Kensie's Birthday dinner...

Kensie wanted a princess party this year and Chicken Noodles for dinner.  Everyone came to eat and celebrate before the city light parade.

 

Kensie's Loot

G&G Jarrett- Coat and Money

G&G Smith- clothes, Merida Doll, leapster games

Newtons-Build a bear money and pencil toppers

Chris and Jakoye- Loving family dancing girl

Chad & Jessica- Merida pollypocket 

Mom and Dad- Princess Desk

 

 

 

Daddy's girl hates being the center of attention...

Thanksgiving 2012...

This year we enjoyed our turkey with the Smith family.  The meal was fabulous and then Jakoye had some fun crafts for the kids.  We relaxed for a while before heading down to the farm.  My mom had gingerbread houses for the kids and Grandpa jumped right in on the action.  He was being a little serious about it and scared poor Halle when he told her to take her hands off his candy.  He was only kidding, but got a concerned look from Halle.  I gave up on Black Friday shopping a few years ago, but after getting the kids to bed that night I got looking over the ads and noticed that ShopKo was have a good sale on luggage.  The next thing I knew me and Nikki were standing in line.  The sale started at 10:30pm and we actually made good time getting in and out.  I was pumped about my deal and I saved over $200.  I still have no desire to go on Friday.

 

Kensie's 5th birthday...

This little princess turned 5 today.  She is turning into such the ham and always keeps us laughing. 

A few things she has been doing lately.

 

One morning I was cleaning and saw Kensie getting into the tape.  I didn't think anything about it until that night when Casey was having trouble turning on the light switch.  After further investigation he noticed all the light switches had been taped down.  Kensie was actually watching from a distance and burst out laughing.

 

Anytime she doesn't want to do something she claims her legs hurt and she's "tirer".

 

She has to sleep with her door closed and if anyone is being too loud she yells to play the quiet game.

 

She has a swearing problem and says "Damn" frequently.  We are working on getting her to stop.  It's a little embarrassing when she yells it out at Cael during sacrament meeting.

 

She's sassy and likes to think she knows it all.

 

She loves to sing and I catch her performing in the mirror often.

 

For weeks she had been helping Aunt "Nin" get ready for her craft show.  She found a box of snack ziplocks and started drawing pictures and cutting them up into piece.  When I asked what she was doing she told me she was going to sell them 2 for a "dollwer".

 

Her favorite thing to do is crawl in my bed and watch a movie.

 

The poor thing is so clumsy and is constantly tipping things over.  I'm hoping gymnastics helps with her coordination.

 

We love you Baby Girl!

RAD Kids...

Rad kids is a program that the kid complete every two years of elementary.  It is designed to give kids the confidence and no how to protect themselves and family of danger.  They go through drugs, being safe with cleaning supplies, calling 911, what to do in case of a fire in your home, and protecting themselves from being kidnapped.  During the graduation they had to show off their defensive skills on the "lobster".  Some of the kids were really aggressive, especially the girls, and fought to get free from the kidnapper.  I think its a great program and I'm glad went through the training.

 

Snow Day...

It Snowed today and the kids couldn't wait to get outside.  In the summer our neighbors hauled in a bunch of dirt and it made the perfect sledding hill.  I loved having it in our back yard and it kept the kids entertained for hours.  We have plans to put our retaining wall in next year so the hill probably won't be there next year so hopefully we can get enough snow to use it often.

 

 

Zion's 2012

We spent our 10th wedding anniversary in Zion's with our good friends the Blackett's who are also going to be celebrating their 10th.  We headed down late on Thursday and stopped at Archelle's in Beaver for dinner which is always yummy.  The next morning we ate at the Bear Paw in St. George and headed to Zion's for a day of hiking.  Most couples spend their anniversary on a beach somewhere soaking up the love they have for each other while others go hiking up angels landing hoping they're not going to die from falling 10 million feet or the elements.  Now it's no secret I'm out of shape so I was really starting to question this vacation, but once I got going it turned out to be really fun and rewarding.  We made it through "Wally's Wiggle" and rested at a look off point before heading on the chained area out to the point.  I'm terrified of heights and the thought of having to use a chain to live threw the ordeal made my stomach drop.  Casey said we would just go as far as I felt comfortable.  Well once we got going I was surprised at how comfortable I was, but Smitty on the other hand started to get really nervous and I found myself encouraging him.  We then reached a flat spot where a man was sitting.  Casey asked if the trail got better and the man replied " I don't know this is as far as I made it.  My life is worth more."  Casey refused to go on so we turned back.  Brady and Tenille were the true mountain goats and made it clear out to the point.  While waiting for them I became the profession picture taker for everyone coming back.  I think if I would of had some pop and refreshments I could have made a fortune.  It's funny the people you meet at a National Park.  First we ran into two Australian's that were on holiday.  They had no plans and were just touring the country.  I think learning about different cultures is amazing. We also made friends with a couple from Colorado who were on their honeymoon.  When we got back to St. George we went and ate at 
Anasazi's Steak House.  Dr. Taylor recommended it and we loved every bite.  You actually cook your steak on a rock at your table.  It was so good Casey said he didn't want his steak to end and being his wife I tried not to take it personal. 

The Narrows. 

This is the sign at the start of the chained area.  Six people have died since 2004 on this, but it didn't say when the sign was put up.  I know someone had died the weekend before we went.

 



 

We ended the night with a round of bowling where Tenille dominated the competition.  The Next morning we had planned on doing a temple session so we stopped and had a quick bite at Kneaders.  We made it just in time for the next session and it was a full house.  The temple was beautiful and I loved all the woodwork.  Me and Casey have a goal to try and go to as many temples as possible.  After the session we toured the grounds and visitor center.  We learned some interesting facts about the temple and neat events that have happened there.  Brigham Young had the plans drafted for the temple and wanted it to resemble the Nauvoo temple.  He would spend his winters in St. George managing the building and then return to Salt Lake in the Spring.  After returning back one winter he was surprised to see that the men were not following his plans and had changed the shape of the steeple.  He was not happy and told the men to change it and follow his plans.  The dedication date was coming soon so he decided they could wait until after to fix it.  After the dedication he kept on the men to change it back to the plans until his death.  Shortly after his death lightning struck the steeple and caught fire.  It was then reconstructed to follow the original plans that Brigham Young had wanted.  I guess he finally got his point across.

It was a great weekend and even better company.