun. She is just like her mommy!! Got to love her sunglasses too!!! What a babe! =D

I Survived!!

2009-05-06T21:55:00.003-06:00

I am happy to report that I survived my almost-last semester at Dixie! I just finished up half of my senior year and it feels great to be done. I am also very thrilled to have passed with straight A's!! It was worth the hard work to see those beautiful capital A's across my transcript!! =D

Now, I just have one more semester of student teaching in the Fall and I'll be DONE!!! Yay! But first I just have to focus on surviving this summer...which will consist of a whole lot of swimming, laying out by the pool, playing with Mckenna, hanging out with family, and just plain having FUN!! My only problem is that I've already started to get bored...I need to start on some major fun craft projects and I think I'll be ok!

What a big girl....

2009-04-20T20:59:00.002-06:00

Today, Chris was home watching Mckenna as he usually does Mondays while I am at school. He took Mckenna into give her a bath. As he was getting it ready, he took her clothes off and Mckenna told him that she needed to go poo poo. Not thinking too much of it, he put her down on her little potty chair. (She has yet to ever use it, but we thought buying it was wishful thinking...) Well who would have ever guessed it, but she actually did indeed go poo poo on her potty!

I couldn't believe it when Chris text me at school that she did. If it wouldn't have been for the graphic video of her potty with the poo poo in it =D as well as her hand touching it (gross I know), I don't think I would have believed it.

So yes...today is a day to go down in history...Mckenna, only 19 months old, used the potty for the 1st time!! What a big girl!!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-16T15:05:00.004-06:00

We had a great Easter weekend! Mckenna is old enough now to enjoy it. She absolutely loved the Easter egg hunt we had at Chris' grandparents house. She was the littlest one there and so she got a lot of attention! She loved finding the eggs and putting them in her basket. It was really cute to watch her.

She would take her time and look for the eggs...under bushes, under rocks... wherever she could stick her little hand, she would reach for them. She was a good hunter!

This is a picture of Mckenna before the egg hunt. She was waiting inside so patiently while the eggs were being hidden. She looked really cute in her new pink blouse and white sandals from her Easter baskets too!!

After we got home from church, we gave Kenna her Easter basket. She loved it. (although she helped me put it together the night before, she still acted surprised to see what was in it! =D) We recycled some of her old toys that she never plays with and gave them to her in her Easter basket. I love this age...she'll never know the difference and it saved us time and money!

Saturday, it was a rainy day. Mckenna and I were bored and so I decided to take her to the temple. I got her rain jacket and her rain boots out. She loved it! It actually stopped raining for most of the time we were there. It wasn't too chilly either. It was fun to see Mckenna there. She learned how to say "temple" and now she says it whenever she sees a picture of it. It's cute. It was a fun morning together.

She loved splashing in the puddles at the temple. She looked so cute all decked out in her rain gear. She is at such a fun age...I love watching her and showing her new things. We had a great time! Next time, we'll have to go back on a sunny day!

Spring Flowers...

2009-04-10T21:13:00.003-06:00

I love spring--especially when I get to plant my flowers! =D This year I'm so excited because they are actually doing really well in spite of the crazy weather we have been experiencing. I feel like the weather is really teasing us all this spring. Just when we think it's going to start really warming up it will get cold again.

Mckenna and I planted these flowers over my Spring Break in March. I just think they are so beautiful. This is my favorite part about spring. I can hardly wait to own my own house so I can plant a large flower garden!

Here is another view...from the top!

Mckenna absolutely LOVES our flowers too! She always goes up to them and says..."oh... cute! Flowers!" It's really adorable to hear her say that too. She also loves to water them. I'm training her to like gardening, that way when we have our own house and yard someday I'll have some help with the flowers and plants! But until then...our potted flowers are just fine! =D

David Archuleta Concert

2009-03-26T20:18:00.008-06:00

Tuesday night, Chris and I went to the David Archuleta concert here in St. George. We went with Chris' sister Nicole and brother Stephen. It was so much fun. We had 2nd row seats!! We all had a great time. It really was a great show. He was very entertaining and he sang really well live. Even though we were surrounded by screaming 12 year old girls and their parents (hehe), we really enjoyed ourselves.

I'm not going to lie, I pretty much knew every word to every song he sang. I didn't realize how big of a fan I really was. The CD is in our car and rotates through with the other CDs and I guess I listened to it more than I thought. =D I really enjoy his songs though. They are always easy to listen to and sing along with. It was so much fun to go. Chris and I are already talking about going to another one of his concerts someday.

For those of you who missed it, here is a little clip from the concert that we recorded on our camera. This song is called A Little Too Not Over You. Enjoy! =D

A wedding and a hike...

2009-03-17T21:54:00.004-06:00

On Friday, March 13th, my older brother Sam was married in the Salk Lake temple to a really cute and wonderful girl, Holly. It was fun to be with all my family and share this special day with Sam and Holly. Holly looked beautiful and my older brother looked as sharp as I've seen him in a while!

It was a special day for us all. I think we were all feeling many emotions the whole day. I think bittersweet is a good word to describe how I was feeling that day. This was the first time we had all been in the temple since my dad died last June. I truly believe that we could all feel him there in the sealing room with us. It was a great testament to me in knowing that families really are forever, especially as Sam and Holly started their eternal family that day. We all missed my dad a lot that day and wished he could have been there in person, but we all knew that he was there and that he is proud of my brother and his choice to be married and sealed in the temple. I know I am very proud of my brother and I am always looking up to him. He is a great example to us all! Thanks Sam and good luck with your marriage!!

Below is a picture of all my brothers and sisters and my mom. I love this picture! We truly are an eternal family and I love knowing that!

Mckenna was a sport and lasted throughout the entire, long day of wedding events. She only took about a 20 min nap in Chris' arms and was still wide awake into the evening. She looked really cute in her new dress for the wedding. She was full of energy the whole day! Can't complain too much when she has smiles like this at the end of the day!!

Overall it was a great weekend. We got to stay with Chris' sister Nicole and that was fun too. We don't get to see her too much. Mckenna had a lot of fun being with her Auntie Nicole again! Thanks again Nicole!!

So this Monday started my spring break from school! Yay! I wanted to do something fun with Chris that day since he works pretty much every day and Monday he had the day off. We decided to go hiking. The weather has been so nice and it was a perfect day to be outside. Mckenna loved it too. Stephen, Chris' brother, came with us too. We had a great time. Here are some pictures from our hike to "Fat Man's Misery."

Steve, Mckenna, Me, and Chris

Peek-A-Boo Mckenna!!!.......

What a big girl...

2009-03-09T14:40:00.003-06:00

It really amazes me how fast kids grow up! Mckenna doesn't seem like she should already be this big, but she is really growing up!! She (and I) got this trike for Christmas from Chris. He just barely found time to put it together. Mckenna absolutely loves riding her new bike. She asks to ride it all the time. The great thing about this trike is that I can push and steer her. It is perfect for both of us! We love it and it is going to be a perfect thing to have around for spring walks!!

Another thing Mckenna absolutely loves doing is drawing or coloring! She actually does pretty well too, meaning she hasn't colored on the walls or herself lately! (Hope it stays that way!) It is nice that she enjoys coloring because when I'm doing my homework, I can usualy get out a paper and colored pencils for her and it entertains her for a little while! Our little artist in the making!!

Mckenna also likes to help make cookies!! Does it get any better!! I was very impressed that she actually helped out so well. She knew what she was doing. She didn't even eat any of the cookie dough!!

She knew just what to do with the rolling pin. It was so cute. Glad to have a little helper around the kitchen!!

So....Does anyone else believe in getting an early start on child labor?? =D She also does windows, laundry, and sweeps!!! This is what I've been waiting for!!! Tehehe

Cute pictures of our little girl...

2009-02-06T20:55:00.003-07:00

I took some really cute pictures of Mckenna today. I thought they were cute enough to share, so enjoy!! =D She loves, loves, loves, LOVES phones!! We have tried play ones, but she is smart enough to know the difference most of the time.

I love the one of her in front of the window. She was posing for me in front of the camera. It was so cute!

Okay...let me explain the following pictures. Mckenna discovered a while ago that she could fit into our side cubbards in our kitchen. They have lazy susans in them. We had to pull all of the food and other cooking items that were once in them out because daily I was having to pick up everything. Well the other night Chris and I were watchign tv and Mckenna was playing on the floor. After a couple of minutes, we realized that she had wandered into the kitchen. We heard a wimpering noise. Chris ran into the kitchen and found Mckenna like this.... She managed to climb onto the top shelf of the lazy susan and she couldn't get down. It was hilarious!! She is one funny child. Another funny thing about these cubbards is that she will go in them on her own and shut the door. For some reason, she likes being inside them, by herself, in the dark. It is so funny. So whenever we can't find her, we end up looking in our cubbards and usually can find her there!! =D

She wasn't too happy about not being able to get down off the shelf by herself!

Silly child! Oh and like the hair....right in her eyes like most days!! It's getting really long and she doesn't always like hairties or clippies in it. Oh well...she is still cute and we love her!!

School, School, and more School!!!

2009-02-04T19:47:00.003-07:00

Well it has been a long time since I posted. Let me list the main reasons..... school, school, and more school!! School is very busy and takes a lot of my free time. But I'm finally on the downhill slope and can almost see the finish line. This is my last full semester before student teaching in the fall. I am SOOOO excited to finally be almost done! It has been a fun ride and I am enjoying the time I get to spend with my many friends I have made in my cohort! They are truely becoming life-long friends and it will be sad when the day comes when we have to say goodbye.

Other than school, Chris stays very busy with work. He is assistant manager now. And I stay busy with Mckenna. She is now 16 months old. She has so much energy I don't know how to keep up with her sometimes. She definately has her own little personality. She has started throwing the bigget tantrums and fits. It is actually at times funny to watch. I know that is sad and mean to say but there is some truth to it. When she throws tantrums she throws things that are in her path and throws her head around so hard. She actually slams it into the tile floor a few times. It is sad. She gets so out of control. All Chris and I can do is stand back and watch. I am hopeing this is just a phase that she will out grow. Hopefully that turns out to be the case. I don't want her to knock herself out by hitting her head on the tile or anything. Oh well...kids will be kids I suppose!!!

My new toy....

2009-01-06T20:18:00.002-07:00

Chris and I were out shopping New Year's day. We went to Roberts and they were having a sale on their Cricut machines!! Chris was looking around and quickly became sold on one because of the great package deal they were having that day! (and I was pretty happy too =D) So...I am the happy owner of a Cricut Expresion now!! I have been having fun playing around with it. I'm excited for all the possibilities it has! I have finished one project already using vynal letters. I made us a wall board for our living room saying families are forever. It is really cute.
So, One project down....???? more to go!!! =D

Thanks Chris for the great New Years/early graduation present!! I love it!!

Our eventful Christmas...

2009-01-01T16:03:00.005-07:00

Christmas this year for us was spent in Moab with my family! It was a very fun and eventful week full of laugher and tears. This was the first Christmas without my Dad. It was at times tough on us all, but if you know my family, you know that those tears were usually always followed up by laughter. My family is great and I love them all so very much. It was so good to be with them this Christmas.

Here is my mom with her two grandbabies, Mckenna and Addison! They both had a great time seeing their grandma!

Mckenna and Addison absolutely look like cousins. Look at their eyes...they are too similar!! They are so darn cute together! They had so much fun playing with one another. They are alomst a year apart exactly and they just get along so well. It is so fun to watch them together!

One of the days we were in Moab, we went up to Dead Horse Point State Park. My uncle is the head park ranger up there. He is getting ready to retire, so we all went up there for one last complimentary entrance into the beautiful park! The scenery is absolutely amazing! We loved it!!

Another one of the days we all geared up and went to the mountains to go sledding! It was fun. Mckenna was a trooper and toughed out the cold for a little while. It was really fun, but really cold too!
Here are my two sisters, Geneava and Sarah, with Mckenna in the car heading out to go sledding....all bundled up! =D

For Christmas this year, my mom got Mckenna a new baby with a stroller. She had gotten one similar for her birthday back in September but managed to climb in it (kind of like she is doing below) and broke it. We had to take it back to Costco and they didn't have anymore to exchange it for. So, she got this new one for Christmas. It is a little bigger and a little more stable for her play with...especially since her favorite thing to do right now with it is climb in it herself and sit in it! She is a funny little girl!!

Here she is with her baby doll and her stroller. She figured out how to put her baby doll in it but it didn't last long. Sitting in it herself was much more comfortable!!

Mckenna learned very quickly this year about how fun opening presents could be! She had fun opening all of her presents. Here she is with one of her new cute outfits she got for Christmas. Like her facial expressions?? =D She seems excited!!

Here is Sarah with Mckenna and Addison in their pajamas Christmas morning! Notice behind them at the long row of stockings....there are 15 of them!! Got to love those big families!!!

Christmas eve, the two girls were very much entertained by a cardboard box! Their nice uncles played with them in this box for like an hour pushing them and pulling them! It was so funny! Why did we spend money on toys again??? Kids are funny!!

Thanks everyone for the great Christmas gifts this year. We have been so blessed, not only with temperal things but spiritually as well. I know that family is the greatest gift we can have and I am ever grateful for mine. We have all become so much closer this year. I know that in our greatest weakness, the Lord provides us all with opportunities to grow and become stronger. My family is a testament to that. We have all pulled together and have united as one. We all share the common goal to become a stronger, more united family this new year, 2009. It is something that is a priority for us all and I know that it is one of the most important things we can do in this life here on Earth. Family is key to Heavenly Father's plan. I am so thankful for my family and for the opportunity for us to all be together forever. I know that the goal of a eternal family is the ultimate goal for my family. My dad taught us of the importance of this and now that he is waiting for us on the other side, I know that as a family we will do nothing less of being worthy to be with him again!

Mckenna LOVES snow!!

2008-12-18T21:42:00.003-07:00

It has been so cold lately and it finally snowed! I have been waiting for it to actually storm and have the snow stick so that we (mainly Mckenna) could go play in it. Today we woke up to 3-4 inches of beautiful white snow! I love it!! Mckenna loved it too. She really liked eating it. I kept trying to get her to eat the clean, white snow but as kids will be kids I'm sure she had her fill of dirty snow today!! Oh well!!!

While we were out, Mckenna helped me build a snowman (just her size of course!!). She loved it. She was giving it hugs and kisses too. It was so cute. It was funny because I couuldn't find any sticks to make the arms with so I went inside and got 2 plastic spoons and then put some of Mckenna's extra gloves on the spoons for hands. Well, smart little Mckenna knew that there was spoons under the gloves and took the gloves off, picked out the spoons, and then started eating the snowman with the spoon. It was seriously so funny. She makes me laugh!! I love her so much. She makes life so much better!!! =D

We picked up new boots for Mckenna today too. She didn't really have anything to play in the snow in so the closest I could find was some really cute pink with white polka dot rain boots. They were too cute to pass up and they kept her feet dry and warm so it was worth it!! All and all it was a fun, cold, snow filled day!!

Leaves & Christmas Projects!

2008-12-14T22:33:00.011-07:00

We have been busy and with that comes fun family holiday memories and fun Christmas projects!

Lets start with the fun memories.... Mckenna & Leaves!!

This weekend was really cold. Last night the leaves finally fell off of our tree in the front yard. Chris piled up the leaves for Mckenna to play in. It was sure cute watching her reaction to all the leaves. She was so cute all bundled up too. We're happy it is finally getting chilly here!

Next...Christmas Projects!

1st - Christmas Pajamas...

This year my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law had the great idea of making matching Christmas pajamas for all the grandkids. I made Mckenna's pair of pj's. They turned out absolutely adorable! The bottoms are made with the cutest christmas fabric of little green frogs with santa hats! We put a frog on their shirts too! They turned out really cute!

2nd - Nativity Blocks...

So, my sister-in-law (yes the same one with the great idea of making the pajamas!! =D) Missy, found this idea on the internet. We both just fell in love with the idea of making nativity blocks that your kids can actually play with. They turned out really cute. Mckenna actually loves playing with them already. I look forward to the day when I can actually teach her about the special meaning behind the blocks. It turned out to be a really great Christmas project!!

Putting up the Christmas Tree...

2008-11-30T19:40:00.003-07:00

Mckenna loved helping put up out Christmas decorations. She helped put up our tree at our house and then helped out again at her Grandma Debbie's. We would tell her to go get a decoration and hang it on the tree and that exactly what she did. (the first time around anyways!! her next favorite game was taking the decorations off the tree and then put it back on the tree. She does this a lot now! =D)

She loves looking at the Christmas decorations. Any time she sees any Christmas decorations or lights she says "pretty!" It's really cute watching how the simple joys of Christmas really do light up a child's eyes!
We went to the Christmas lighting at the temple Friday night and Mckenna seemed to really be enjoying it! =) She slept the entire time. She was very warm and cozy. I don't blame her. It was chilly.

Pine Valley

2008-11-10T19:07:00.003-07:00

Today we went up to Pine Valley because there was a storm in the mountains. We wanted to see if there was any snow to play around in. We didn't find too much snow to play in really, but we found the storm! By the time we drove up there we met rain and sleet and then finally it started snowing. =) The snowflakes were really big and beautiful!

It was really pretty too, cold, but pretty! We also saw some deer right off the road. Mckenna loved seeing them out her window. She even tried saying, "deer!" It was cute. She also liked slushing around in the wet snow on the dock of the lake.

All and all, it was a fun afternoon spent together as a family! Hopefully we can go back soon and actually play in the snow!

Pigtails and the Backyard!

2008-11-08T12:06:00.003-07:00

I decided to try something new with Mckenna's hair today....PIGTAILS!! Her hair is getting pretty long in the back and so I tried it and it turned out really cute! I think she looks more grown up, like a little girl, not so much a baby. =( I guess babies have to grow up sometime...huh?!

After we got ready, I let Mckenna play in the backyard. She LOVES being outside! We were both enjoying the warm sunshine.

She found one of Chris's tools and decided to play with it! She likes playing with things she normally isn't allowed to. She was having fun banging the screwdriver on everything she could. It was cute!

It was fun outside until Mckenna found an earthworm on the ground and tried to eat it! Yuck! That didn't sit to well with me, so we came back inside!! Oh well...it was fun while it lasted!

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-28T20:39:00.003-06:00

Don't you just love our cute little cow?? Mckenna loves her costume this year. She is really cute when she puts it on. We are excited for this Halloween because she is old enough to sort of enjoy what she is doing! (whether she understands why her mommy is putting a silly costume on her is another story!! =D) It's fun for mom and dad nonetheless! Chris is especially excited about trick-or-treating this year....yummy candy and Mckenna is still too little to eat most of it! He loves that part of Halloween!! ;D

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween Week!!

Corn Maze

2008-10-17T12:20:00.002-06:00

Now that I have a minute to myself, I can catch up on what has been going on with our family. My whole family came down to visit the first weekend in October. They came for a triple-birthday party for Mckenna, Chris, and Jacob. They also came since it was Conference Weekend. We had so much fun together. It was the first time we had all been together since dad's funeral. It was nice to be together again. One of the evenings they were down, we all went to the corn maze. It was fun spending quality time together. I know for me, it was much needed quality time together!

Mckenna had a fun time thinking she could do the maze all by herself! What an independent little girl!! Oh, and we didn't even plan her wearing overalls. But, she looked cute and fit right in!!

Mckenna had a great time with her cousin, Addison, too!! They don't get to see each other and play together very often, so it was really cute watching them together this weekend. They would constantly give each other hugs and kisses. It was so sweet!

Mckenna Missing Grandma Debbie

2008-10-01T15:52:00.002-06:00

Okay so this is one of the funniest things Mckenna has done so far. The other day we were watching some home videos on our TV. There was one part on the video in particular where Mckenna was playing with her Grandma Debbie (Chris' mom). They were playing with a ball and Mckenna was laughing so cute. I had Chris film it so we could "capture the moment!"

Well while we were watching it, Mckenna saw her grandma on the TV. (Well...if any of you know about Grandma Debbie and the way she is with her grandkids, you will know that her grandkids are VERY much attatched to her and always want her.) Well, when Mckenna saw her on the video she ran right up to the TV and started reaching for her and then she started to cry. It was so cute and funny and a little sad too. She wanted her grandma so bad!! She was literaly distraught the rest of the night because she could see her grandma, but she couldn't reach her
As hard as she tried, she couldn't figure out where grandma was. Even after we turned the video off, she was still crying and reaching for the TV. I'm sure it was confusing to her that she could see her but she couldn't find her to give her a hug

After about ten minutes or so of crying for her grandma, we gave her a bottle and she finally fell asleep. She was so worn out from wanting her grandma. It was pretty cute and funny! She just missed her Grandma Debbie!

Look Mom.....I can feed myself!

2008-09-27T12:16:00.003-06:00

Today for lunch I was going to give Mckenna some butternut squash to eat. She normally doesn't like eating jarred baby food, but I was trying to get her to eat what we had in our pantry. Well after about 2 bites from me feeding her, she decided that I wasn't doing a good enough job. So she took the spoon and the jar from me and when to town! She loved feeding herself. She actually ate most of it too. I thought she was just going to play with it. She made a fun little mess and had fun doing it!!

My baby girl is ONE!!

2008-09-19T11:23:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was Mckenna's 1st birthday. We had a fun little party for her. She had a good time. She loved eating her cake. She was a little shy at first but dug right in after she tasted that delicious pink frosting. (her cousins helped her eat her cake too. You'll see Caleb in some of the video eating her cake right next to her. It was funny!)

Thanks to all who came to her party. She got a lot of cute clothes and toys. Chris and I gave her a baby set that had a stroller, car seat, and bassinet. She LOVES it. She loves taking her baby on walks in the stroller. It amazes me how naturally it comes to her to love and care for a baby. She will carry the car seat around and rock her baby too. It is so cute.

It's a very bittersweet thing for your baby girl to turn one. I just am having a hard time actually believing that Mckenna is already one. It just seems like yesterday I was holding her in my arms in the hospital. Time sure does fly by. Now I understand the old cliche that kids grow up too fast. It is definitely true. We love our baby girl and although she is one now, she is still her mommy and daddy's baby girl!

Enjoy the video of her birthday!!

Mckenna's Birthday Party

2008-09-16T21:49:00.003-06:00

Mckenna is turning 1 this Thursday, September 18th! If you want to make it to her birthday party, you are welcome to come. It is at the Pine Valley Townhome Clubhouse at 6pm. It's hard to believe she is already 1! Hope to see you there!!

Yay......I passed!!!

2008-08-30T12:35:00.003-06:00

At the end of July I took the Elementary Education PRAXIS test. I fianally received my results after a long wait yesterday. I am happy and thrilled to say that I PASSED!!!

I was really nervous to open the envelope. Probably because if I didn't pass I'd have to pay a lot more money to take it again and then all of this stress cycle would have started all over again. But now that I have passed I don't have to worry about it anymore!! YAY!! One more thing to cross off of my checklist!!

Time for school already???

2008-08-27T16:08:00.003-06:00

Well today was my first day back at school. It is my 2nd semester into the Elementary Education program at Dixie State College. (only 2 more to go!! Yay!) I really am liking it so far. It's hard to believe that summer is already over and school is starting back up. Summer went by too fast but it was one to remember! So far this school semester seems like it's going to be pretty good. I am going to be working at Bloomington Elementary this semester. It seems like a fun school so I am excited. I'm in a 5th grade class so that should be a good experience for me.

I'm especially grateful for family while I am going to school. They are my life savors when it comes to babysitting Mckenna. I was really worried about who was going to watch her this semester. Mckenna's aunt Nicole (Chris' sister) used to watch her on Wednesdays, but she recently got married and moved up to Salt Lake so I was out a babysitter and was really worried about what we were going to do. Luckily my prayers were answered and Jenna (another one of Mckenna's aunts) was able to fix her work schedule so that she was available to watch Mckenna every Wednesday morning! (Thanks again Jenna!!) So everything has worked out! Chris watches Mckenna Monday mornings and Grandma Debbie watches her on Tuesdays. It is so nice and such a comforting feeling for a mom to know her baby is in good hands while she is gone to school. If is wasn't for family being close and able to help I don't know what we would do. The Lord has blessed our little family that is for sure!

Sunsets in Paradise!

2008-08-15T11:12:00.003-06:00

While we were in Hawaii we saw some of the most beautiful sunsets. Here are just some of the awesome pictures we took on our trip. Enjoy!

Tattoos and the Polynesian Cultural Center

2008-08-14T15:14:00.006-06:00

We had a great time on our family vacation in Hawaii. It was a great trip with my family. We all had such a great time. Great family memories were made that's for sure. Here are some of the pictures from our trip.

This is taken at the Polynesian Cultural Center at our Luau. That was one of the biggest highlights of our trip. We had a very great authentic Hawaiian experience there!! I loved the fresh flower leis they gave us there. Too bad they didn't last long enough for us to bring them home with us.

Sarah, Geneava, Mckenna and I all got the same ankle tattoo at the Fiji exhibit. We learned that tattoos are very popular and important in different Polynesian cultures. We thought we could use a little culture in our lives!! =)

Here is Mckenna's tattoo up close!

Chris, Stephen, and Leonard were like the 3 amigos on our trip. They had to get matching tattoos too. Very tough guys!!

The Polynesian Cultural Center was very awesome.One of the best exhibits was the Tahiti exhibit. I think Chris and Steven especially liked this one because their dad went to Tahiti on his mission. The show they put on was awesome. The girls can shake their hips like 100 times a min. They are very quick movers and it looks awesome when they dance to the drums. We liked watching them dance a lot.

Mckenna loved it when we were nice and let her out of the stroller. She loves walking and especially loves the somewhat freedom that comes from it. She managed to find a lot of huge leaves to pick up and thought that was about the coolest thing. Oh well....At least she wasn't screaming!!

We are in HAWAII!!!

2008-08-09T13:41:00.004-06:00

We are on our family vacation this week in Hawaii!! Chris, Mckenna, myself and Chris's brother, Stephen, all came out with my family. We are staing with my uncle right outside of Laie on the North Shore of Oahu, just about 100 yds from the beach and just a couple miles from the Temple. It is so beautiful here and we are having so much fun.

This picture was taken at Polynesian Cultural Center. We had just gotten done eating at our luau. The PCC is so awesome. We have lots of fun pictures and video from there. Anyways....Here is just a quick family picture and we'll post more pictures after we get back.

Playing outside

2008-07-28T20:50:00.006-06:00

Since Mckenna has started walking, a whole new world has opened up to her...including the rock pile outside our townhome. Tonight, we were outside playing and she realized that she could walk over there and pick up rocks. But the fun didn't stop there, she found it even more fun to lick every rock she picked up....Yum Yum (I guess!). I guess kids will be kids. And I guess I can't blame her too much because her mommy used to eat red Moab dirt. So I guess Mckenna's cravings are just coming a little earlier in life!!

Another favorite thing Mckenna loves is eating GoGurts! She loves being independent and eating them while walking. It's cute and most of the time an outside activity because of the mess she usually makes!

We bought these sunglasses for Mckenna from Target. They were on clearance and somehow mommy snuck them into the cart when daddy wasn't looking. (Sorry again Chris! =D) But anyways...Mckenna plays peek-a-boo with them. It's really cute! Guess they turned out being a good buy after all!

Yay...My test is over!

2008-07-28T19:23:00.002-06:00

Saturday morning I took my big PRAXIS test (with many, many other poor souls!!). It is good to have it done with. Hopefully all my random studying paid off and I passed. I will find out in about 4 weeks, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It feels good to have that behind me, and now I can focus on packing for Hawaii! We're so excited. We leave next Monday for a week of fun in the sun!! We are going with my side of the family. It is going to be partly in celebration of Chris and my 2nd anniversary as well as my 23rd birthday! (which is tomorrow!!! YAY!) Hopefully Mckenna likes the plane ride over there and back....mom and dad are a little worried about containing her for like 6 hours in one spot. She is too mobile and doesn't like to be contained by anyone or anything so we are keeping our fingers crossed about that too!! If anyone has any traveling tips for traveling with an always-on-the-go baby, let us know!!

Fun in the Sun!!

2008-07-19T21:41:00.003-06:00

While Sarah has been down staying with us for a while, we've been trying to think up new and fun things to do to both keep Mckenna entertained while also providing us with a little relief from the St. George summer sun.

The other day we decided to go to one of the parks down here and play in their little splash pad they have there. Mckenna really enjoyed it! She loved walking around and splashing in the water. She also loved playing with the other kids that were there. She would say "tids" and point at them playing and then walk up to the other kids and babies there and try to give them hugs or just play with them. It was really cute.
Mckenna enjoyed the fact that she could walk around all by herself too! (and so did mom!!)

Mom and Mckenna playing in the water!

Mckenna (and Mom!) have enjoyed having Aunt Sarah down to play with. Here they are together at the splash pad....I think Mckenna wasn't exactly liking being held. These days she much rather likes being independent and walking on her own...something Sarah had to learn really quickly since she has been down!!

It was a fun summer day!!! We had a lot of fun! It will definitely be something we do again!!

Mckenna...walking AND talking!!!

2008-07-15T21:50:00.003-06:00

Mckenna started really walking last week. She figured out that she could walk from the TV stand to the couch and it has been nothing but more and more walking ever since. It's hard to believe that she is old enough to be walking!

This week Mckenna will turn 10 months old! WOW! Time sure does seem to fly by! This week Sarah is also staying with us. She is having a lot of fun with Mckenna and keeping me company as well. We are all having fun being girls!!

Mckenna also started trying to say a lot more words too. Not only does she say mom and dad, she started saying ball and kids too! This is a video of her playing with her new favorite toy (thanks to Addison having the same toy!! =) She loves playing with the balls and now she says ball too!! It's way cute! She also is taking steps in the video as well! (Thats especially for you Grandma!!) So, Enjoy!!!

Family Pictures

2008-07-11T19:06:00.000-06:00

I just barely uploaded the pictures from off of my camera from the past couple trips to Moab. I think that these family pictures we took turned out really good. These two pictures were taken the night of Leonard's high school graduation. The one below is the last picture I have with my dad. What a special picture and memory for me! That was a really great time for my whole family. It was the last time we were all together as a family with my dad. I am so glad we took pictures when we were all together. Life is unexpected and it turned out being the last family pictures we have with my dad. What a special blessing to have these pictures. It was a special day that I'm sure we will all remember forever!

This next picture was taken the day of my dad's funeral. As sad of a day it was, it was such a blessing to have my whole family together once again. We have spent a lot of quality time together since my dad became sick. I think our family has grown so much stronger during these past few months. I am so thankful for the blessing of family in my life. Even though my dad is gone, I know that our family will be ok. We have been blessed so much since his passing and continue to be blessed. His legacy really does live on through our family. I know we all will miss him dearly and love him so much. The knowledge we have of eternal families really does bring us comfort at a time like this. I am so happy to have that knowledge and to know that I will see my dad again one day and that my family will be together forever! What better blessing could a family have?

Yay! We have a blog page finally!

2008-07-07T12:35:00.000-06:00

So I was just reading Rebecca's blog and I decided to finally set up a blog page for me and Chris. I have wanted to do it for a long time so I'm happy to say we finally did it!! Now i can post pictures of Mckenna for everyone to see. She is growing up so fast. She is already 9 months old! She has started taking steps and is getting into EVERYTHING!! It's hard to keep my eye on her all the time. She crawls about 90 miles an hour too. She is a quick little girl! (Guess she has some Francis genes in her after all! =D)Chris is busy with work right now. He still works for Sierra Communications as a contractor for Baja Broadband. He installs cable and internet. He likes his job and actually might be taking over as the manager here in St. George. He was offered that job and also one in Fort Worth, TX. I am kind of hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that he gets the one here instead of Texas. Texas is just too far away right now. But we'll see what happens.

As far as me, I am busy right now just being a mom. I'm on summer break from school right now, so I'm soaking up the sun and also Mckenna!! We go swimming a lot and just play around the house. Mckenna loves the swimming pool. She is a little water baby, just like her mom was!! I'm also studying right now to take my PRAXIS test. It's at the end of this month. I'll be happy when that is over. I start school back up in August. I only have 3 semesters left in the Elementary Education program at Dixie. I'm excited to be done and actually start teaching.

Anyways...life is good here in sunny St. George. We like it here and will, well should, be here for a little while!!