Oh the digiscrap fun!!

I only have a few for now, but wanted to post them along with some incidents I neglected to mention about our trip.

Logan, my little wild man, has never been too fond of the water. He hates getting water in his face & hates getting his hair washed even more. Apparently this does not apply to the pool. After a little bit of warm up time, he was jumping off the side of the pool, arms up in the air, little hands clenched into fists, yelling "Dupaman!". Translated, that means Superman. He "won" a Superman cape at Magic Mountain & has since become Superman himself. His jumps were completely unaided & often resulted in painful sounding belly flops, but he had the most fun doing it!

Jordan has a new name, if you ask him. He will from here on out be known as Drake. If he is wrestling, his formal name will be Drake the Snake. I think Drake McKenney doesn't sound so bad, so I'm not protesting the change. At least it's not Michael Jordan McKenney, as Dave would likely have it. ;)

Here are the few pages I've completed thus far. Thanks for all the great comments! It makes blogging that much more fun when you see others are taking the time to leave a comment. :)

We're BAAACK!!

From vacation, that is. What a great one it was, too. I think it's the best one so far! We managed to get sitters for our animals (Jumbo & Ginger) at the last minute, as we didn't find out until a few days before we left Dave could actually get the time off.

We got in around midnight on Wednesday at the Hyatt Valencia. The digs were very nice & the surrounding area was really great. We've never stayed anywhere that nice (thank you Hotwire, for the great rate!), though the room was much smaller than the resort properties Dave sells.

We went to Six Flags Magic Mountain for the first 2 days of our trip & MAN was that exhausting!! I swear the whole park is up hill! With a wonky stroller that took a spill off the top of our van when we traveled back from Kansas a few months ago & wanted to constantly veer to the right, things were twice as difficult. Luckily, Dave & Tyler took those reigns for most of the time there.

The kids had a great time, even though it was a rocky start. We decided it would be fun to go on the bestest family water ride that would allow little kids....first. So, after the screaming fun of the Log Jammer, Logan & Hayleah were afraid of even the Tonka-like trucks that run on a very slow, smooth track in the kiddy area. Bad parents, I know. :P

Tyler got a cell phone last week so we were able to keep in touch that way & he was able to go do some of the bigger rides without being stuck in the kiddy area for lengthy amounts of time. Other than him swearing he was at the entrance where I was standing, as it was time to leave, & not actually being there, every thing went pretty smoothly.

Logan & Hayleah eventually warmed up to the rides & had a good time. I think one of the most enjoyable places there was what I'll call the ball house. If you've ever been there, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. That was hours of fun for me! LOL

Jordan had the best time. He was able to ride a few of the bigger rides, which made him feel very much like a big boy. His favorites were the water rides, of which this park had quite a few. I was very impressed at how much he seemed to love riding even the scary rides.

Dave rode few rides with me, but not without repercussions. I guess his body just can't handle all the loopty-loops anymore or something. It's sad because it's been something he's loved to do in the past, but now every time he rides one of the more thrilling coasters, he gets very dizzy & feels pretty badly for quite a while afterwards.

I rode quite a few rides, though I think my favorite was the River Rapids, where I was that person who got totally soaked two of the three times we rode it. Fun stuff!

We went to the beach yesterday & spent many hours there, enjoying the gorgeous weather, the sun, & the waves. Jordan loves collecting sea shells, so we did a fair amount of that too. Hayleah & Logan weren't to keen on going in to the ocean, though, so they spent most of their time filling buckets with sand & chasing the seagulls. Both Tyler & I got to spend some time on his boogie board, which was a lot of fun but very tiring. The waves were big & the water was cold & salty (I got several mouthfuls, myself), but we had the greatest time!

I took tons of pics, so I'm sure there will be lots of posts with digiscrap pages in the coming days. I look forward to that, too! :)

I've FINALLY been tagged!

Thanks, Danielle....I never get to do these kinds of things! :)

How to play this Game of Tag;
1. List three things for each category
2. Tag Three more people at the end of the post
3. Have fun getting to know your friends and family

Joys:
1. My family....they are an awesome bunch! Even the "special" ones (ahem, Jake). ;)
2. My work....I love what I do. I love being around new babies & pregnant mommies. I even love being able to do the castings for the sick & sometimes deceased little ones. I feel like I'm giving something back to those around me with my talents.
3. My education....I really enjoy learning new things. Especially things of a spiritual nature.

Fears:
1. Being stuck in confined spaces.
2. Drowning.
3. Spiders & snakes....icky things!!

Goals:
1. To complete the study & marking of my Book of Mormon this year. It doesn't need to be finished before the end of the year, just so that it's something I do on a daily basis.
2. Lose 40 pounds & feel better physically & mentally.
3. Get to the Temple with my Mom!

Collections/Obsessions:
1. Blogging, for sure!
2. Digital scrapbooking, as you can probably tell.
3. I have a small collection of Willow Tree statuette's.

Random Facts:
1. I've had two VBAC's, both at home with a midwife.
2. I think being with the little kids in the Nursery is the best calling in the ward.
3. I love a good deal. I try not to brag about it, but I love to share my deals. Sometimes I realize I over share with this because people don't ask & I tell them anyway. The other day in the store a lady said something behind me about a good deal & I started to talk to her about it before I realized she wasn't actually talking to me. LOL *blush*

I tag Steph, Marilene, & Onala.

Happy Birthday, My Love

Today is Dave's birthday. He's 35, or half-way to 70, which ever you prefer. ;)

I heard something rudely-funny last night that gave me cause to think. We caught a small portion of Punk'd & a woman who had just been proposed to (rather awfully) said to her significant other that she should slap his mother for having him 27 years ago. While my inital reaction was to burst out in loud laughter (because how horrible is that, after all) but it made me think of my significant other.

Instead I propose a hug would be in order for Dave's mom, Vickie, for having him 35 years ago today. She was still a baby herself but managed to bring the man I love today in to this world. So, Vickie, (((Hugs))). :)

Dave is such a great teacher & leader. He knows how to talk to people & he has a way to connect with people & help them understand things. He leads righteously & those he's around are privledged to see his integrity first hand. What a great example he is!

He loves his children so much. He's always there for them & when he can't physically be there, you can be sure it's because he's busy trying to provide for their present as well as their future. They, in turn, are incredibly in love with him. Every morning it's the same thing....the kids gather at the door & eventually spill out on to the driveway to see him off to work. They all need their hugs & kisses & to wave goodbye. When he comes home, they run to greet him & yell "Daddy home" excitedly.

Dave & I met just after his mission. He joined the Church when he was 25 & went on a mission as soon as he could afterwards. My younger brother, the aforementioned strange-o Jake, served in the area Dave was living in just before he left for his mission. Jake & Dave went on splits a few times & Jake told him he had a sister for Dave to write while he was on his mission.

He wrote me first & made me laugh with his direct honesty. I wanted to know more about this guy. We wrote faithfully the remainder of his mission, though it didn't take as long for me to know I loved him & would marry him.

We were sealed in the Oakland, CA temple on May 26, 2001 for time & all eternity, five months to the day after we officially met. I married my best friend.

A tribute to Jake (pic included)....

Who says you have to be dead for someone to pay you a tribute??

Jake is my brother. He's 3 years younger than me, the third of six kids. Saying that out loud kind of explains some things. He's a middle child. When we were growing up, I didn't like him much because he was always tattling on me & our older brother Travis. Come to think of it, we were constantly picking on him so I guess he might have had cause.

Anyway, we called him Jake the Jerk all the time. Lovingly, of course, lest our mother start singing us "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words To Each Other" & torturing us. :)

As kids, we loved to watch the Muppets. It was a family thing we all enjoyed. We would pretend we were the Muppet characters on a fairly regular basis. I was Miss Piggy (always looking for a moment to karate chop someone who was or was not asking for it....I'm an only girl; what can I say?? you have to let them know who's boss! LOL), Travis was Gonzo, & Jake was the Swedish Chef. Funny, his Facebook picture looks a lot like Jake. :)

Today he is the sibling I talk with the most. We're probably the closest, since he seems to be the most abnormal of the bunch. Again, all this is said in love. I can appreciate abnormal.

The picture I've chosen to scrapbook of him was taken at my brother Grant's farewell. It screams "Jake" & says a lot about his odd sense of humor. We're always ribbing one another & after he posted pictures of me, just waking up, on his Facebook account with a title that read something to the affect of embarrassing me was a sport of patience, I've been meaning to get my revenge.

Well, ladies & gentlemen, this is it. Without further ado, my brother.....