Oh No- The BIG 3-0!

Ahhhh, I can't believe I'm 30. Where has life gone? I'm not sure why it is so hard for us to turn 30 but it seems that way for everyone. I still think turning 25 was harder for some odd reason, but 30 was difficult too. I think it was one of the best birthdays yet! My friend Kendal came into town from Idaho and another friend, Katy, came in from Arizona. We celebrated on the 24th. Kevin threw a big party for me... 80's style. He put so much work into it, to make it the best. I am so proud! In the morning me and Kendal and Kenz were hanging out, trying to get our outfits together for the night and Katy came over. It was just like when we were in high school again, talking, laughing, and telling old stories and new. It was fun to show Mckenzee that when you find good friends growing up, you keep them and how fun it is when you get together again. Then we met Kevin at my party, he had been there all day. It was so fun. There was a band, Bunches of Fives, and lots of good food. Kevin decorated in of course Pink, and also green. There was popular 80's candy that decorated the tables, rubics cubes, and even an old school nintendo! Everyone was dressed 80's, which was so fun, and there was a fabulous 80's back drop for pictures. I loved it and had the best time ever! It was like totally out of this world! Seriously, I have the best husband ever, the greatest friends, and an awesome family. I can't wait to see what this 30th year brings.

Our October

October just seamed to fly by this year. It's gong way to fast. I am just not ready for it to almost be Christmas. Here's a few things we did.....

Mckenzee was invited to a birthday party. They had to try and have the biggest, craziest hair and they were going to be judged. Mckenzee came in 2nd, but I think she was gipped! The girl that won just stuck a bottle in her hair. At least Mckenzee's, I thought, was original and creative.

My friend, Kendal, came into town to celebrate our birthdays. Her birthday is the 24, and mine is the 28. She flew in from Idaho on the 22 and got to stay until the 26. It was fun to see her and celebrate our birthdays. We celebrated like it was 1980! We had a birthday lunch on Monday, thanks to my wonderful mother.

Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year. We love decorating the house and watching Nightmare before Christmas. I just hate that it usually means the weather starts cooling down, the time change is around the corner and so is Christmas. At school, Mckenzee entered into the pumpkin carving contest! Mckenzee found the idea and we all worked together, for FHE, to make her pumpkin. She came in 2nd and again, we feel gipped. Oh well, she loved the way it turned out and it was fun making it. We made the whole class cookies and Halloween skewers and her teachers and staff got a cute little treat also.

(Mckenzee's Pumpkin)

(Gift for the teachers)

(Close up)

A few posts in one.....

Mckenzee is back at Cumorah again this year. YAY! I love it! She was not nervous at all to go this year and she was happy to see some of her friends from last year. We just love it there and we are so thankful we are able to have Mckenzee go there again this year. She is doing well and loves it. She made AB Honor Roll again. I am the Box Top Coordinator and I am also over the Shop for Schools through Fresh and Easy.

(1st day of school)

( Kenz's locker)

The on September 4th our friend passed away. Devon Anderson. We are sure going to miss him! He was such a fun person, he always made you smile. Bye Dev, we love ya!

On September 4th we left for a family reunion in Salt Lake. We carpooled with my parents to save gas and it always makes traveling that much more fun. We stopped in St George and ate at Wendy's. Then all of a sudden when we were almost to Beaver my heart started racing, I felt like I was going to pass out, my tongue felt like it was swelling, and I started shaking and felt short of breath. Then my left arm felt like it was going numb. HOLY CRAP! So Kevin stopped at the Hospital in Beaver. They gave me fluids, a chest x-ray, EKG, Took Blood, and just monitored me. They released me a couple hours later and we finished our drive to Salt Lake. I was pretty much not feeling well the whole weekend. I couldn't eat! Sunday I felt pretty good. Then on Monday, I could barely stand up straight. It was pretty bad. On Tuesday I went to the Centennial ER. Nice hospital, clean. That was a plus. I went in for pain in my chest, short or breath, feeling like I was going to pass out again. UGH! They gave me an EKG, took my blood again, CAT Scan, Breathing treatment. Then on Friday I had a Dr appointment, Monday Dr appointment, Friday Dr appointment. Followed by more blood work, another EKG, an Echocardiogram, Treadmill Stress test, Halter- Monitor, more doctor appointments, a visit to the Cardiologist and now I have to take 2 different medicines and the Cardiologist says I will never feel 100% unless I have surgery. WOOHOO! and all before I turn 30!. I am feeling better but not 100%. Some good things that have come from this are I have lost 15 pounds and I am continuing to lose weight, my eating habits have changed to healthier, no soda, little sweets because all of a sudden I don't crave sugar, and I quit bitting my nails. The diagnosis.... I have SVT- Super Ventricular Tachycardia, my organs are all good, heart is good, lungs are good.

Mckenzee turned 12 this year in September. I can't believe I have a 12 year old. Her favorite present, I think was from Uncle Travis. Kevin and I took her to breakfast on the way to school for her birthday. She got to wear her birthday outfit to school. On your birthday you get free dress. She now gets to go to young womens and loves it. She has made a ton of friends. I do think it helps that she was able to go to camp this year. What a spiritual experience. I was lucky enough to be able to be with her for her 1st year of camp. I was the assistant camp director. We both had a blast. Mckenzee didn't want to come back home! I am so happy she loved it and made

so many friends there.

(From Uncle Travis)

(Playing Volleyball for Young Womens)

(At Camp)

( The Leaders at Camp)

A get away from the court battles.........

After working for a year straight and no days off, Kevin needed a vacation. Since this summer was so horrible for me also, we decided we should plan a family vacation. After all, we were finally starting to get caught up after residency and we have never been on a vacation before. Then I get hit with court drama. We went to court 4 times in a matter of 1.5 months! Lots of fun! The outcome..... we both get Mckenzee an equal amount of hours and he still has to pay child support and he has to pay for 1/2 of her 1st year at Cumorah. AH, We were so tired of all the drama we just had to go. So Kevin found us a really good deal to go to Disney World, except Mckenzee's dad wouldn't let her go, he actually kept he from me for 3 weeks straight..... ask me how that is legal? Anyway so in that time Kevin and I decided that we just had to go. I am so glad that we got to go. We needed it and had so much fun together.

After our fabulous vacation, we came back home to find out that Kevin would no longer be working for IMS. We were shocked, and Kevin was pretty sad about it. ME--- I was so thankful and relieved. I am so happy to report that he is now working for IMA (Internal Medicine Associates) and he is so much happier. Miracles happen in mysterious ways. This truly was a huge blessing, just trying to remind Kevin of that was somewhat difficult.

Concert Overload

This July Kevin, the awesome father he is, surprised Kenz with not 1, not 2, but 3 concerts two of which were Jonas Brothers.

The first concert was on the 4th of July, Stadium of Fire in Provo, Ut. Mckenzee and I got to have a little Mother Daughter trip to see the Jo Bros. Since it was on the 4th, Kevin, Kenz, and I did a couple fireworks on the 3rd. I love family time. Kenz and I had so much fun on our short trip to Utah and I loved spending the time with her.

Fireworks on the 3rd

Stadium of Fire

When we got home from Utah, Kevin surprised us with tickets to see Demi Lovato. Opening for her was David Archuletta, so that was fun. Kevin actually went with so, so that made it even better. She actually had quit a few songs and she was really good. David was pretty good also. We all had so much fun.

At the Demi Lovato Concert

Then the Jonas Brothers came to Vegas on the 2009 Burning Up Tour. We had really good tickets, we were on the floor, by the stage. Kenz was really excited to see her boys up close. Jordin Sparks opened for their concert. We didn't really like her that much, we pretty much only knew 2 songs, so that's when we went and got a drink. Still was a fun night!

Wedding Food......Yumm!

I can't believe this was in June! Remember when I posted that me and my friend wanted to start catering, well this is some of the food that we did for my sister-n-law's wedding. We had 2 apps- Bruschetta and Mediterranean Skewers. We had a Mixed Green Salad, Herb-crusted Chicken, Mustard-Crusted Steak, Fresh Fruit, Roasted Vegetable Medley, and Rolls. We made a berry punch and a fruit water that had orange, pineapple, and lemon. It sure was delicious. Every one said they loved it. So yay! I also made the cake. I wasn't that happy with how it turned out, but it had very specific instructions. With that in mind, it turned out how they wanted it and it tasted good. It was white cake,with buttercream, fondant, and custard in the middle. I wish I would have been able to enjoy the wedding, family and friends, but I pretty much was running back and forth from the kitchen. At least everyone enjoyed it!

And so I finally updated the neglected blog!

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted anything about us. I was looking through all my pictures and realized I haven't posted anything since around Mother's Day. Oye Vay! I will try and make this short and sweet, hopefully!

Mother's Day was so great. Mckenzee is always very thoughtful and I always wake up to a fabulous breakfast and this year she did not disappoint. I think she will one day make a fabulous chef. I know that is not what she wants to be but at least I know she will be able to survive on her own and I will never have to worry about her taking care of a family.

Then my wonderful hubby made me a delicious dinner.... my favorite Steak! I was very spoiled!

In May I won a drawing at Mckenzee's school carnival. We won 4 tickets to see the Lion King. So on June 1st we went to see the Lion King at Mandalay Bay. Mckenzee brought her cute little friend Isabelle with us. Her mom was nice enough to let her come on a school night, which I am very thankful, Mckenzee loved having her with us. We had pizza for dinner and on the way home we stopped by McDonald's for an ice cream. The Lion King was so good. I hope I get to see it again sometime. Our seats were center stage, not quit front row, but not too far back from that.

Mckenzee ended the school year very well. She made A-B Honor Roll, and received 4 other awards. We were very proud of her and glad she is loving school.

Our pool turned green the minute it got hot outside. Since this is the first pool for both Kevin

and I we had no idea you had to shock it every week. I'm glad it was cleared up the next day. I of course got the duty of cleaning all the equipment, at least it wasn't hard to do. I'm glad we learned of that at the beginning of the summer. I will never do that again.

Finally.... my mom and I got the great idea that we would buy my brother and his wife some pictures for their new apartment. They didn't have any pictures of themselves to make "their home". So put somethings together and while my sister-n-law was out we went and decorated their family room wall. It took longer than we thought it was going to, but I think it turned out pretty good. She loved it and so did my brother! YAY!

I know......

I know I am in need of a serious update. I promise I will work on it this week. Sorry I am being a slacker!

Just a little FYI............

Me and my friend from culinary school, Jihad (pictured on left), want to start catering. It has been long enough.... I need to put my culinary skills and education to use. If you need an event catered keep us in mind and let me know.

The John Report.......

As many of you know my uncle, John, has been in the hospital. He has a carepage that my awesome aunt updates everyday with pictures and all. Here is the link for all of you that are curious. It's easier to post the link than to repeat the story. Thanks
www.carepages.com/carepages/Johnsleyspage

Cheap Photographer!

I just wanted to let everyone know that if you are thinking about having your pictures done this year you should use Marianne. She babysat Mckenzee when she was a baby, and was in my home ward growing up. Anyhow, She is really cheap and is running a special. Her price is $30.00 for up to 6 people and over 6 is $45.00 and a CD of your pictures is included. However if you book within 2 weeks after 4/12/09 you get 30% off your shoot. The catch is that you have to send a deposit to her now and book for September or later. She is moving back to Vegas then. You would only be paying $21.00 for a family of 6, so your deposit would only be $10.50. You can't find a better deal than that. If you want to check out her style her website is http://marianneblackhamphotography.com/ or you can e-mail her at july4th85@gmail.com to set a date.

Happy Birthday Brandon

Today my little brother turned 27. I am such a lucky sister to have such a great brother. He is like a big teddy bear, he gives great hugs when I need them, he is very protective, he is hilarious and is always making me laugh, he is always there for me if I need help, and he is a very hard worker. I am glad Mckenzee could have such a great uncle.

When we were growing up we would fist fight like no other, he would threaten to stab me with forks, and he was quite the pyro, but at the end of the day I was happy to have him. He was the brother that when I was scared he would come sleep on my floor. I love him! I was always jealous of girls who had sisters, but I wouldn't change having my brother for anything. Those girls should be jealous of the brother I have. Brandon, you are the best and I appreciate you so much.

I love you and I hope you had fun today.

April Fool's!

If I had to say it, April Fool's is Mckenzee's third favorite celebrated day. She loves to play jokes especially on me. I think it's funny what people think up.

On the 1st I received an email around 12 noon. The subject line said "Something has happened to your daugther." When I opened it, it was a scanned copy of this letter. It reads:

Hi this is Bobb speaking if you are reading this ha ha ha because I will be stealing your child after 3:00pm at school so you better make sure you have at least 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 dollars to get her back Mwowahahahahaha better call her after school wait you can't cause she doesn't have a phone. Bobb

So I text her saying:
Don't leave your teacher's classroom or go straight to the office and find Mr. Fisher. I am coming to get you. I am trying to hurry! I just got a ransom note from some Bob guy. I might be late because I am trying to get money from my bank. Please just go to the office or stay with Mrs. Roper. PLEASE! I love you! I thought I was getting her back but she didn't even get the text. When she called me later that day I had to tell her all that.

She was trying to give me a heart attack, I think.

Playing catch up.........AGAIN!

I feel like I am always behind on my blogging. The months are going so quick I can barely keep it all straight. Some things we did this month include:


Mckenzee had a Field Trip at Lake Mead and I got to chaperon. It was beautiful. The lake was like glass. The students were Geologists for the day. We rode on a house boat, had lunch, and hiked up a mountain. It made for a great day.


During Reading Week the kids had to cress up like different things. One day was Workout Day. I thought Mckenzee was the cutest.



My dad turned 53 this month. I would say it was one his favorite Birthday ever. He got his dream motorcycle. Kevin says, " I don't think I have ever seen him this happy or smiling this much before". Let's just say he has not had a bad day since and we really love that for him. That night we went out for his birthday dinner. Crab legs at Green Valley Ranch ..............mmmmm.



Vegas had Extreme Make Over Home Edition. Since it was close to the house we liked to drive by and check on the progress. It was fun seeing Ty Pennington and the others. The scooter came is handy going in and out of that neighborhood. On the last day we happened to get there right after they moved the bus. We got to see Ty take the family into the house. It was fun to go. The house is pretty interesting and sticks out horribly. It will be fun to watch the episode, it will show on May 10th.


Day 3


Day 4


Day 4

My cousin, Kylan, left for the MTC on the 25th. He will be serving his mission in Japan for the next 2 years. We are going to miss him, but know he is needed there and he is going to be a great missionary.

My cousin Aryann had her baby girl, Hope, on the 30th. She is a cutie. My aunt, Cheree had her baby also. A beautiful little boy, Reese, and I am loving him to pieces. I just about see him everyday. He was born on the 28th. He is quite possibly the hairiest baby I have ever seen!


Hope


Reese

Kevin got his official Board Certification Letter in the mail. I am so proud of him and I love him crazy.

I won on the radio, AGAIN! This time I won 2 concert tickets for 3 Doors Down. It's Friday April 3. I can't wait.

I am still loving that I get to stay home. Now that I am getting use to it, I have more time for fun things, my house, meeting after meeting, and most of all the fam and that makes it all worth it!