Kennady's Birthday

Kennady turned three years old on Tuesday.  For the first time she was able to celebrate her birthday with relatives.  My sister blessed her baby on Sunday in Rigby so the kids and I stayed at my mom and dad's until Tuesday. Jake was on call and couldn't make it for my sister's baby blessing but was able to come for Kennady's birthday.

Kennady posing with her Tinkerbell cake

Kenna eating her B-day cake...or should I say eating her frosting!

Brooke and the best babysitter in the world..my sis Angie

Tyler enjoying the grub

The next few pics are of the kids feeding my sisters baby lambs

  

Hello Wyoming!!

After weeks of packing and hours of driving we have survived our move to Afton, WY. It is so pretty here with all of the mountains around us. Our first day here we were unloading our moving truck and three deer came strolling down our street. Not only do we see deer coming down our road but we also see tons of motorcycles and 4-wheelers cruising around. In fact, it is more common to see them coming down the road than vehicles.

We ended up renting an older home in town and it should do just fine for a year or so. The kids seem to enjoy living here so far and spend a lot of their time trying to coax our next door neighbors horse to come over so they can feed him grass.

Good-bye Kansas

With only a few more days left in Kansas, I have been thinking about what I am going to miss and not miss when we move.

I will miss....

1) kansas critters and wildlife(toads, lightning bugs, cardinals, turtles)

2) having Panera Bread, Famous Daves and Target just a hop, skip and a jump away. 

3) The Legends at Kansas City (outlet shopping)

4) ward members and friends

5) hearing our Stake President(Sterling Knapp) speak. He is unbelievable.

I will not miss....

1) severe weather(thunderstorms that make your house shake, baseball sized hail storms, and F4 tornadoes).

2) humidity

3) having to drive long distances to visit family, stake centers and temples.

4) the color purple being everywhere, on everything and everyone. GO WILDCATS!!!! yeah

5) being deprived of mountains and the outdoor activities that come along with them.

Little Miss Chatterbox!

For the past couple of weeks, Kennady has constantly been asking me if we can call Jake so she can talk to him. When she talks to Jake on the phone she is such a little chatterbox!  I have to practically pry the phone from her so I can have a turn.   It is so fun to watch and hear her talk to him. I just had to share some little videos of  their phone conversations.  We miss our Daddio!

Our new lawnmower

                                  

 Jake left on Monday to start his job in Afton which leaves me responsible for holding down the fort here. I have been a little concerned about being a single mom for a few weeks.  Especially because within the next few weeks I need to pack and at the same time keep our house and yard "show worthy".  Our grass grows so fast here because of all the rain so I should be mowing it at least every week. Today I found a solution to keeping our lawn mowed.  Instead of breaking my back, I'll just let our dog, Polly, take care of it. Haha!

11 years and counting

Yesterday Jake and I celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner and a movie.  I can't believe that it has been 11 years since we tied the knot.  It seems just like yesterday that I was sitting on the couch at my apartment at BYU waiting to see what kind of guy could get two of my roommates so excited. These roommates were sisters from Ohio and they knew Jake because he served his mission in Columbus, Ohio.   Jake was coming to check out UVSC and stopped by for a visit.  When he showed up at our apartment I could immediately see what all the fuss was about.  Jake made a great first impression on me simply because he was a good looking "hat boy".  All of you roommates may recall my weakness for guys who would wear ball caps. (I know, pretty shallow) I must have also made some kind of good impression because after a couple of apartment visits he asked me out. Our first date was a double date with his cousin, Matt and one of my roommates. We had lots of fun bowling and then afterwards got some ice cream at "The Malt Shoppe".  

We dated for about 2 months before Jake proposed to me in my pj's, at my house, on Christmas morning. I was so surprised when Jake unexpectedly showed up and even more surprised when he pulled out a ring.  Having him there with me for Christmas and being engaged was the best present ever.  We were engaged for 4 months, during my last semester at BYU.  One week I was taking finals and the next week I was heading back home to be married in the Idaho Falls temple.  I am so thankful that I met Jake and that we have been able to grow together these past 11 years. 

Easter

On Saturday I put together our traditional little treasure hunt for the kids to find their easter presents.  This year was a little different because this time Brooke could read her own clues and Jake helped Kennady, so I was able to just sit back and enjoy watching them scramble around the house and yard.  

Here they are before they took off to find their first clue. 

Jake helping Kennady with her clues. 

Tyler checking out his "treasures"

The "bunny bubbles" were a favorite.

On Sunday we invited our neighbors over for dinner, colored easter eggs and had an egg hunt inside the house since the weather was not cooperating. It rained almost all day.