These Girls CRACK ME UP!!

Chicken Dance anyone?


***THIS VIDEO MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AUDIENCES. PARENTAL GUIDANCE IS ENCOURAGED***
Shake it BABY Shake it!

Going a bit Stir Crazy!!

Although I love to watch the snow falling outside my window this Christmas season, I NEED to GET OUT! Unfortunaltely, everything shuts down in Oregon with this kind of weather. Church has been cancelled two weeks in a row. It feels weird. So today the girls and I walked down the street to there Grandparents-in-Law's house, Aunt Chelle's Mom and Dad's. They have a BEAUTIFUL Husky dog and it was needing someone to play with her out in the snow. So I volunteered my children. We attempted a few things: Snow ball fight (it was either sheets of ice or powder that were thrown, since the snow wasn't the best for snowballs), Making SnowAngels, that didn't really work either, cause of the ice on top, but we had fun trying. We "buried" Kylie in the Snow/Ice. That was fun. And we attempted to make an igloo. Thanks Avery and Lois for the fun!

SNOW...Before Christmas...in Oregon??

I Love the SNOW! My kids have had so much fun this week. (except for maybe Kenlsey, since she STILL refuses to walk I don't really want her crawling in the snow, so her play time is limited) We finally got enough good snow today to make a somewhat descent Snowman. So guess what...we finally got our boy. Here he is...I think we'll call him Jack. It's only appropriate that since Jack is surrounded by girls that he have a PINK scarf. But we did manage to find him a manly looking hat. I think he's quite handsome!
Sorry about my lack of blogging. But...'tis the season of being busy...FaLaLaLaLalalalala
We just moved this past month and I'm still trying to get organized and do all the Christmas stuff. Unfortunately, somethings have to go, so...no Christmas cards this year. Sorry. Consider this my merry Christmas to all my blogging buddies.
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
WE LOVE YOU GUYS!

PERFECT!!

(My first Turkey ever! I don't like cooking with raw meat...and since it still had a shape to it, I almost lost it a few times while trying to prep the turkey. GROSS! And Chris wasn't there to help me. I didn't even think I'd be able to eat it when it was done. But I did. I survived!!)

Here is my Blog Toast! (pretend you all have your glasses raised to the air) My toast, to a near perfect Thanksgiving HOliday. On Thanksgiving we had dinner at Jeff and Michelle's house. The food was wonderful, the kids were good and we laughed and had a great time. It really was soo relaxing! Thanks Jeff and Michelle for hosting! (sorry I don't have any pictures from this)
On Friday, we had Thanksgiving with my family. My brother Ryan came up with his wife and foster child (who is so stinkin cute!) from Arizona. They came over in the morning, and just minutes after they got there, My Brother Derek and his family of 6 surprised us! They drove in from Utah and didn't tell a soul that they were coming. It was awesome. I got to have Thanksgiving with 6 of my 8 brothers and sister, and my mom. It was sooo much fun to have that much family there especially unexpectedly. Thanks Derek and Deb!! I love my family. It's nice to just relax and be dorks with my bros and sis. And it was real fun singing Christmas songs while my sis-in-law played the piano. The only thing missing was my other two brothers and my Dad. Wished you were here! Thanks for the awesome memories. It's always fun to reminisce and to create more crazy memories!

*Singing Christmas Carols*

Ryan and Jerome

Me, Kevin, Derek, Ryan, Bryce, Mom & Jenny!!I'm not sure how well my couch is holding up after this picture, with half of us actually sitting on the couch! This is my family, minus 9 people. I don't think we've ever had a picture like this taken! What a crazy group!

Giving Thanks!

Tis' the Season of showing Gratitude, and since there are too many to just say one time around the Thanksgiving dinner table, I thought I would add a few here on my blog.
Here are a list of things I'm grateful for in no particular order:
* My Heavenly Father - I love him so much! & My Savior Jesus Christ
* The Holy Ghost to help guide me and keep my on the Straight & Narrow
* My Mom and Dad. I lOVE YOU!
* My Best friend and Eternal Companion! I LOVE YOU FOREVER!!
* My Four incredible Girls. I Thank God for you Everyday!
* All of my Crazy Brothers. You guys are awesome.
* My Sister. I got lucky to have you in my family! You're the best.
* My Brother-in-laws. Thanks for all that you guys do. I love you.
* My Sister-in-laws. You guys are just like sisters to me! I'm so blessed to have such an awesome family.
* MY AWESOME AWESOME FRIENDS. How can one person be so lucky to have so many INCREDIBLE FRIENDS??
Sara, Bonnie, Trishelle, Michelle, Kim, Melanie, Sarah, Dani...the list goes on. I hope you guys now how much I love you and feel so blessed to have you so close!

There's lots of little things I'm thankful for too. But The most important is the above mentioned. My heart is so full of Gratitude this year for so many wonderful things. Thanks to all my friends and family Where would I be with out you?
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!123

TWILIGHT!!!

DISCLAIMER***********************IF YOU DON"T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE TWILIGHT MOVIE...DON"T CONTINUE READING. ALL I'M GIVING IS MY OPINION...
After reading the first Twilight book, I knew that there was no way they could make the movie even close to how good the book was. I went to the midnight showing and all I have to say is...

CRASH AND BURN!!!!!!!!!

I won't go into to detail, but if you want to talk about it...call me! If you are trying to save money, here is a great opportunity to do so. Wait for the rental.
Sorry.

A Womans Weekend Out

This weekend, I got to get away for a little while, with some of my FAVORITE Women! My Mom and Sister and I went to Time Out for Women. We rented a room at the Crown Plaza Hotel by the convention center. It was really nice! Time Out for Women, was awesome. Friday night was basically a concert with some amazing musicians. One was from the Country group Diamond Rio, another has written songs for many singers, including Jessica Simpson and Shedaisy. They were really good. Saturday we got to hear a lot from Kenneth Cope. I love his music. I use to listen to him all through High School and his music has always touched my heart. That was no exception this weekend. The speakers were inspired and I needed the messages they sent out. Plus some were HILARIOUS! I feel spiritually Refreshed! I love to be able to do these things at least once a year. Rejuvenate my spirit and lift my soul. And having it so close to General Conference, made the spiritual experience that much better.
HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE WOMEN! My Mom, Sister Jenny, and my second family growing up. The HAWKINS GIRLS! (I missed you Angie)

Kim, Kenneth Cope & Me!!

Jason Deere!

A Special Note to Kim

I have been very lucky in my life. Lucky that I can look back in the past and in the present and see that I have always had good, no GREAT, INCREDIBLE FriENdS in my LIFE! Recently I have been able to spend a lot more time with a very special friend. Kim has always been one of the most caring people I have ever known. Not to mention forgiving. I could tell you stories, and you would fall in love with her, just like have. She has always been a strength to me, a beam of light, and a true friend. The more I've been around her lately, the more I love her. We have shared some tears together. Kim, your strength is amazing. Your willingness to do what's right and better yourself is amazing. I will love you forever! My ETERNAL FRIEND!
Here's some pics from our weekend at Time Out for Women. (It was a little crazy!)

FAMILY HOME EVENING - Part II

If you remember my post about Family Home Evening, a few posts back, this will make a little bit more sense to you. Kami is HiLAriOUs I must say. We were getting ready to do FHE and Kami came up to me and asked if she could do a "show" For FHE. Sure! So after we started, she ran to her room and came back with a dog carrier of stuff. (Kami doesn't usually get up in front of people to do things like this, even if it's just our family.) She pulled out one item at a time (just like Kylie did) and asked us what it was. There was a belt, candle, headband, monkey, one shoe and goggles. So we raised our hands and "guessed" the item. When we were right, which was everytime, she would just say "YEP!" and move on. Then when she was all done she made us close our eyes while she "got ready". When we opened our eyes, this is what we saw! I still can't stop laughing! There was no real point, but it was funny and she was trying to be big, like Kylie!

QUACK QUACK...HAHAHAHAHA...QUACK QUACK...HAHAHAHAHA!!

Sorry, the video's not very good, it was on my cell phone. But Kensley was so cute feeding the ducks! We come her every Tuesday while Kylie & Cassidy are at piano lessons. I wish my phone would have recorded a little longer, her laugh was so cute.

My GREAT PUMPKINS

Our small pumpkins and MY CUTE Pumpkins!!
Cassidy and her friend Audra

Ummm...Mom?...I think this pumpkin is a little too heavy!?!

Diaper Cake

My sister and I made our first diaper cake for our nieces baby shower!

Cute little twins!

Our friends Brad and Susan Conger came over for dinner with their 6 week old twins, Brady and Beth. This isn't the best picture, but they are so dang cute!

Kensley found something to do with all those extra socks!!!

Kenlsey has found a new hobby. Climb inside the sock basket, and throw them all out!

TAG!!! You're IT!

I was tagged! Six weird and random things about me!

The rules are:

* Link to the person who tagged you (adventuresofthedomesticengineer.blogspot.com )
* Post the rules on your blog
* Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
* Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

Weird things about myself, in no particular order:

1. I will NOT EVER blow my nose in PUBLIC!! I think that snot is the grossest thing. And for those of you who do it at the dinner table???...STOP!!! How are we suppose to eat knowing that ALL THAT SLIMY GROSS GREEN CRAP is being SPEWED OUT YOUR NOSE! THe sound alone makes me wan't to vomit.
2. I don't eat shredded coconut because it reminds of chewing on TOENAILS!! (not that I have chewed on them, but that's what I think it would be like)
3. Cutting raw meat GROSSES me OUT!!! (I just cut 30lbs of chicken-blah-)
4. I LOVE making up songs with my girls. If you were ever a fly on the wall in my house while Kami and I are home together...we are quite the musical!!
5. I love having my foot CRACKED! Right in the middle! I can't relax till Chris gives it a good crack.
6. I grew up with 6 brothers and I had to clean their Bathroom. GROSS. Snot everyWHERE!!! (maybe that's where my complete disgust in snot comes from.)

Was that Too Much Information?

TAG!!! You're IT!

1. Bonnie
2. Sara
3. Jen
4. Trishelle
5. Michelle
6. Kim

FAmILy hOMe EvENinG

I have to say that FHE has been so awesome with my girls at this age. It's rare that they want US to plan a lesson,because they like to do it all themselves. On Monday, Chris had the lesson plan. It was on how to save money (mainly by keeping lights off and using less water,etc.) and how the girls could help! Well before we even started, Kylie had said that she had planned something for FHE too, so we needed to save some time for her. Chris let her go first, and though she has taught us many a FHE Lessons, I have to say this was the best ever! She brought a gift bag to the Kitchen table, full of secret stuff. One at a time she pulled out a random item and asked "What does this item represent in the gospel?" I was immediately impressed. She started with a candle. The other girls gave their answers and then Kylie talked about how it represents the light of Christ, and now matter how dark it is just that little bit of light helps. Then she pulled out matches and asked what they represent. She said that in order to have that light we need to have something else (the matches) and we talked about what those things would be...Holy Ghost...Keeping the Commandments...Scriptures...etc. Then she lit the candle, turned off the lights and finished pulling other objects out of the bag. She ended with 4 words that she found on blocks around the house. Faith, Hope, Charity, and JOY. It was so awesome. We could have skipped Chris' lesson (no offense Chris) but we didn't. Both lessons were needed. Kylie is such a blessing in our home and such a great teacher to me and her Sisters! She is wonderful BIGGEST SISTER. WE LOVE YOU KYLIE!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENSLEY DEAR!

Kensley turned ONE on Sept. 19th but I wanted to have her one year old picture back before I did my blog.
It has been so much fun to watch her grow the first year of her life. She is definitely Chris' child. Not only does she look like her Daddy, but she is just as social as he is. Where ever we go, she HAS to say "HI" to everyone. And she has since she was 8 months old. I love it. There's no way that I can be shy when I have her with me out in public. Here's just a few of her accomplishments of her first year:
Smiling (always my favorite)
POOping regularly - I know it's kinda gross, but in the beginning when they're going about 8 days without pooping, you're grateful when they get regular-
Cooing
Sitting
Crawling
Clapping
Dancing
LAUGHING
Saying: HI - MOM - DAD - Kylie - BYE - Kitty - Tickle - Go get it (although not very clear) -
Hot - and my least favorite...nonono
Sign language for PLEASE and ALL DONE
Blowing kisses & waving
All of these things I love to watch her learn.
Now...if we could just get her to walk so she will stop eating things off the floor, (like CAPRENTER ANTS!! remember that post? Gross...if you didn't see it, go to the beginning of my blog, it's a gross one)
KENLSEY, I LOVE YOU and my life would not be complete with out you in it. You complete our family, like the cherry on top of an ice cream sunday! You are the sweetest baby and always SO HAPPY! May Heavenly Father continue to bless you as you grow in this life. I know he has blessed me by letting me be your Mother! 123 Always

Kensley JoLee 1 month old

1 year old

What Do You Do With ALL Those SoCKs?!

I don't know a bout you, but one of my biggest pet peeves in life are all of those mIS-MaTChed SoCKs! In our house, we have a sock basket. Anything that doesn't have a match at the time of folding goes into this basket and...maybe...one day we'll sit down and TRY to bring them back together again..the poor lonely socks. Well yesterday was Chris' lucky day as HE got to play MATCH MAKER! I think this was his first experience with my pet peeve. (now I think it's one of his as well) I must say it was very entertaining to listen to him will "completeing" this project. (really matching socks is never complete is it?) At the end of his soCK matching...he had a "brilliant" idea as to what to do with the left overs...No, those are not casts, just layers upon layers of...You guessed it...SoCKs!!!

My Husband is the BEST!

Chris surprised me a couple of weekends ago. He called me up during the day and said we're going out tonight! I've got a babysitter all lined up. So with out a clue as to what we were doing, I was really excited and tried hard to figure it out. Well, I couldn't. At 6pm our friends, the Rusts, showed up and we were off. We drove around NE Portland so I was getting a little nervous. We pull up along a sidewalk and a park? Maybe? It was hard to tell..I wasn't quite sure and even a little more scared. We get out of the car and the guys went to the trunk and pulled out a picnic dinner and blankets. We walked up a very slight incline( just steep enough to hide the park from the road) and I was speechless. As we walked in the "park", there were thousands of roses. It was absolutely gorgeous! And in the middle of the roses was a beautiful fountain. We walked in and had dinner. The night was PERFECT! I felt like I was 19 again! I waited too long to get pictures of the roses, but here we are at the end of the night in front of the fountain.
Thanks Babe for a simple, yet so so perfect of an evening. I Loved every minute of it. And I can't wait to take the girls there!
I LoVe YOu!

Maybe the WORLD should be on LaUGhiNg gAs!!

Uncle Sterling...This is for you!
Kylie while getting a shot of novocain.

I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO GET ALL THE STUFF OFF MY CELL PHONE!

Baby Bono

Dad...I PROMISE I'LL STOP CRYING!!!

Fairview celebrated their 100 Birthday this summer and Cassidy and Kami went rock climbing on the rock wall they brought in!!


Cassidy on the Velcro wall

Primary Program

So I got Kami all ready for her 1st Primary Program. She ran in to her bedroom after I fixed her hair and came out wearing these big ol' sunglasses!

Back to School...Back to School

Kylie and Cassidy still love each other! So much so, that they still want to dress alike on the first day of school! I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I would of thought by now they would have grown out of that. But I don't mind one bit!




Our exchange student left today. Back home to Japan! Kami went with Chris to take Tetsuki to the airport and Kensley is sleeping and I'm loving it!










Kensley's not just good...she's GRAPE!!

More Pics from OMSI

At OMSI they have a big metal ball that you put your hand on and someone else spins the wheel. Static electricity...isn't it marvelous? If only I had a can of hairspray so I could keep it that way...