HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE PAUL

Happy Birthday Uncle Paul. We love you and hope you have a great day!!

ThAnKsGiViNg

Our Thanksgiving this year was far from the Traditional Thanksgiving. Owen obviously had to work the night of, so I was not in the mood to make a huge dinner for the three of us. So I instead made...Sweet and Sour Chicken, Egg Rolls, and Ham Fried Rice and of course a Pumpkin Pie. It was super yummy and we loved every minute of it.

This year has been so wonderful for us! We have many things to be THANKFUL for.

-I am so thankful for Kendyllee and Owen in my life. THEY ARE MY LIFE!!

-For our HEALTH AND WELLNESS!!

-Kendyllee and I are so thankful that Owen and all the sacrifices he makes for us.

-I am thankful for our Eternal Family, and the gospel in our lives.

-I am thankful for the wonderful families we both have and for their love.

-I am thankful for all the friends we have and the examples they have been to us.

-I am thankful for our ward and the wonderful caring people.

-I am thankful for my calling in Young Womens.

-I am thankful for the roof over our heads and the food in our tummies.

-I am thankful for the challenges Our Heavenly Father has given us this last year.

-I am thankful for the opportunities those challenges have given us to grow.

-I am thankful for Kendyllee's smile and at the same time her tantrums, because they help me to appreciate those smiles.

-I am thankful for the safety in which we had this last year during our travels.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.

Go Flicka Go!!

Kendyllee has really become to love and ride Little Flicka a lot lately!! She is now able to climb on and off of her and loves every minute of it. Thanks dad for this wonderful gift for Kendyllee!!

18 MoNtHs oLd AnD pOtTy TrAiNiNg

Here is the latest adventure we have started with Kendyllee. One night when Owen was putting Kendyllee in the tub, he thought he would see what she would do if he put her on the big girl potty! Here are the pictures! I will let you decide if she liked it or not!!

She has also turned 18 months old! I just have one question for all of you!! WHERE DID OUR BABY GIRL GO??? We are amazed at her every day and the things she does! She is such a character and makes us laugh and smile so much every day!!

She loves the toilet paper!! Notice it is sitting on the counter and not on the roll!
"CHEESE"

This is for you! You know who you are!
These next two videos are the funniest videos yet!! She is talking so much and you will learn her new favorite word!! Prepare to laugh your buns off!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE LUKEY!!!

Happy Birthday to Uncle Lukey today!! We love and miss you and hope you have a great day!! Here are some of the recent pics I have of Lukey!!

Here, Tyson and Luke are trying to get the Frisbee out of the tree that Luke threw it in!

Love it!

Tea Party Anyone?

This is the tea set that the Ives gave Kendyllee for Christmas!! She loves it so much!! She plays with it everyday and loves it when Owen and I play with her. Sorry the pics are so blurry, is is very hard to get this girly to sit still!

Thanks Aaron, Heidi, Christopher and Gabriel for the wonderful gift!!

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!

For those of you who know Owen are not surprised by this post at all. This is the normal for us. He loves Christmas and has been asking for snow for months now. This year will be very fun for all of us. We are so excited to see Kendyllee Christmas morning (if we wait that long). Kendyllee loved decorating the tree this year. We let her decorate the bottom part of it.

She loves these two ornaments! They are a man and woman gingerbread couple. She stills loves to take them off and then put them back on over and over again.

She was very picky with the placements of her ornaments!!

The finished product!! The front is very empty!

The back and look how many ornaments there are in one small spot. Owen and I decided that we are not going to redo her decorating!!

VACATION RUNDOWN. GET COMFY!!

We had a great time on our vacation, but man was it stressful!! We had planned to leave home at 9am on Friday the 30th. But that almost did not happen, which was bad because we had pest control spraying our house for bugs at 9am. Owen was late getting off of work, so I was bustin my buns to get everything ready so when he got home all he had to do was change his clothes and eat breakfast and we would be on the road. Well the Pest Control showed up 15 minutes early. UGH!! So I explained to him that I was waiting for my husband to get home and then we would be out of his hair. He was really nice and decided to start spraying outside the house first. Owen was home a few minutes later and we were out the door by 9:05!! Not bad considering the crazy start we had. After gassing up, on the road we went. I had told Owen that I would drive the first part or until the roads got bad, which ever one comes first, so he could sleep! Well the roads were great and by the time we hit half way, Owen was still tired, so we made a deal. Ok, I made the deal with him. I would drive the entire way, but then he could drive to Boise and then from Boise to Colorado as well. He never really agreed with me, but I wanted to hold him to it anyway!! The drive was long and boring for me. Kendyllee did very well until we were driving thru Idaho Falls. She became very cranky and wanted out of her chair. Which I did not blame her, I wanted out of mine too. So Owen hooked up the portable dvd player and put in Shrek. It was like magic. She was so mesmerized by it. She sat in the same position the rest of the way and I am not sure if she even blinked. It was so cute. She almost looked like a statue.

By the time we arrived in Rexburg, it was 5:30. So we went to Jensen's house and had some dinner then unloaded our car. Kendyllee and I went to bed early and Owen stayed up and chatted with his dad for awhile.

On Halloween we had a great fun filled day. Owen carved Kendyllee's pumpkin, we went to Rigby to see Paul and Jodie's new house. It is so gorgeous!! Then back to Jensen's for some lunch and then to take our pics at the Gardens at the college. After that we went to the nursing home to see my Grandma and Grandpa! It was rough seeing my Grandpa like that. I don't think he knew who I was at first, but I stood really close to him, and told him who I was and then I think the remembered. We talked for a few minutes before he went back to sleep. Kendyllee showed off for Grandma and had fun playing with her. We left there and went to Grandma Keppner's and Aunt Fern's house to trick r treat them. From there we went to my parents house for a fast dinner and then onto the Trunk R Treat with mom, dad, Tyson, Mandy and Brooklinn. I have never had so much fun on Halloween!! I loved seeing Kendyllee go from car to car. It was really cold, so we tried to hurry. We were back to Jensen's and had Kendyllee in bed by 8:00.

The rest of the vaca time in Rexburg, was pretty normal. Visiting family and spending some time with friends. Kendyllee was starting to become sick so we basically just hung out the rest of the time.

We did do something on this vacation that we have never done before. WE BOUGHT A CAR! I know, I know!! Not something you normally do on vacaction!! Well, you will read all about it in a later post! The crappy thing about that was...now we have 2 cars to drive to Boise and then home. So now I have to drive the rest of the way any way!! I told Owen that I knew he would go to extreme measures, but I never thought he would go this extreme.

On the way to Boise we stopped off in Hansen to see TJ and Mandy and their kids. We had a great time with them. Kendyllee had a blast destroying Sam's room and then dragging all the toys into the living room. It was nice to see them and visit for awhile!!

Our time in Boise was fun. We did a Session at the Boise Temple with Aaron and Heidi on Thursday morning, after we celebrated Christmas!! We also had the opportunity to meet our new renters. I am so excited to have them in our house!! They seem very nice and the house looks great!! We spent some time with Luke! By this time Kendyllee had had the diarrhea for 3 1/2 days, she had developed a very bad diaper rash that had turned into a yeast infection. Not fun for her. So since she was not feeling very well so we canceled most of the plans we had (including watching the BSU game :( ) and our date with Aaron and Heidi and no kids. Instead Heidi and I went and bought some Panda Express and then came back to the house and the 4 of us ate a wonderful dinner and played cards.

Our drive home was a drive from you know where!! We had planned on leaving Monday morning between 5 and 5:30. That did not happen for either of us. We woke up at 4:45 and Kendyllee had a fever. I told Owen to go ahead and go because he had to be back for work. I was going to come when Kendyllee felt better, either later that day or in a couple days!! So he showered and was ready by 5:45, so out the door he went with out Kendyllee and I, but with the dogs. So by 9:00 Kendyllee was feeling better, so I decided to hurry, get ready and get on my way. It is a 10 hour drive with a few stops. So I knew my day was going to be torture. I wanted

to drive the entire thing that day, but knew it was going to be hard, with just me and Kendyllee. I left at 9:45 and Kendyllee slept until Burley. This was my first stop because we were both hungry. She would not eat anything but crackers and drank a small amount of water. We were on the road again. By the time we hit Tremonton, I thought I was going to loose my mind. Kendyllee was screaming in the back seat and had a fever. She still would not drink anything and the movie had lost it's touch!! So I called my mom and she called Aunt Sharon. She was home and said we could stop. So we did at 2:45. She looked Kendyllee over and listened to her lungs and she said that it was not in her lungs! We tried to get her to eat many different things, the only thing she would eat was still saltine crackers. I was hoping to leave their house by 3:30, but then realized that if I did that I would be stuck in traffic!! So I thought it would be better to stay a little longer and have to drive in the dark than to sit in Salt Lake City traffic with a sick 18 month old. I ended up leaving at 5:30. It was dark before I even got to Salt Lake!! (For those of you that do not know, I HATE DRIVING IN THE DARK!!!) I hurried as fast as I could in the Car Pool Lane. Which helped out a ton with all the traffic!! I love that lane!! The only time I stopped was in Spanish Fork for Gas, a large Dr. Pepper and more drugs for Kendyllee. I was so scared to drive thru the Canyon and Soldier Summit in the dark and with only one head light!! Yep that's right. When leaving Reynold and Sharon's house I realized one of my dim light was burned out!! By this time, I was scared to ask what else could go wrong!! So I didn't!! I just bit my lip, said a prayer and began the hour long drive thru the curvy, windey roads of the the canyon!! I called Owen when I was a the top of the canyon and in tears . I asked him to say a prayer for us and he did, which made me feel SO MUCH BETTER!!! When I made it thru the canyon and was in Price, I called Owen again and told him I was going to rent a motel and drive the remaining 2 hours in the morning!! He said just what I thought he would say..Just come home tonight!! So I did. I talked to my mom the rest of the way, which was so nice. It kept me awake and aware of my surroundings. I was going faster than I normally go on those roads and was busy watching for those shiny eyes on the side of the road. I was now on a mission to get this sick little girl in my back seat home to her daddy, her bed and a bath with a popcycle. So that is what I did!! I hustled my buns home and we made it a little after 10 pm that night!! Talk about a very, very long day!! But we made it and I was happy to be home!!

THE END

Christmas with the Ives

Just like last year when we visited the Ives after Halloween, we celebrated CHRISTMAS with them. It is so fun to have them put up their tree so early. She is always so nervous of what people are going to say if they see it. So at night, I love to turn off the house lights, turn on the tree lights and open her curtains and blinds!!

It was so much fun to watch the kids open and play with their gifts. They got Kendyllee a Beauty and the Beast tea set, which is a total hit with all of the kids, and a super cute hot pink beanie and mitten set. They gave Owen and charger for his XBOX 360 controllers and they gave me a box of pampering stuff...fingernail polish, hot chocolate, flannel pants, some slippers, and this really cool Tinkerbell watch with lip gloss in it!!

We gave the boys a set of cowboy accessories and a set of policemen accessories!! And then Aaron and Heidi each got a afghan that I made for them. I also made them all matching BSU Scarves so they can be super supportive of the Blue and Orange! (GO BSU!!)

Here is a pic of what happened a lot while we were there. Kendyllee putting a BIG OL' SMACKER ON THE LIPS of Christopher!! She loves him and she loves to kiss him. My goodness, I thought we were going to have to have a talk with her.

Sporting the scarves!

Kendyllee loved opening her gifts!!

She pulled some of the funniest faces!

Thanks for the wonderful time while we were there. Love and miss ya tons!

Happy Birthday Cousin Ashton

Happy Birthday to Cousin Ashton. He turned 7 on the 8th of November. We stopped on our way to Boise and visited him and his family. We hope he had a great day with everyone!!

New Car

While we were in Rexburg, we decided to buy a car. Ever since Owen was rear-ended in July, his Grand Prix has been having all sorts of issues. He will turn on his heater in the morning as he is leaving work and his lights will go off. We are just having all sorts of issues with it. And it is much cheaper to buy a car in Idaho than in Colorado. Since we still have residency in Idaho because of our house, we did it. We drove 5 cars and this is the one we both liked. It is a 2008 Nissan Altima. It drives very differently than any other car we have had, but a good different. The gas mileage is awesome!! And it is very comfy!! I am sure that some of you are amazed that Owen would buy a black car and I gotta tell ya, I was too. He really likes it and that is what matters!!

Girls Lunch at Applebees

I was so excited to be able to go to lunch with my friend Cami and her two girls. We ate at Applebees and had a great time. I always do when I am with her. We had a very interesting lunch. The poor waitress we had!! I felt so sorry for her. She came over to the table 4 or 5 times before Cami and I had stopped talking long enough to decide on what we wanted to eat. Then the girls were so hungry that I asked her if she could bring us some crackers. While Cami and I were just a jabbering away, Kendyllee wet thru her diaper and all of her clothes. So she ended up wearing her socks, diaper, jacket and my jacket out of the restaurant. But we still had such a great lunch.

I am so blessed to have her as a friend. We have been thru thick and thin together and I always feel so uplifted after spending time with her. Love ya Cami! Thanks for the great lunch!!

Little Taylor

Raimee and Kendyllee
Such wonderful girls!!

I had to put this one one here because of Raimee's face!!

This hood is TOO small!!

My mom make this coat for Kendyllee for part of her Christmas this year. I really wanted it with a hood, because Kendyllee will not keep any kind of hat on her head for any reason. It looked super cute, but then we got it on her and the hood was way to small. It made the rest of the coat not fit right and she was so cramped in her car seat. Doesn't she looked just thrilled!!

See how the coat is pulled up way to high above her waist! When we got back to the house, mom took the hood off and now it fits wonderfully.

Thanks for the coat mom!! We love it!

Visiting Uncle Gervace

I was happy to be able to go the cemetary and put some flowers on Gervace's head stone. I also wanted Kendyllee to have some more pics taken by her Uncle Gervace. These pictures are very special to me.

I love this one because both of his neice's were looking at him.

Chillin with Taytum at G & G Jensen's

One night while we were staying at G & G Jensen's house Taytum spent the night. The two girls had lots of fun playing with each other. I love this picture because I look at it and see Owen and Paul sitting there!! What lucky daddys to have such cute girlies!!

Taytum was having fun popping all of Grandma's bubble wrap for her decorations she was switching.