Sweet 16!

August 26, 2010, Tyler turned 16 & I officially will now be known as his sister. I'm not old enough to have a 16 year old, I've decided.


He made the football team, we went on a quick vacation before school started to celebrate everyones birthday's with my family in Kansas, & he was cut from the team for missing 2 days of practice. He was disappointed, but I think slightly relieved. It was a lot harder work than he thought it would be, that's for sure!

He's still very much a kid at heart. He might be a near-giant, but he's still my first baby. :)

He loves to torment me with things like the skin of the copperhead snakes that came in to their camp site. Love this kid!

Jordan Gets Baptized!

Sounds like a great name for a book. Maybe a future joint venture for Jo & I? His new love is writing & I'm not terrible at illustrations, so maybe...

I'm so far behind in the blogging world, I don't know if I'll ever catch up! I guess I'll start with the recent baptism of Jordan.

We were able to have a few family members come to town for the big day, which was really nice. Both my parents, Dave's mom, & my younger brother Grant (just got home from a mission in the Phillipines) came out to witness the special occassion.

Jordan, waiting for the font to fill with water.

My Mom, Dad, & Ty

Dave & Logan, who looks like he's devising a plan of sorts.

Ty & Grant, goofing off.

Jojo & Daddo (as Jo used to call him)

Just before the baptism.

Amazingly, I captured a true Logan-look. He's totally a Mikey & that grin proves it!

Dave & my Dad goofing off. Nice grills!

Watching the water rise.

So handsome in his Sunday best!

Jojo & his Yaya (Dave's mom)

Jo, with the honored mom. :)

Proud parents. :)

My Mom, Dad, & Jordan.

On August 31, 2010, Jordan was officially baptized & confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm so proud of him for making the decision to join the true church of Christ!

Jordan's thrilled to be able to go to Scouts, finally. He's been looking forward to it for some time now & it couldn't have come soon enough!

Soopah-MAN!!

Or Spiderman.

Or both.

Logan is forever dressing up in one costume or another. Thanks to his Mimi & her mad bargaining skills at garage sales, he has a plethora of costumes to choose from. His favorite, by far, is the black Spiderman.

It never hurts to mix & match, though.

New Calling

I'm sad to be leaving my sweet little Sunbeams, but I'm excited about my new calling as the ward Provident Living Specialist! This is my first calling outside of Primary (other than being a Visiting Teaching Supervisor while I was also a Nursery worker, so I'm not sure if that counts). Ever. I'll be out of my element, for sure!

I still kind of see Relief Society as the place my mom goes, but not so much me. It's funny because I'm certainly old enough to go, yet I think it will take some time before I feel like that's where I'm supposed to be. What in the world am I going to do without a gaggle of kids vying for my attention!?

I don't have much of a food storage, & I'm terrible at rotating. I don't know much about emergency preparedness or survival should a serious emergency arise, so this opportunity is exciting to me. I'm always up for learning new & helpful things. I've been so involved with learning about the various uses of herbs & essential oils for the past decade, so now it's time to expand my brain a bit & gain more knowledge to share. Hopefully I can do that in a way that doesn't make me seem like a know-it-all (I fear I come across that way sometimes), & be able to get others excited about learning & implementing what they learn into their homes & families. :D

Exciting times!! :)

Spring has Sprung!

There are cherry blossoms everywhere in our little community.

Around the corner from our home is a business park, sporting a "lake" with real whales in it. They like to hang out in the same place all day, spouting off (at their mother?). For the longest time, every time we would pass this corner, Jordan would diligently search for the sharks he knew were in there.

Checking out the "floaters" they spotted. They were much more interesting than trying to spot sharks!

Of course, what's a nice Spring day walk without posing in front of whales?

There was much drama to get this pic, so even though 3/4 of the people in the pic have their eyes closed, I'm posting it! It was sunny & Jordan was counseling everyone to close their eyes for the picture so they won't have to complain about mom making them pause for this shot.

And of course it isn't Spring without a little kite-flying at the park.

Apparently I missed getting a picture of Logan with his Super Hero's kite. He was pretty mad at the kite though, after it didn't magically take off like he had planned. He's all about the Super Heroes right now. I can barely get him out of his black Spiderman costume long enough to wash it. It needs a serious patch job. The neighbors think we're crazy & are unsure if he even owns anything other than a Spiderman costume. I'll have to try to get some pics up of him, as Spidey, once I get the thing fixed.

Overall, we had so much fun trying to fly kites that day. I smiled, laughed, & ran so much I was sore from it all the next day. Fun times!

SUPER Underwear Head Boy!

Logan, the unwittingly funny kid, had a conversation with me not long ago. He's even funnier because he doesn't know how funny he actually is.



Logan: "Mom, can I go outside?"
Me: "No, not right now."
Logan: "But I want to."
Me: "I know, but it's too cold out right now."
Logan: "But I won't be cold."
Me: "Sorry buddy, but it's too cold out right now."
Logan: "What if I put underwear on my head & socks on my hands? Can I go out then?"



After that kind show of negotiating skills, he managed to convince me. I think he would've convinced just about anyone with that arguement.

Not the best pic of him, but he wasn't interested in posing that day. I can't imagine why. LOL

February is gone!?

February flew by for us. It was a busy month, with Tyler returning home for his schooling. Plus with Logan & Hayleah going to preschool 3 days a week. And we can't forget about Jordan & his schooling (though I think I let a little too much slide with this one).

I'm going to try to catch up on some posts in the next few days, as time permits.

Can you believe Spring is already upon us!?

Couples Retreat

No, not the movie (though we did see that & I personally wouldn't recommend it...not very & often crude).


Dave & I had our first date away from home since before Jordan was born. My Mom has been in town for the past week & a half, so Dave & I made reservations up in St. George for an overnighter.

No matter where we go, & no matter how many lists I make to check off, something is forgotten. This time it was my Temple Recommend. I grabbed the husband's, but forgot to check to make sure mine was where I thought it was. Totally bummed out, we went up to the Temple grounds anyway & went to check out the visitors center. A Sister missionary working there asked if we had been inside the Temple yet. When we explained that we hadn't & that today was to be our first time, she advised us to call our Bishop or Stake President. According to her, this was a special circumstance & told us of her husband's experiences as a former Stake President with this.

I didn't expect anything to come of it, nor did I really consider it a special circumstance (I just don't have those in my life), but we called Bishop anyway. I was SO glad this Sister advised us to do so. We were able to attend the Temple that night, seal Dave's grandparents, & do some other work for some family members! It was an incredible night & we had so much fun! We left feeling refreshed & filled.











We wound up staying up until 2 in the morning, eating our Wendy's frosty's, watching movies & laughing. It's something we never do anymore & I can honestly say we really enjoyed this time together!




The next morning, we headed out to Zion National Park. We'd never been there & had heard so many great things about it, so we had to go check it out. The mountain views on the way were unlike any I've never seen before.



We stopped at an organic apple orchard & market on the way out there. The Fuji apples were ripe & ready to be picked. We loaded up a bag-full of the beauties to bring home to share.

Overall it was a really nice little trip. The kids did good for my Mom & I doubt they missed us for even one minute. When we got home, Logan was a little upset with me because I wouldn't take him to the Temple with me that day. He said he wanted us to go on our "date" to the Temple....just the two of us. Someday. :)

Fall Sports

It's here!

I'm brave (crazy) enough to have 3 kids in sports this Fall. Ty made the soccer team at Desert Oasis, which he's totally stoked about. They had their first assembly yesterday & the team got to wear the jersey's to school along with some khaki pants. Who knew slim-fit Dockers cost so much!? And what's with the skinny jeans/pants craze going on right now? I don't get it. Anyway, he's been practicing like mad every day after school since the first day of school. His first game is next Thursday & I know he's excited to get out there & play!

Jordan & Logan have both been signed up for Fall baseball/t-ball. We did it in the Spring & Jordan loved it. Logan had issues with the coach, the teammates, the ground (anything & everything) if his mood wasn't just right. It wasn't easy, but he says he wants to do it again. I'm sure this time around will be easier for him. He was so shy in the beginning & by the last game I didn't have to stand out on the field or in the dug out to coax him to do what he was supposed to do.

Both the boys have a mean swing & Logan has an amazingly accurate throw. The first time Logan's coach actually got him to participate he made a comment about what a great golf swing Logan had. That's very true but not such a good thing for t-ball. LOL

Jordan will be in the 7-8 year old division this time which means he won't be in coach-pitch anymore. I hope the kid pitchers are also fast movers! There was several games when the coach had to hustle to get out of the way of a ball Jo hit. He really cracks them off hard! It was rare to have a ball not wind up in the outfield.

Baseball starts in the next couple weeks & that will mean at least 3, sometimes 4, practices & 2 games each week. If they didn't enjoy it..... I don't enjoy being so busy but I guess that's what you get when you have more than the average 2.5 kids. ;)

In the Winter I think I'll sign Hayleah up for a tumbling class, or maybe dance. She loves to shake it. :)

It's going to be a very busy Fall for us, but as long as the kids are having a good time I think I'll survive. I'm not interested in running the bases with a three, almost four, year old tucked under my arm this time around. That happened a few times too many! LOL I plan to spend more time in the bleachers this season, that's for sure!

Drama can be found in all things

It was YOYO night (as in, yo-on-yo-own) last night. It just means that I'm either too busy to cook or I'm gone. Dave took over the reigns while Ty & I went to the Seminary Kickoff. He had a fun time with the littler kids, from what I can tell.

Dad: What do you guys want for dinner?

Jordan: I'm not hungry

Logan: A Popsicle

Hayleah: I want soup

Jordan: Okay, I changed my mind. I'd like a tuna sandwich with hot sauce on it. Just a little, though.

Dad: Alright. Logan, would you like some soup as well?

Logan: Just a Popsicle.

Hayleah: I want a Popsicle tooooo! With hot sauce on top. Just a little, though.

Dad: I'm not giving out Popsicles for dinner.

Hayleah: I NEED a Popsicle with hot sauce!! (in her whiniest voice)

She proceeds to drop to the ground & thrash around sounding tortured. Much wailing & gnashing of teeth could be heard in the McKenney household last night....all over a Popsicle with a little hot sauce on top. *sigh*

Castings & sharing the Gospel

I've been a life casting artist for the past 3 years now but I have been doing it very sporadically. I'm the type of person that doesn't want to turn a hobby in to a business (though this was never intended to be anything but a business) for fear of it getting old & making me not love it anymore.

It did get old for a while & honestly very overwhelming. I slipped in to a funk with all of it when it seemed all my business came from Candlelighters. I love the ladies over there, but when every child I took a cast of was guaranteed to either be gone within hours or had already passed away, it weighed on me too much.

Dealing with the babies who are soon to leave this world takes a huge emotional toll on me. I'm very much empathic & I haven't learned to protect myself from other people's emotions. A year ago I would have scoffed at someone who said they were empathic. I didn't know what it meant to have this "gift", & didn't believe it really existed until it came to my attention that people actually deal with this on a daily basis.

I've always been a sucker for a happy emotional climate. On the flip side of that, when I'm around negativity I tend to get sucked in to that as well & I begin to feel negative very quickly. The grief exuded from the loved ones of children with cancer, who have just left this world or are about to leave it, is something anyone can see & feel, if you're near enough. I just can't seem to help taking part in feeling it right alongside them, when I'm near enough. Almost every one's empathic to a degree, I think. It's when you can't shake the negative feelings that it becomes a problem.

There have only ever been two times when I have done castings on kids with cancer where the families weren't in extreme emotional turmoil. It happens to be that both of these families were LDS. I really believe losing a child would be one of the most emotionally difficult, heart wrenching experiences a parent could ever go through. From my experience, I've come to the conclusion knowing about & believing in the Plan of Salvation makes all the difference in the world for these families.

Seeing the families that don't have this knowledge makes me want to share it with them SO badly. I just haven't figured out yet how to make that happen. Maybe I need to stock up on the movie Together Forever, collect addresses of the families I've served & send the video to them.

Lately I've had business of the happier kind. I've been casting the hands & feet of very ALIVE babies lately. Babies make me happy. Especially the healthy ones. There's a small sea of tiny hands & feet on my counter right now as well as a gorgeous belly casting that's hanging out in my garage, all waiting to be finished. It's times like this, when I'm able to make a little spending money for my family & get to spend time with new mom's & their sweet little babes, that make my "job" not a job at all. I love what I do! :)

Fun with a friend

Last Friday was our first night watching kids for our babysitting group. There was only one family available that night but we enjoyed the time just as much anyway. The kids got along with Craig so well, I think we should have him over every day!

The complaining & argueing was at a bare minimum & the kids all played so nicely together!

Notice how my kids are only half dressed? This is a step up from the usual "I need to take my clothes off the moment I get in the door". We're really not nudist's over here. Really.