The Lee Clan

Girls Camp 2011...

2011-06-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

according to Amber. I still haven't taken her cameras in to be developed, but she was asked to speak on Father's Day about girls camp, so I am sharing her talk with you:

Good morning brother’s and sister’s my name is Amber Lee, and yes I was the shortest girl at Girls Camp. This year the theme was Hearts and Souls Under Construction. We were challenged to read the Book of Mormon before Girls Camp. I was able to finish the Book of Mormon before camp. When I finished the Book of Mormon I then knelt down in prayer to find out for myself whether the scriptures and the church is true, and I now know for myself that they are true. Well, I can honestly say that Girls Camp was not what I expected it to be. I thought that I would have more classes and that they would be harder than what they were. Also, I didn’t think we had to do chores, but we did, we had to do dishes, set tables, and clean the bathroom. At least it wasn’t what my dad had to do. Whenever there was a problem with the toilets my dad got to fix them and he was real busy on Sunday. So the day of rest was no day of rest for him. Another experience I had at camp was I was able to make new friends. I was able to learn a lot about people. Like, what ward they were in, what they liked about Girls Camp so far, and what they were interested in. During Testimony meeting when my sister Breanna went to bare her Testimony my friend Ashley was sitting next to me but I also felt as if someone else was sitting next to me. The Spirit was real strong and it reassured me that the Scriptures and Gospel are true. Some of my favorite classes are archery, craft, and dance. In dance you basically learn a little dance. The song we danced to was Kids of America. In craft we made necklaces. You take a scrabble letter and some scrap booking paper. You then cut the scrap booking paper to the size of the scrabble piece and you glue it on the back. Then you take ribbon and tie it and it’s a necklace. In archery you shoot bows. I liked archery the most because my dad was the teacher also because I just like it. For my first year at camp I got to be up there with my dad and sister. It was okay but I would of liked my mom to be up there too. I had an amazing time with my dad and sister. Before Girls Camp I was afraid I was going to go hungry because I am a very picky eater. I ate everything that they served my mom was surprised. They even made my favorite food Navajo Tacos they didn’t quite taste like my moms but they were still good. So my first year at Girls Camp was over the top, and I am looking forward to more experiences throughout my years at camp.

Amber did such a great job with her talk. She was real nervous, and she talked fast. I am so pleased to be her Mom. I Love You Amber!

Girls Camp 2011

2011-06-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

This year we had 2 girls going to Girls Camp. Yes, you read it right, I wrote 2 girls going to Girls Camp, Oh and my husband.

Breanna and Amber had a fun time. Amber was a little nervous this being her 1st year, but she survived and had a blast, she was surprised that she didn't get a break from chores. Jared was up there as the Archery instructor and had a fun time teaching the girls how to shoot the bows, and was even more excited for the girls when they hit the targets.

The theme of Girls Camp this year was "Hearts and Souls Under Construction". The girls were challenged to read the Book of Mormon and underline the words hearts and souls. Both of our girls finished the BofM before they left for Camp, and both of them were able to pray and find out for themselves that the scriptures and our Church are true. I was so excited and happy for both of them to be able to know for themselves the truthfulness of the Gospel.

Jared was such a good sport, when there were problems with the toilets he was called in to fix the toilets. He received an award for "Best Camp Dad" for letting the girls in our ward paint his nails and then helping them paint their nails. Jared informed me that he got a clear coat with pink polka dots.

Jared's nails painted!

Following are some pictures of Girls Camp through the eyes of Breanna:

La Pradera Park Ward, YW and Leaders!

Breanna's bulls eye!

Breanna, Carley, Lilly, Brielle and Bailey showing off their muscles!

Yearlings who received their awards!

(Amber is bottom row second from the right)

LPP's Cabin!

The Flag!

Breanna and Makela!

3rd years who received their awards!

(Breanna is bottom row purple shirt on the right)

Girls Camp through the eyes of Amber to come soon (as soon as I take her disposable camera in to get put on a CD, hopefully tomorrow).

It's Official . . .

2011-05-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

We are now the parents of a High Schooler! I am sometimes still in shock that I am old enough to have a child in High School.

On May 18th we attended Breanna's 8th grade Promotion. It was a nice, short and sweet program (it only lasted about 45 minutes). We are very pleased with all of Breanna's accomplishments this past school year. She tried out for Volleyball and made the team. She tried out for Softball and made the team. She was also a member of Principals Academy and FBLA. She always work hard to keep her grades up, and I never have to remind her to do her homework, never had to worry about her getting her school work done.

Our Family after the 8th grade Promotion!

We are looking forward to how crazy the next year will be with Breanna in High School, Amber starting Jr High, Candace starting 5th grade, Jodi starting 3rd grade, a new baby and Jared working swing shift. I love being busy with what activities the girls have and fully support them in their decisions, but wondering how I will be able to manage how crazy life will become. We are Blessed to have such wonderful children.

Where do I begin?

2011-05-17T21:52:00.001-07:00

It has been a really long time since I have blogged...and I have so much to catch up on...I have no idea where to begin...so please stick with me as I jump around and try to do a lot of catch up, but for now I will begin with the newest member of our Family!

After we lost Edward, Jared and I weren't sure if we wanted to add another child into our family. We were very indecisive, yes...no...yes...no! We were scared to try again for fear of loosing another child, we did want to try again so we could end our Beautiful Family with Happy thoughts. We soon decided that we would wait a year to make the decision and take the time we needed to grieve Edward and the time we needed to heal ourselves and our Family.

Not long after my spur of the moment trip to Colorado we found out that we were expecting again. We were excited, scared, worried, we had so many emotions going on at the same time that we didn't know what to think. We went to my Dr. and found out that I was due May 4, 2011. We went through the pregnancy finding it hard to get excited, once we got past 21 weeks it became easier (21 weeks is when we lost Edward), but we were still scared. Once we hit 24 weeks it became even more easier (24 weeks a baby is viable and the Dr.s are willing to help save the baby when outside of the womb). Once 32 weeks came even more easier (every week you can keep a baby in the better the chances are). At 37 weeks we had an amniocentesis done to see if the lungs were developed, we got the results 2 hours after the procedure was done then went in the next day to be induced.

*Side Note: At 22 weeks gestation I was diagnosed with a condition called PUPPPS, I was and still am very itchy. There are many times when I want to rip my skin off. This is why we decided to induce early, we were hoping that it would go away once I delivered, but it hasn't.

On Thursday April 14, 2011 we went to the hospital and I was induced and at 4:15pm our Son Rowdy James joined our family.

Here are the Stats:
Name: Rowdy James Lee
Born: April 14, 2011
Time: 4:15 pm
Weight: 6 pounds 10 ounces
Length: 19 1/2 inches

We were so Happy to hear him cry, hold him and then to bring him home with us. He is truly a blessing. We are having fun relearning what it is like to be parents to a newborn again. I got used to sleeping through the night (oh how I miss those days, but wouldn't trade what I have now to have them back). Rowdy is a very easy going baby, don't get me wrong we have our moments, but I can't complain. I am Thankful to my Heavenly Father for sending us our Rowdy, and am truly blessed to be his mom. I am looking forward to the joys that will come as we raise him.

Rowdy shortly after birth.

Rowdy after his 1st bath.

Rowdy napping with his Daddy!

Sleeping peacefully.

In my favorite outfit, that doesn't fit him anymore!

Spur of the Moment Road Trip!

2010-09-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

Back in July I had an opportunity to go to CO with the girls, unfortunatly Jared was unable to come with us (he had to work), but he encouraged us to go and take a break from the reality of our life for a brief moment. I am truly blessed to have Jared in my life, HE is MY BEST FRIEND! I LOVE YOU HONEY!

We had a wonderful time with family.

We went and played at a Splash Pad!

We hiked Helen Hunt Falls!

We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

(some of us got to ride the Sky Ride)

Had a blast site seeing and posing for pictures!

We were also able to spend time with Lee cousins on Wednesday, but forgot to take out the Camera for that visit. We are so Blessed to have wonderful family that stopped their lives so we could come and visit! Love You Guys!

On a side note, Amber made the Dance Team!

Back to School...

2010-08-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

on August 9th. Yes, we are back in school, as much as I wish that we had longer summers, I think that we were all ready to be back into some sort of routine. The girls were very excited, they were all looking forward to a new year and new teachers and getting in touch with all of their friends from school. (Opps, a run on sentance, maybe I should go back to school...NOT)

Breanna, Amber, Candace and Jodi

ready for their 1st day of School! (YES, Candace and Jodi are starting to outgrow Amber)

Breanna our 8th grader, I am sometimes still in shock that she is that old, it feels like just yesterday she was in preschool. Oh and she made the Volleyball Team. We are so Happy for her.

Amber is our 6th grader. She loves school and is trying out for the Dance Team and has joined Cross Country.

Candace is our 4th grader. She is doing so well with her speech, and is doing so good in Math they have put her in the Push Math class (it is were they learn at a faster rate) She too has joined the Cross Country Team.

Jodi is our 2nd grader. She LOVES school, but is the hardest of all of our children to wake up in the morning. She is also very jealous of her sisters and their being able to participate is many school activities. She wants to be grown up so bad.

So here we go on a journey of a new School Year.

Planting a Memory!

2010-08-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago we planted a tree in honor of Edwards short life, and also as a memory for us. Something that we can look at and cherish and hopefully sit under and have shade in the heat of the day. Jared's parents were so gracious and loving, when I had mentioned that I wanted to do this, they both said that they were buying the tree for us. Thank you so much Mom and Dad. The tree is called a Crepe Myrtle, it is a beautiful, fast growing flowering tree. Looking forward to enjoying it for many years.

I know that I took pictures of us planting the tree and I can't find them. As soon as I find them I will post them.

Memorial Weekend!!!!!

2010-06-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

What a fun filled busy weekend...

It started at the 1st Annual Glen Lakes Spring Nationals (Pinewood Derby for the Adults). Jared helped his friend Evan prepare for this the whole week. It was a lot of fun, and Jared entered a car in the Pro-stock and I entered a car in the Stock category. The decorations turned out real good, and Jared and Evan are all ready planning for next years event. Jared won 3rd place in pro-stock and I won for best engine.

Jared's car is the black one, and mine is the blue car.

After Church on Sunday we left to go camping, we had a wonderful time up in the cool pines just outside of Camp Verde. It was nice to get away and be able to take our minds off of many things. We found a Creek and the kids had a blast playing in the water, the men had fun shooting their guns, and I just took it easy. We were there until Tuesday afternoon. Jodi had a fun time learning how to drive our golf cart, she did a really good job. I actually have video of it but you can't see it very well. Amber had fun shooting her Bow, and Jared helped some of the children there try and shoot her Bow also. I also have pictures of our trip but the same thing. I think that our settings on our camera got changed and I didn't realize it. Bummer. But all in all we had a wonderful time, and I wish that our trip was longer. I will try and clean up the pictures and try to post them.

Our Son Edward Warren Lee

2010-06-03T09:13:00.001-07:00

We wanted to share our son Edward with our Family and Friends. We are truly blessed to be the parents of such a wonderful spirit, and we feel of your LOVE and PRAYERS. We have learned that in being able to share our Son we are healing.

Create a picture collage

When you open the Smilebox you can click on the individual pictures and enlarge them to see them better.

1st Grade Readers Theater

2010-05-17T20:37:00.003-07:00

I had the privlege of attending Mrs. Babin's 1st Grade Class "Readers Theater". It was so cute watching all of the children in Jodi's class perform the short plays that they prepared. All of the children had fun making their quick and easy costumes. Jodi was a Queen, so she wore a nice shirt and skirt, with her Sunday shoes and wore a Crown. All of the children did a great job. I have attached Jodi's play that she was in, enjoy!

Our Angel!

2010-04-28T20:10:00.002-07:00

On April 20, 2010 at 8pm our Son Edward Warren joined our family, 2 short breaths and a cry later he went home.

We are greatful to have added another child to our Eternal Family. Edwards short life has taught us much. We are truly greatful to our Family and Friends for their LOVE and SUPPORT during this blessing...

In January we found out that we were expecting our 6th child. We were in shock, we were supprised and we were excited all at the same time. You see, I was using birth control that is 99% effective, so in our minds I shouldn't have been able to get pregnant. We felt that we were finished with our family, but the Lord had other plans for us and we were HAPPY to be apart of those plans. Once we found out that we were pregnant because of the birth control we went in immediately to see my Dr., she confirmed what we already knew. Once she figured out that Jared and I were excited to be adding our son to our family the three of us started making plans as to how we were going to have a sucessful pregnancy.

By the end of the week we knew that we were 7 weeks along, and the possibility of many complications could be coming our way. The next 14 weeks brought bi weekly Dr's appointments and many ultrasounds, all of which strengthened our resolve to do what was needed no matter what the sacrifice. On April 17th during the adult session of Stake Conference Alyssa started having contractions, we went to OB Triage and were there for 4 hours and went home, the contractions hadn't let up by the next morning so we went back. A couple of medications later to slow the contractions down, Alyssa's Dr was on call and consulted with the nurses. We were sent home to schedule a follow up appointment on Monday with my Dr. Contractions didn't let up all day Sunday and we saw the Dr on Monday, we thought that we were making progress, but 5 hours after the appointment we were back at OB Triage, this time instead of sending Alyssa home they admitted to antepartum wing of the hospital to monitor her contractions. Once Alyssa was settled in Jared went home to be with our girls. Tuesday morning Alyssa's Dr was there to check in on us, we were eagerly awaiting the results of some blod draws and other test. Once afternoon came it looked like we were in the clear, and that this was just another bump in the road. They decided to keep Alyssa overnight again just to make sure that everything was ok, so Jared went home to be with the girls and give his parents a break. While shopping for a birthday gift at Target for Jodi, our youngest, the dreaded phone call came. The one that Alyssa thought that she would never have to make, and Jared would never have to receive. Alyssa's water had broke and she was headed to Labor and Delivery, just 21 weeks and 3 days into the pregnancy. Shortly after 8pm Jared's sister Denee joined us in the delivery room and we started the process of notifying our family. An hour or so later Jared's dad arrived to be by our side. We were able to spend 3 and a half hours with our son, which felt like much longer. Alyssa was taken back to her room we got a couple of hours of sleep and cried buckets of tears, and thanked our Father in Heaven for our small part in Edwards life. At a little after 5am Jared went home to take Breanna to track practice, and then to meet Denee and the 3 younger girls at Alyssa's room. The healing process was started and continues on at this time.

HUG your children and tell them how much you LOVE them everyday, for you never know when it will be the last day.

May the Blessings of the Lord be upon your families is our prayer!

My Blog...

2010-04-28T20:09:00.001-07:00

is driving me nuts. I can't figure out why the comments and other stuff is posting before my post. I have tried to arrange it several times to be the way I want it, but it isn't working. AUGH!

Where to begin?

2010-04-28T20:00:00.002-07:00

I have so much catching up to do...and so little time to do it in! School started for the girls back in August of 2009. Yep, I am that far behind. Wish that I had pictures...but they are on the broken computer...and I only have a couple of pictures of Jodi, the other girls were so excited that they ran off once we got to school. Yes, our girls are growing up. Breanna is in the 7th grade, Oh My Goodness, I have a child in Jr. High. Amber is in the 5th grade. Candace is in the 3rd grade and Jodi is in the 1st grade. I love all of their teachers, they are wonderful and caring.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I can't remember the details, guess that I should journal more often so that I can't forget. But onto the next big post.

Life.....

2009-10-06T15:58:00.002-07:00

Is BUSY!!!! Love you all!

Colorado Trip Part Six! (Finally)

2009-08-13T10:58:00.004-07:00

It is now Friday morning! My parents, sisters and their husbands wanted to go to the Zoo, Jared and I on the other hand did not. So my parents willingly took the girls with them to the zoo. The girls had a fun time, while Jared and I went shopping to get food for the trip home and we ran a couple of more errands. It was actually a nice quiet time for us. We sent the girls to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with the camera so that they could take pictures of their trip.

The Moose that they saw!

A Bear that they saw!

The girls cousin Brody! My sister Elena's son!

Needless to say, the girls had a fun time at the Zoo with Grandma and Grandpa, but they didn't take very many pictures.

That night Jared and I went and met up with some friends of ours, and had a wonderful time catching up.

On Saturday we headed over to Widefield High School, where Jared and I both attended HS, one of the reasons we went to CO this summer was for Jared's 20 year reunion. OMGoodness, am I really that old? Of course the other was to spend time with all of our family. So, back to the reunion, they planned a picnic lunch at the HS, we had alot of fun showing the girls around the halls, and showing them were some of our classes were. The funny thing for us was that some of the areas were closed for asbestos removal. They were removing asbestos while we were in HS and after 20 years they are still working on it. The HS isn't that big. Oh, Well! One of our memories of HS is the big gladiator that is the HS mascot, and is huge, and stands in front of the school, so we took the girls over to him to get their pictures taken.

Jared and I!

Jared and his girls!

That night we went to a restaurant for the official part of Jared's HS Reunion. We had a nice time catching up even more. Jared is glad that he decided to go to his reunion. I am still debating whether or not to go next year to mine.

We truly had a wonderful trip, and enjoyed spending time with our family. One of my favorite parts of the trip is when we got to meet Brody for the first time, I thought that he would be shy and cling to his parents, but boy was I wrong, he is a big flirt, I put out my arms and he walked right up to me. One of the funniest parts of the trip was when the girls were trying to teach their Uncle Mike how to "Skin a Cat". When Sunday rolled around we were glad to be heading home. Our drive home was real quiet, because we were minus 2 girls, Breanna and Amber had the opportunity to stay and extra week and Uncle Justin brought them home August 2nd. They had a fun time, but they were ready to come home. Hope you enjoyed our many post about our fun vacation to CO!

Colorado Trip Part Five!

2009-08-04T13:01:00.004-07:00

Well, it is Wednesday night and we are at my parents home now. We truly had a fun time visiting with everyone, but we have decided that we will do things differently the next time we come to CO. When we left John's home it was right at the beginning of rush hour traffic. What were we thinking? Jared was really tired, the girls were really tired, I was really tired. It took us 1 hour to drive through Denver, this had to have been the longest ride from Denver to Colorado Springs I have ever taken. Needless to say we just rested when we got to my parents home.

On Thursday morning we went to Rock Ledge Ranch, when I was growing up it used to be called White House Ranch. The girls had a fun time learning about the family that lived there, and looking at the first home that they had, then the second, then the third and how they gained more amenities every time they built a home.

Candace helping cut wood the old fashioned way!

Breanna with her cousin Mallory!

Jodi with her cousin Tayloranne!

Amber!

For dinner my parents made reservations at one of the coolest places I have ever been. If you are a cowboy or a cowboy at heart you have to check this place out. We went to The Flying W Ranch. This is a working cattle ranch, and they have a small part of their ranch set up as a small western town. You can go and tour the town, they have places like a school, a library, a drug store where you can get old fashioned candy, you can watch them shoe horses, but the best part is they feed you a real chuck wagon dinner, and then after dinner you get a show, the Flying W Wranglers sing for us.

Jared with his girls and Tayloranne and Mallory(cousins)! He bought himself a cowboy had, and all the girls a cowgirl hat. I can't wait until October when it is cooler to get our family pictures done...I have got such a cute idea for matching clothes to go along with all of the hats.

This is all I have time for today! I will finish our trip in the next post!

Colorado Trip Part Four!

2009-08-03T08:58:00.005-07:00

After we got home from the Butterfly Pavilion, we decided to hang out and rest at John's home. Now, I am sure you are asking yourselves, "Did they really rest?", I can totally understand this question...because we haven't rested at all since our vacation started. Well, the answer is no, we did not rest. Jared came across a dart gun and decided that all of the children needed one. So off to the store he and John went and came home with some wicked dart guns. The men and the children played non-stop for almost 3 hours. We didn't get very many pictures of this, because it was hard, they kept running around for some reason.

Jodi with a semi-auto dart gun!

Cousin Jacob reloading!

Amber with her sniper riffle dart gun!

That night after we got the children into bed the adults played "Hand and Foot" until about 1 in the morning. Boy were we tired the next day. While the parents were tired, the children wanted to play some more so we took them to a really nice park. In the afternoon we let the kids play in the water, until it was time for us to head down to my parents home.

Breanna and Jodi racing down the slip n slides.

I think this was tied!

Candace and Morgan hanging out in the Kiddie pool!

Colorado Trip Part Three!

2009-08-01T16:00:00.006-07:00

After our fun trip to Graffiti Falls, we headed back to Justin's home, there we ate dinner and washed all of our wet clothes. We then headed up to visit Jared's brother John and his family who live in Thornton, CO (north of Denver).

The first day that we were there we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. If you are ever in the Denver area you should go here. I learned more about bugs and butterflies than I ever thought that I would. We, oh wait let me rephrase this, some of us were very lucky to be able to hold their pet tarantula Rosie. I was one of the fortunate ones who did not get to hold Rosie (let me add that I was glad). Our daughter Amber after having held Rosie, was grossing out quite a bit. She would not do anything with her hand and arm that touched the beautiful big spider, she actually held her arm away from her body. I finally asked her if she was ok, she then proceeded to tell me that she needed to wash the spider off of her hand, I was secretly laughing. Here are some pictures of the girls and their cousins. When I am finally done posting about our whole trip I will make a collage of some sort with all of the pictures from our wonderful trip.

Breanna holding Rosie!

Amber holding Rosie!

Candace holding Rosie!

A Butterfly had landed on Jared's back!

A Butterfly had landed on Amber's shoulder!

While at the Butterfly Pavilion they had an exhibit there where the children could feel like they were the size of bugs. Yea! So here are some pictures of that exhibit.

Colorado Trip Part Two

2009-07-31T08:05:00.003-07:00

After we played at the Garden of the Gods, we headed to one of our favorite places to eat in Colorado Springs, Fargo's Pizza. They have really good pizza, and it is just a very fun atmosphere.

After we enjoyed our meal at Fargo's we headed to Cascade Falls (aka Graffiti Falls). I can remember coming here back when I was in JR High with my science teacher Mrs. Overland. It still looks the same except for the fact that there is a ton of Graffiti now. Back behind the falls there is a cave. It is a nice little hike and really beautiful to listen to, and look at, if you put the graffiti aside.

Amber, Candace and their cousin Lenika posing by the stream and of course in front of one of the walls of graffiti.

Candace posing on a ledge!

Uncle Justin (red shirt) taking some of the kids to behind the waterfall to see the cave.

Jared (grey shirt) debating if he wants to go behind the waterfall to see the cave. To go behind the waterfall you had to stay to the right and practically hug the rocks or else you wouldn't be able to touch the bottom.

He did it!

Our Beautiful Trip to Colorado Part One

2009-07-30T07:18:00.005-07:00

We left Saturday the 18th of July for Colorado, we arrived at Jared's brother Justin's home that evening! On Sunday we of course went to Church with Justin and his family. It truly is a small world! While at church we saw a brother of a friend of ours and my Sister-in-Laws parents. It was really nice to catch up. After church we went to Widefield (our old stomping grounds) because a friend of Justin's was in town for the weekend and his parents were throwing a BBQ for him. It was nice chatting with friends we haven't seen for ages.

On Monday we were able to take the girls to Garden of the Gods. I loved the beauty of this place when I was little, and I still do! We hiked around on some of the rocks, we and the girls had a blast.

The girls with their cousin Lenika at the Garden of the Gods visitors center.

The next two are the view of the park from the visitors center.

The girls with their cousins Mason and Lenika looking like they are trying to hold up Balancing Rock!

Mason on top of a rock!

I will make a collage of all of our pictures from our trip. We literally went nonstop from the time we left for Colorado till the time we got back home, so I am sure that there will be quite a few post to come! Enjoy!

My Creed

2009-07-24T14:45:00.003-07:00

I found this quote while we were at the Flying W Ranch in Colorado Springs and loved it. Thought that I would share it with you. I will post about our wonderful trip when we get back home.

MY CREED
by Dean Alfange

"I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. I seek opportunity to develop whatever talents God gave me--not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficience nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say--'This, with God's help, I have done.' All this is what it means to be an American."

Amber's Slumber Party!

2009-07-15T19:41:00.003-07:00

On July 9th Amber turned 10! She wanted to have a Slumber Party, so I told her that she could invite 2 friends over. She invited her friend Jonnalee and her friend Jade. The girls had alot of fun...We ate chicken nuggets and french fries, had cake and ice cream, opened presents, painted nails, watched a movie and stayed up late. Thanks Jade and Jonnalee for making my day special!

Girls Camp Rocks!

2009-07-03T16:51:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

This is awesome!

2009-06-30T18:23:00.002-07:00

Candace's Cruise!

2009-06-22T19:15:00.003-07:00

The last 3 weeks of school Candace went on a cruise with her class. (I love her teacher Mrs. Maldonado) This is how they learned geography, and different things about each of the places they went. She was able to visit Mexico, Costa Rico, France, Japan, Italy, Kenya, China, Australia and Hawaii. At each of the stops they learned about each of these places (Mrs. Maldonado asked that parents to help out also), they got to sample food from each of these places, make a souvenir, and then learn about that place. Candace got to pack a suit case for her trip, she even got to pack a towel so they could lay out on the deck of the cruise ship. She came home with many souvenirs, and a passport full of stamps from the different places she visited.Candace with her teacher Mrs. Maldonado!

Jodi and Danica welcoming home Candace from her cruise!

Jodi's Kindergarten Celebration!

2009-06-22T19:06:00.004-07:00

Here we are almost to July and I haven't even posted about Jodi's Kindergarten Celeration. Back before school got out they had a program for the Kindergarteners, it was really cute. They sang songs about what they learned in class, and then each of the children walked up to a platform there name was read and then we were told what they want to be when they grow up. I was really cute to hear all of the childrens ideas on what they wanted to be. I was really emotional, to think that this is our last child and she will be in the 1st grade. I just pray that our girls will listen to what we are teaching them and Choose the Right by making good decisions.Here is Jodi with her teacher Mrs. Shores!

Follow up to previous post!

2009-06-22T18:01:00.002-07:00

Well, just to follow up on the previous post...(mainly for those who do not have the privledge of living close to us)...for the past 2 years Jared has been without his top, front, left, tooth. It has been a long process in getting this fixed (and a TON of money) he injured it when he was younger...way younger...and got a temporary fix...and then one time when we went to the dunes he busted it loose...it has been a long 2 years with my "toothless wonder" but now it is fixed. I am sooooo HAPPY! Since his tooth has been missing I did discover that my husband has a little more red neck in him, more so than I had originally thought. While we were up at girls camp (picks and stories for another post)(his tooth was back in) he went total Hillbilly, redneck speak on us. He was driving me crazy and cracking all the young girls up. I do LOVE my man!

Do You Notice Anything Different?

2009-06-11T09:23:00.002-07:00

A new challenge!

2009-06-02T14:04:00.002-07:00

As my children grow older I feel as if my life is busier now more than ever, and I know that it has only begun. I was on my cousin's blog and saw this challenge and have accepted it and wanted to share this with my friends also. Shelly saw this video by President Eyring and was touched, and so am I. I am striving to better my life by reading my scriptures, saying my prayers, attending the temple and trying to get our food storage together. I know that we have been asked to keep a journal, but that has always been hard for me, hence the reason why I started a blog, not just to let my family and friends know what is going on in our lives, but to help me start to journal. I am going to start tonight June 2 and strive to do this every night for the rest of the year, and pray that this becomes a habit. Thank you Shelly for the challenge!

Who's in?

I was treated to the Spa for Mothers Day!

2009-05-19T09:01:00.004-07:00

On May 8th I was able to go to the Spa. I went to the Copperwood Elementary Kindergarten Day Spa. I had such a wonderful time with Jodi. Jodi's teacher Mrs. Shores set up a spa in her classroom, in one corner she had cookies and juice, at another station we got a warm cloth to put on our necks and cucumbers for our eyes, at another station we got our toenails painted, then our finger nails painted, and then the last station was the hair and massage (this was my favorite). I had such an enjoyable time watching all of these Kindergartners pamper their Moms or Grandmas. The children really enjoyed taking care of their Moms, and yes even the boys. Jodi was really cute, because when we were leaving school she asked me if I was going home and take the polish off of my nails, I of course told her no and that I loved my nails, even though I had paint up my toes and fingers and that I had 6 clippies in my hair. If any of you are wondering I did go shopping looking the way I did. I know that I got some pretty funny looks, I really think that I helped my daughters self esteem, she came to the store with me and told several people that she helped her teacher set up a spa at school and that she made me look beautiful. Jodi felt so good about herself, she even woke up the next morning to check and see if the little jewels that she had put on my big toes had fallen off or not. What a fun idea, Thanks Mrs. Shores!

As Promised.....

2009-05-15T16:55:00.004-07:00

Amber performing at the ward "Talent Show" with her friend Jade Cuthbert!

"Spring Sing" (aka, Ward Talent Show)

2009-05-15T12:26:00.009-07:00

On May 9th our Ward had their annual Scout Camp and Girls Camp fundraiser. The youth of the Ward serve dinner for donations, then have a "talent show", they also have a silent auction where the youth make goodies (treats, desserts, etc.) to be auctioned off, and anyone who want to contribute to this can. We had allot of fun. It ended up that I didn't have to cook anything the following day which just happened to be Mothers Day. I was sooooo Happy! Two of our girls participated in the Talent Show!

Breanna sang a song with the other Beehives in the Ward.

Amber did a gymnastics/dance routine with her friend Jade Cuthbert! I will post this in another post, for some reason it isn't letting me upload it.

Breanna's Spring Choir Concert!

2009-05-13T15:49:00.005-07:00

On Thursday May 7 we attended Breanna's Broadway Blast Choir concert. The 5th and 6th graders did a great job, They sang many of my favorite songs, from Annie, The Sound of Music, Grease just to name a few. Breanna even had a speaking part, and did a great job at it.

Here is a little clip from a song from Hairspray!

Amber's 4th Grade Play!

2009-05-12T21:35:00.006-07:00

About one and a half months ago the 4th graders did a play called "The Great Kapok Tree" I think is the name of it. It was really cute, and Amber had a speaking part. She did a really good job, she actually had her part memorized, and then had to say someone else's part also because they were sick. I actually heard from Jodi's Kindergarten teacher that the play was so much better this year, than in previous years. Way to go 4th graders! The children all had to make their own costumes which were just masks. They turned out really cute. Because Amber had a speaking part she was to wear a white shirt with black pants. No costume making for me! (I was actually relieved!)

Here is video of Amber saying her part.

A Funny that I just have to Share!

2009-04-09T20:26:00.003-07:00

We had just gotten home from school, I was checking emails and the girls were cleaning out their backpacks for the day, and doing homework, our normal routine after school. I received a phone call during this time from Sister Resendez, the Primary secretary asking me if I thought if Amber would like to give a talk in Primary on Sunday. I of course told her that it would not be a problem and that Amber would LOVE to give a talk. (I this whole time thought that Amber was standing right next to me listening to the conversation.) About 15 to 20 minutes later I looked at Amber and said to her that she has been asked to give a talk on Sunday and that I told them that she would love to. At this point her face went completely white! I thought that she was going to pass out. She then looks at me and very politly states that she didn't think that she could give a talk in Church on Sunday, because she was scared, and that she had never done anything like this before. (Keep in mind, she is our 9 year old.) I must have had a very puzzled look on my face, because she asked me "Why are looking at me that way?". I then asked her what do you mean that you are scared, and you don't think you can give a talk in Primary? Then as quickly as the color left it was back, she looked at me and said "Oh Thank Goodness, I thought you meant Sacrament Meeting." She then said that in Sacrament Meeting she can only do her 5 sentence part in the Primary program, and that she doesn't want to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting because she isn't old yet. I sure do LOVE my girls.

I WON!!!!

2009-04-04T16:14:00.002-07:00

My sweet friend Machelle over at spunkyCUTEchicKNITS had an April Fools Quiz, we had to guess what really happened to her. I won a basket of goodies. Machelle I hope that you are feeling better! Please do not stress about getting the basket of goodies to me, you get better first. Love Ya!

Candace's Baptism!

2009-04-03T16:08:00.003-07:00

This last weekend Candace was Baptized! It was such a wonderful day! My parents came from Colorado Springs, and of course Jared's parents, and Denee and Robby and their cute girls were there, and of course I can't forget our wonderful friends that came and shared our special day with us.
Candace received some wonderful gifts this day to help her remember about her Baptismal Covenants. Thanks to all!

Our weekend was a fun filled weekend! My parents arrived Thursday afternoon, and then on Friday Jared took the night off of work, and we pulled the girls out of school and went to the Wild Life World Zoo. They have an awesome aquarium. We spent most of our time in the aquarium, then went and fed the giraffes, and went home. Wish that I had pictures of the zoo, but I forgot to pull out the camera. By the time Monday hit, we were all tired. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming and spending the weekend with us. We love you guys.

Jodi's Birthday!

2009-03-21T07:06:00.003-07:00

On March 7th Jodi (our baby) turned 6. We had her birthday party on the 14th. It was a fun little party for her. When preparing for Jodi's party she informed me that she wanted balloons all through the house, clear up to her waist. I then told her that she had to help me blow up the balloons then, she gave up, Jodi blew up one balloon then said that she was done. She loved being able to play with all of her friends, and enjoyed the gifts she was given. I keep thinking that we are almost to the end of this school year, and my baby will then be in 1st grade. In just 2 more years Jodi will be baptized, and I will be heading into the next stage of my life, getting all of the girls into YW. What a joy it is to be raising daughters.

Tea at the White House!

2009-02-27T22:10:00.003-07:00

I got to have Tea (cookies and juice) with some very famous people today. I was privileged enough to be invited to go to the White House (Candace's classroom). I met Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Thomas Jefferson, Orville Wright just to name a few. My favorite part of this wonderful event was when I got to meet Florence Nightingale (aka Candace). Mrs. Maldonado did a great job with this program. The children were to choose a famous person in history and read a biography on them, then turn into that person for the Tea at the White House. The invited guest (parents) got to go around the room and meet these wonderful and influential people. Enjoy the video of Candace answering all of her questions.

Talent Show!

2009-02-27T21:49:00.004-07:00

Our sweet little Amber decided to try out for the talent show at the school with 3 of her friends. They would get together after school at her friends house and practice. When they tried out, they were told by the judges that they were impressed with these girls because when they messed up they didn't quit, they just kept going. The girls did a great job. Here is a video of the girls dancing to the song "Push It" from the Disney movie "Jump In".

Amber is the one in the pink shirt (and she is the shortest)!

Breanna is 12!!

2009-02-27T21:33:00.003-07:00

On February the 18th Breanna turned 12, I am still in shock that Jared and I actually have a daughter old enough to be in YW's.

On the 20th Breanna had a couple of her friends over for a sleepover/pamper night. My friend Shiloh Allen came over and did the girls hair for me, and I painted their finger nails, and they soaked their feet in one of those foot soak tubs. The girls all seemed to have a fun time. I was really lucky in the fact that when they went to watch a movie in Breanna's room, you could tell that they were having fun, but they didn't get loud and giggly. I think that they were asleep by 12-12:30. All in all it was a fun time.

Breanna, Makela and Kaylee!

After they were done pampering themselves.

CaNdAcE's 8Th BiRtHdAy PaRtY!

2009-02-17T20:21:00.004-07:00

I had a fun Birthday party. I turned 8 on February 5th. Last Friday evening I had some friends over for a Birthday party, it was a lot of fun. We ate hot dogs, chips and had a juice box for dinner. Then we made a craft, we made princess wands, then we opened presents. I got some really cool stuff. Thanks everybody! Then we had cake and ice cream. Then it was time for everybody to go home. I wanted my party to keep going. I got my ears pierced. My mom and pops also gave me a nice new set of scriptures. Here are some pics of my fun Birthday!

I have so much to Talk about!

2009-02-04T15:47:00.002-07:00

I'm not sure where to begin! I think that I will start with the yucky stuff. Last weekend we had to completely redo the sewage plumbing from our home to half way through the back yard. After 50 plus years, the roots from our trees finally found the old joints and worked their way into the pipes. We kept getting major back ups, which are not fun. But we are done now and waiting for the inspector to come so we can rebury the pipe.

On February 1st Jared turned 38. We went over to Denee and Robby's home and cooked up Carne Asada and watched the Super Bowl. In which our Cardinals lost.

Tomorrow Candace will be turning 8 years old. She will be getting baptized at the end of March. She is getting very excited because she will get her first official set of scriptures, and she will also be getting her ears pierced.

Then on the 18th of February Breanna will turn 12 and be heading on into the YW's program. I am still in shock that I will actually have a 12 year old, and only one more left to get baptized. My how time flies.

This was just a quick update on how we are doing! I will definitely post more later.

SnOw DaY!!!!!

2009-01-21T12:45:00.003-07:00

On Monday, we had school off and Daddy didn't have to work. Daddy took us to Flagstaff to play in the snow. We had a lot of fun. Mommy and Daddy kept telling us that we are definitely "City Girls"! We didn't much care for the COLD, and getting wet when the snow melted on our clothes. It was funny watching everyone trying to walk through the snow. We would start walking then all of a sudden we would fall through to our knees or higher. We tried to make a snowman, and have a snowball fight, but Daddy said that it was to cold and that the snow wouldn't stick together until it got warmer. Daddy started a fire to help us warm up before we came back to Phoenix and warmer weather. Thanks Daddy for taking us, we had a fun time.

New Years Eve/Day!

2009-01-08T18:25:00.004-07:00

On New Years Eve we went to our Dax and Azures home and had a Fondue Party/WII Party! It was a total blast. Jared and I are now wishing that we had bought a WII instead of a PS3. The girls were laughing their heads off every time it was their turn to play. Before we went over Jared kept asking me if he would have to turn over to me his "Man Card", and of course I kept looking at him with this puzzled look. He finally explained to me that he thought Fondue was for, let's just say, a different breed of men. I started laughing. But he ended up enjoying it, and even suggested that we get Fondue pots. I don't have any pics of the night but Azure took video of Jared playing WII. He is playing against Mon's who just stood there and moved his arms, and then there is Jared! Enjoy! On a side note, I beat Jared in Boxing!

On New Years Day we finally got to go riding, so the girls could use their new Christmas gift! We had a wonderful time, and the girls really love their new quads. Amber is getting better at riding her motorcycle, and the girls enjoyed following Jared on trails while he was leading in the golf cart. I wish that I had taken pictures that day but did not. We had a blast hanging out with family and friends.

I have such Wonderful Friends!!!!

2009-01-07T09:43:00.003-07:00

When I started working our plan was that Jared or I would be home with our girls when they were not in school. Well, that has now been foiled with APS doing away with graveyards.(Don't get me wrong, I love that he isn't working Graves anymore, but, it came a little sooner than expected.) During Christmas break I did have to work, I only worked 3 days but I still had to work, and Jared's work decided that the last 2 weeks of the year everyone would be working the day shift. This was not in our plans, I did not want to pawn our girls off on someone so that Jared and I could work. But luckily I only had to work 3 days total, so I only needed someone to watch the girls those three days. Well, that is were our friends stepped in. They offered without us having to ask. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends. The first day I worked my friend Azure watched the girls for us, and the second day I worked my friend Amber watched the girls for us, and on the third day Jared's parents took the girls. Well, when Amber watched the girls she and her husband Mon's and Azure and her husband Dax took all of their children and mine hiking in the White Mountains, The girls had a super fun time! They hiked to the water falls, in hopes that there would be running water, because most of the time there isn't, but their was because it has rained allot this year. We just wanted to Thank our wonderful friends, and parents for stepping in for us, we are truly blessed to have you in our lives.

Christmas Day!

2009-01-04T21:46:00.003-07:00

We had a wonderful and relaxing day! The girls slept in till about 8:30, and of course when they woke up we had to open presents. It was a very laid back and relaxing morning. The girls all got Pj's, Breanna and Amber both got Nintendo DS's, and Candace and Jodi both got new to us but used quads (these are bigger than the ones we have now, the girls just will not stop growing). I feel that this Christmas has been one of our best by far. Weirdest thing though, we didn't even put up our Christmas tree, strange I know. Because of the quality of the gifts the girls didn't get very much, but I truly feel that they cherish the ones that they have received.

The girls in their new Pj's, and the Uno Attack game that they got from Santa!

Jodi riding her new quad around the tree! We had all intentions on taking the girls riding on Christmas day, but it was raining. So we stayed home and watched movies.

Candace riding her new quad!

At about 4:30 we headed over to Jared's parent home for dinner! We had a wonderful time and the girls watched The Water Horse, and the adults learned how to play Hand and Foot.

More pictures from Christmas Eve!

2009-01-04T18:31:00.005-07:00

Denee Robbie

Parker! Grandma Debbie, Aunt Peggy!

Uncle Edd with the kidos!

Me and Shelly!

*Disclaimer, I let the girls take all of the pics! Yes, I fixed my camera and it does work now, but when you hand it to busy little girls the pictures don't come out so nice!

Christmas Eve!

2009-01-02T15:34:00.003-07:00

*Yea, I know, I'm really behind on posting! I will just post little by little until I get caught up!

Back to Christmas Eve! We had a wonderful time getting together with Jared's family! We went over to Jared's cousins home, Chad and Shelly Turley! We enjoyed visiting with family, and watching the children play and of course eating! We ate yummy yummy Mexican food. So here are a few pics of the evening, enjoy!

Amber, Candace and Jodi with Carter! Breanna, Jodi and Candace with Bryce!

Jared and Aunt Kerry! Uncle Edd, Grandma Millie and Danica!

I know the pics aren't the greatest, but I was having too much fun visiting with everyone, so I let the girls run around and take the pics for me!

Kindergarten "Winter Program"

2008-12-19T06:18:00.002-07:00

On Tuesday Jodi had a Winter Program, up until it was time for me to leave her side, she kept telling me that she was nervous, and that her tummy hurt. It was so cute! But the kindergartners did a great job. I didn't get very many pictures though, I was at the complete opposite end of the gym. So I sent Amber and Breanna crawling on the floor with my camera and cell phone to try and get pictures. The children sang several songs, including Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (not only did they sing this song, but they used sign language also), The Dreidel song, a Kwanzaa song, and a very cute Hawaiian Christmas song.

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!

2008-12-10T18:43:00.003-07:00

It is finally here, the day has arrived! After almost 4 years Jared is no longer working the GRAVEYARD shift!!!!! APS has decided to do away with this shift! Yippee Yi Yay Ki Yo! Can you see me doing cartwheels? Wait, don't picture that! Sorry! The girls and I are truly jumping for joy! Jared will be on a somewhat more normal schedule now. Tonight is his last night of working from 10pm to 8am. We are somewhat spoiled though, with the graveyard schedule Jared would work 4 10's, he would start work Sunday night and Wednesday night was his last night of work. We loved it because when we would want to plan camping trips work never really got in the way. The thing that we didn't like about this schedule was that Jared was always tired, grouchy, and not himself. His new schedule will be working Monday thru Friday from 3 in the afternoon till 11 at night. The best part for us is that Jared will be on a more normal sleep schedule. The not so fun part is that the girls may not be able to see their Daddy during the week, and Jared and I will need to be more aware of our girls needs. Mainly meaning the time that they get to spend with their Dad. This means that their will be more Daddy/Daughter dates in store for the girls, and well camping will become difficult now. But we know that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. But we are asking that you keep us in your prayers as we figure this new and exciting stage in our life out.

Ok, so onto the exciting part of our evening! For the past almost 4 years, we have had blankets hanging in our bedroom window to help keep light out. (Yes, I was too cheap to go and buy black out curtains!) The blankets would come down about once a month so that I could wash them, then they went right back up. So, we have now taken them down officially (hopefully) forever!

The before shot! Well kind off! Jared thought of me blogging about this after he had already taken the blankets down. So he kind of put them back up for dramatic affect.

Jared taking the blankets down! The thing you can't hear is the girls shouting for joy in the background!

The finished product! I think I want new window treatments! The kind that would let in beautiful daylight!

My KiNdErGaRtEn SwEaTeR!

2008-12-08T05:45:00.002-07:00

My Grandma Linda loves to knit her grandchildren sweaters. We get one when we are born, and then when we start kindergarten. Since I started kindergarten this year it was my turn to get a beautiful sweater that Grandma knit. I couldn't wait until she sent it. Then this last week I finally got it. It is so beautiful, Thank you Grandma, I LOVE IT!

This is Jodi sportin the new sweater.

Our Fun Weekend at the Sand Dunes!!!!

2008-12-06T06:58:00.008-07:00

Well, as you know we went to the Imperial Sand Dunes for Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful time with friends. We left Wednesday afternoon after I got off of work, Jared pulled the girls out of school early and came and got me. We got there after dark so the girls didn't get to ride, but they got to play with friends while the adults set up camp. On Thursday we started riding, and the weather was perfect, and so was the riding. It had rained really good the day before, and when it rains the sand is perfect to ride on. We had allot of good food for Thanksgiving diner, we had a big pot luck, with at least 15 other trailers, 6 of us from AZ, and the rest from CA, but everybody new somebody somehow. Good yummy food. We always seem to eat better when we are camping, or food just taste better when camping. The best part of the whole trip is that we didn't get stuck in the sand this time. Thanks to a 4X4 truck. The not so fun part of the trip is that Candace got sick, she ran a fever most of the weekend so I spent most of my time at camp. I just felt horrible for her. So here are some pics of our wonderful trip. I didn't get very many pics,because I would forget that I had the camera, and would forget to take it with me when we went on big rides. This is Amber taking the kids for a ride around the camp. And yes, she is only 9, and can barely see over the steering wheel of the golf kart, but she is so good at driving it, and watches out for everyone and thing. This is Jared leaving to go on one of the many rides the guys went on. He is on the motorcycle all deck out in riding gear. I will not let him ride unless he has the garb on, because I have ridden with him before, and he is a little crazy.This is video of Amber getting used to riding her dirt bike in the sand.

All in all we had a fun time. The only thing that bothered me was that there were way to many people there for my liking. I think that I am an off weekend kind of girl. I wish that I had sent my camera to the Sand drags with Jared, he said that the drags were a mile long. I would have loved to see that. I also wish that I had taken it with me both of the times that we went to the hill, ton of people there also.

Not for the Faint of Heart!!!

2008-12-04T20:19:00.005-07:00

Ok, so this story may gross you out a bit, I was grossed out, and still am about this situation that happened to me. It all started Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I woke up and wasn't really feeling well, I took the girls to car pool, and started working. After I got off of work I went to go and pick up Jodi and Candace from school and then went to Fry's so I could get the grocery shopping done for the trip to the Dunes. We were in the store and had a couple of things in the basket when all of a sudden Jodi announced LOUDLY that she had to go to the bathroom. Mind you, when Jodi tells me that she has to go potty, she had to go 20 minutes ago. So, the loving mom that I am, took Jodi to the bathroom, I DON'T LIKE PUBLIC RESTROOMS! I decide to help her because all of the toilets have (I don't think I need to say it, you know what I'm talking about) in them. We choose the cleanest one (which wasn't very clean)(Why people can't FLUSH the toilet after they have used it is beyond me), I set my purse on the purse holder in the tiny stall and proceed to help Jodi, she proceeds to smash her finger in the door, I turn ever so slightly to help her and my purse falls, into where you ask, the toilet, my purse chooses inside the toilet of all places to land. At this time I am more concerned about the $250 Dooney and Bourke purse that the girls bought me for Mothers Day last year rather than Jodi's smashed fingers. I grab the purse and pull it out as fast as I can, and as I look down at the toilet I see half of the contents of my purse still sitting in the toilet, I am thinking to myself "Is all of this stuff really important, do I really have to stick my hand in that toilet to retrieve the contents of my purse?" So I grab my wallet and my sunglasses and left all of the pens that dropped into the toilet, and the chap stick, and the lotion, and my pocket knife (because I didn't know that it had fallen in) walk to the sink and proceed to dump about 4 inches of lets just say water into the sink. I clean out the purse to the best of my ability and wipe all of the contents down, and while I am doing this a cute little old lady came in asked me what had happened I told her the jist of it, she then looked at me with this sarcastic look on her face and said "Well, Happy Thanksgiving to You, Huh!" At that point I wanted to go home and cry. The sad part of all of this is that I still had to finish shopping with said purse on my shoulder. I can't look at the purse the same. So several people have suggested that I sell it on Ebay. Not sure if I can, but this is a warning to all of my friends and family, if you see this purse on Ebay listed by speedyja don't buy it.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2008-11-24T18:56:00.002-07:00

We just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope that everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends. We as a family, are so blessed, and we have so many things to be grateful for, our families near and far, our friends, our health, a steady job, the list could go on and on, but I will not bore you.

We are very excited this year, we are able to go to the Glamis Sand Dunes in CA, and spend time with friends. The girls are so excited that they get to go to the dunes for Thanksgiving. Jared is too!!! He has been saying for atleast 4+ years now that one day we will be at the Sand dunes for Thanksgiving. We are so going this year! There is a really funny story that goes along with this, and I am so going to tell it. It all started back a couple of months ago when Jareds sister Denee' told us that she and her family were going to CO for Thanksgiving, and invited Mom and Dad, they of course asked us if we wanted to go. We decided not to go, and we were actually looking forward to not having anything to do for Thanksgiving. Then Jared got a phone call from his friend Dax Cuthbert asking us what we were doing for Thanksgiving. Jared told him not much of anything, just relaxing at home, Dax then asked him if we wanted to go to the Dunes, because his wife Azure had suggested they go, since they wern't doing anything, and all of their family was going to be out of town. So, we all know what Jared did, came and asked me if we wanted to go. Silly me said sure, why not, we don't have anything better to do. It was as if Jared had Dax's phone number allready to dial in his phone, called him and told him we were in. So then a couple of days later I had a chance to speak with Azure and asked her what was up with going to the Dunes. She then told me that she was joking when she was talking with Dax, but by that time it was to late to change the BOYS minds. So here we are getting ready to go, and we are all very excited. Many fun stories and pics to be posted after the trip.

On a side note: Congratulations to my sister Kaelynn and her husband Uriah, on the arrival of their new baby boy, Abinadi James. We love you guys!!!!!

Much easier this time!!!

2008-11-22T08:13:00.002-07:00

On Friday Amber went on a BIG Field trip for a 9 year old. All of the 4th grade classes went on a Cavern Quest. I dropped Amber off at school at 6:00 in the morning. If you remember from this post, I was a nervous wreck, when Breanna went on this Field Trip. But this time it was much easier. I was still a mom, and thought of Amber all day long, whether or not she was obeying the adults, being nice and polite to her friends, etc., etc., etc., you know, all of the things that moms think about! But needless to say she had a blast, and didn't stop talking about the field trip for at least an hour. When I picked her up from the school at 5:30pm I asked her teacher Mrs. Gray if Amber was good and obeyed all the rules. Mrs. Gray then told me that Amber was allot of fun to have on the trip, and that her manners were wonderful, there was always a please and a thank you, and that she never had to remind her of the rules. Wow, I think what I am trying to teach the girls at home is really paying off.

Jodi's Very First Field Trip!

2008-11-15T19:59:00.003-07:00

On Thursday Jodi was able to go on her very first field trip. She was so excited, and she asked that her Daddy go with her. They went to Tolmachoff Farms. They got to go through a corn maze, and learned about farms. Jodi even picked vegetables and was able to bring home what she picked. She will not let us eat the carrots, cucumber, radishes or even her zucchini. Jodi is now telling us that we need to plant a garden. (Jared and I have been thinking allot about this lately!) But the funniest part of the day was when she asked her Dad if she got to go home with him after the field trip and have her Daddy/Daughter date with him. (She got the idea from the week before. After Breanna got back to the school from Outdoor Ed Matt Cherry brought her home for us, and he and Jared took Breanna and Kaylee out by Lake Pleasant to go riding. So Jodi thought that this is what happens after field trips.) Way too Cute! Here are a couple of pictures that Jared got with his cell phone. I could post more, but I can't seem to get his new phone away from him, he loves it sooo much, he is even texting, something he wasn't really fond of.

Outdoor Education!

2008-11-06T15:42:00.007-07:00

Well, here I am again, a mom who is nervous right now. I am not as nervous as before as you can see in I am a MOM post. Breanna has the opportunity to attend Outdoor Ed. The 6th graders go to the Desert Outdoor Center where they learn about the desert, and get to stay overnight in the dorms there. I feel that it is a wonderful experience for Breanna, but I am still her mom. I can't wait to hear all of her stories, and what she learned about when she gets home. This is a pic of Breezy all packed and ready to go. She was so excited because for one, this whole trip sounded fun to her, and two, she got new jeans and a belt. We discovered that she has grown since last year (I know, I know, she is growing, but in my eyes she is still my little girl) and doesn't fit her jeans any more. It made her feel real special.P.S. I am about ready to cry! My camera (how do I put it nicely?) SUCKS!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-11-01T06:34:00.003-07:00

I am not a big fan of Halloween, I have always hated dressing up, scary things and etc. I have a real vivid imagination. I have nightmares over the smallest and slightly scary things. So, needless to say Halloween is not a fun time of year for me. But Jared and the girls love it. Last night was our ward "Trunk or Treat" party. It was alot of fun. Jared is off Hunting somewhere with our Brother-in-law Robbie, so Denee came with us. We (the girls) decorated the trunk. We had Chilli for dinner, and they had a bounce house, a cake walk, karaoke, a spook alley, face painting, and ofcourse the best part of the evening, the candy. The pics arn't great. Camera is fading fast.

Breanna was Cleopatra, Amber was Miley Cirus(not Hannah Montana), Candace was a Princess, and Jodi was a Witch (but was soposed to be dressed like she was from the 70's, she wouldn't wear the costume that I bought her, the one that she picked out) Danica was a pumkin witch.

School Pictures!

2008-10-25T13:40:00.004-07:00

We just had school pictures taken. I just love this time of year! Yea Right! I hate school pictures. I'm not there, so I can't make sure that the girls hair is in place, or even center them in the photo, or whether or not the pose looks OK, or even the color of the back ground that you choose is even being used. I never order very many because I am never happy. And then you pay a ton of money for just a few. Oh well, my gripping and complaining over here are their school pictures, and everything aside, I think they turned out OK!

Breanna Dawn

6th Grade

11 years old

Amber Lynn

4th Grade

9 years old

Candace Rose

2nd Grade

7 years old

Jodi Dene

Kindergarten

5 years old

We have another "Student of the Month"

2008-10-17T23:11:00.003-07:00

Today Jodi was awarded "Student of the Month" for the month of October. This is what her teacher had to say about her:

"This young lady is an enthusiastic learner. She comes to school with a smile and ready to learn. Her positive attitude shows in her concern for her fellow students and their well being. She is always friendly, cooperative, and fair and is a pleasure to have in class."

Way to go Jodi we are so proud of you!! Love ya lots! Mom and Dad

Tagged!!!!

2008-10-09T15:57:00.003-07:00

8 TV shows I love to watch!
1. Bones
2. CSI
3. House
4. Ugly Betty
5. Heroes
6. Prison Break
7. American Idol
8. Biggest Loser

8 Things that happened yesterday!
1. Went to work
2. Picked up kids from School
3. Made Navajo Tacos
4. Laundry
5. Talked on the phone
6. Read scriptures with the girls
7. Watched Bones
8. Kissed Jared good night (he is actually home at night this week, he's working the day shift)

8 Favorite places to eat!
1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Famous Daves
3. El Paso BBQ
4. Chipotles
5. Dos Hombres(in Colorado Springs, CO)
6. Casa Bonitas (in Denver, CO)
7. Fargo's Pizza (in Colorado Springs, CO)
8. Barro's Pizza

8 Things I'm looking forward to!
1. Christmas
2. Not having to go anywhere for Thanksgiving
3. Not working on Monday (Columbus Day)
4. Breanna starting YW
5. No children this Friday (Aunt Denee is taking the girls for our Anniversary)
6. My brother coming home from Iraq (he just left)
7. Jared's business making us money
8. Having 1 year of food storage

8 Things on my wish list!
1. 1 year of food storage
2. The girls to never fight (yea, like if that will ever happen)
3. More ALONE time with Jared (this working night stuff sucks)
4. Girls that get along (oh, did I say that?)
5. More time to do things for ME
6. To get more organized
7. To have no animals
8. I wish that I didn't have to work

8 People I tag!
1. Elena
2. Janette
3. Diana
4. Carolyn
5. Amber
6. Wendy
7. Katy
8. Shelly

Have Fun!!!

Do we want this to happen to us?

2008-10-04T11:06:00.004-07:00

If you live in AZ you know that we have Proposition 102 on the ballot coming in November. I am very worried for our children. I am voting YES on Prop. 102. I do not want this to happen to my children. I'm sure most of you have heard of this, but I thought that I would share this video anyways. Jared and I are seriously thinking about Home Schooling our children if they do not pass this. We know that things like this will come up in our lives, but our children do not need to be taught this in school.

Ironic thing about this video, is that I know Rob Wirthlin. Way back when in my single days, back in Colorado Springs, I was attending the singles ward there, and he was attending the Air Force Academy there, and of course the singles ward. Yes, his Grandfather was Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. All of us singles would love it when his Grandpa would come to visit. We had a General Authority attend our singles ward often, and what a wonderful spirit he would bring.

Family, is so IMPORTANT!

2008-10-04T07:49:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to share this wonderful video on family.

P.S. If you want to watch the video you can pause my music (at bottom of page) by pressing the pause button on the play list.

General Conference!

2008-09-30T17:53:00.006-07:00

We are very excited for General Conference. But I have to tell you a funny story leading up to Conference this weekend. It all begins about 2 years ago, we decided to purchase Direct TV, and discovered that they have the BYU channel. (Before Direct TV we had Dish Network for 2 years and before that we had Bunny ears.) We really enjoyed having all the fun channels. But about 3 or 4 months ago we decided to get rid of it, (children not obeying parents, abusing the rights to watch TV, etc., we have all been there before) so I canceled Direct TV. We have not missed it at all.(All of our TVs are on the older side so they don't even have internal antennas, so we weren't getting any channels.) The girls didn't even squawk at the fact that they couldn't watch Hannah Montana or Wizards of Waverly Place any more. It has been really nice, the girls have learned to play with each other again. But a couple of Sundays ago we were reminded that last weekend was fast Sunday because Conference is this weekend. Jared and I at the same time looked at each other and said in unison, "We can't watch conference in our PJ's!". It was funny! (had to be there, kind of moment) So we have been trying to decide what we were going to do for conference:

1. Get dressed up in our Sunday best both Saturday and Sunday and go to the Stake Center to watch conference
2. Or go out and buy rabbit ears so we can watch Conference on our TV at home and in our PJ's.

We opted for #2, I went and purchased one of these so that we could enjoy Conference in the comfort of our home

LPP Ward Camp out!

2008-09-22T06:54:00.007-07:00

We just had our Ward camp out. It was at Fort Tuthill. It is an old Military Base. The girls and I went up on Friday afternoon and came home Saturday afternoon. Jared had to stay in town to take an NRA Shotgun course. Our friends the Urichs pulled our trailer up to the camp out for us (so the girls and I didn't have to pitch a tent, we are so spoiled now) and they stayed in the trailer also. It was fun to be had by all. I thought that I would be able to get more pictures, but even with the girls older it was still hard having only one adult. Breanna was the one taking the pictures for me so she isn't in any of the pictures. But we had a very nice time in the COOL pines of Flagstaff. On the way home we stopped off at Beaver Creek (a creek with running water in AZ, I know can you believe it, we do have running water) and the girls played in the water for a little bit, and of course ate lunch. It was really a nice relaxing time. Now the girls are asking what we are going to be doing this weekend. (Jared is finishing up the NRA course this weekend.) I voted to stay home.

All of the cute little girls that were at the Ward Camp out!
Amber with her friends Shelby and Jade!

(Sorry the pictures are so fuzzy! I think that my camera is starting to crap out on me. Bummer! Guess what I'm getting for Christmas!!!)

Student of the Month and TRRFCC Ticket!

2008-09-20T20:42:00.006-07:00

Yes, we have another Student of the Month in our family!

On Friday Morning Candace was awarded "Student of the Month" for her class for the Month of September. Way to go Rosie we are so proud of you!!! This is what Mrs. Pope had to say about Candace:

"Candace comes to school every day prepared to learn. She puts an extra effort into every task. She is a team player and shows exemplary behavior."

Candace is in the front row 1st child on your left.

And our Amber received a "TRRFCC Ticket" on Friday morning also. Way to go Amber we are so pleased with your decision to help others. Mrs. Gray her teacher had this to say about her:

"Amber is a very caring person she helped another student clean up their mess."

Just to let you know, TRRFCC stands for: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

GRADUATION!!!!

2008-09-18T08:19:00.002-07:00

It is a wonderful day here at the Lee house! Breanna has GRADUATED from Speech Therapy! We are so excited for her, it has been a long time coming. She started speech in the 1st grade and is now in the 6th grade. Congratulations for accomplishing your goal Breezy! We love you!!!!

We are at the Next Step in our Lives!

2008-09-16T12:48:00.003-07:00

We are truly at the next step in our lives! Jodi has started school and is thoroughly enjoying it. The girls are all settling into their new school schedules. I have started working part time for a friend Gayle Juhl. She and her husband own a home based business called Metro Site Inspections! I work from 7:30 in the morning to about 10:00 or 10:30 in the morning. I am really enjoying working for Gayle. It is proving to be very challenging though. The hours that I am working are normally the hours that I try to get chores done around the house. I try to get them done before Jared goes to sleep, so I don't wake him when he is sleeping. Jared has helped out allot since I have started working. He will empty the dishwasher and load it for me, he will vacuum the floors for me. There are many perks to having all your children in school. Our home stays clean, it never gets as messy as it used to. It is working out very nice. Although I do miss the morning time that I would get to spend with Jared if I were home. I know that my hours are not full time, but we are still trying to adjust to me working at all. Having been home for over 10 years it is really strange. Love to all! The Lee's

Our Weekend!

2008-09-02T10:20:00.002-07:00

We had a very nice weekend! We were supposed to go the the Cinders with the Larson's, Cuthbert's, and the Lowry's, but our plans changed. And when I was talking with all of the other wife's, they were also HAPPY that we ended up not going, because that meant that they didn't have to go also. Kinda funny, these husbands of ours will not go riding anymore with out each other. So our weekend started out Jared sold an engine that we have had in the garage for over 12 years (YES, he has had it longer than we have been married. I can't believe that I let him move it to AZ!). Then he went with his buddy Dax and they loaded all of the dirt bikes and quads onto the trailer so that the guys could go riding on Saturday morning. On Saturday Jared went riding with the guys, and the girls and I cleaned Candace and Jodi's bedroom. In the afternoon we went over to the Cuthberts home for a swimming party and BBQ. We had a blast! At about 9:30 Saturday night Jared got called into work, and was home within an hour. At 5am Sunday morning Jared got called back into work and was gone all day Sunday. APS has been working around the clock since last Thursday, when we had a very bad storm here. They called the storm that we had a "Hurricane on Land". Winds were steady over 100 mph. Jared and I were very excited about him being called in. He will get paid Double time! Yippee! Then on Monday we got up and cleaned the house, because we had Jared's family over for a BBQ, before Jared and his Dad had to go to bed so that they could work that evening. All in all it was a fun and relaxing weekend! I just wish that I had pics of the girls swimming! But I forgot to take my camera!

Spur of the Moment Temple Visit!

2008-08-27T20:10:00.004-07:00

Last Friday we had to run to Mesa to pick something up. I had just gotten out of a job interview with Frontier Elementary at 3:20, Jared had just gotten off of work at about the same time, and the girls were at the Cherry's home swimming and having fun. (Thanks to Dawn for picking them up for me!) So I ran and got the girls, went home got Jared and we ran to Mesa to get what we needed, and then ended up at the Mesa Temple. It was a fun spur of the moment Family thing to do. We walked around the Temple grounds, and walked through the Visitors Center. The girls had fun watching all of the little video clips about Families, CTR, and etc. Breanna realized that next year when she turns 12 she will be able to attend the Temple and do Baptisms for the Dead. It was truly a wonderful time. The funniest part for me was when Amber was reading on the computer screen, video discriptions, she said a word wrong (I wish that I could remember the exact word, but oh, well) and I corrected her, but she politly said to me that she did say the word right, and pointed it out to me, sure enough they had left out an "S" in the word, so she was saying it the way that it read. After we walked around the Temple grounds we went to the DQ next door for dessert before dinner. It was a wonderful Friday evening.

Sorry the pictures are not that great, I took them with my cell phone!

Student of the Month!

2008-08-22T12:24:00.005-07:00

This morning Amber was awarded "Student of the Month" for the month of August. Every month the teachers choose 1 student from their classroom that has done something noticeable and respectable to them and they get this award. We are so pleased with what Amber's teacher had to say about her.

"This young lady has continuously shown a positive attitude. She has made an effort to come prepared daily and shows great responsibility. She also has taken the initiative to help clean up the campus. Her positive attitude is always reflected with her smile."

This is Amber with the other 3rd and 4th graders (who also got student of the month) and the Principle Dr. Crudder, and the new vice principle(I don't remember her name). And yes Amber is the oldest child in the picture!

We Welcome the Newest Member of our Family!

2008-08-17T17:55:00.003-07:00

Last night Jared had to run by his buddy John's house, and of course he was their for a while. When he came home he came home with a surprise. I could hear whimpering the second he opened the truck door, and the whole way up the drive way. So I ran to the door as he was unlocking it to try and find out what the heck was going on out side. He had brought a little puppy home with him from Johns.(Their dogs had puppies!) The breed of the dog is a Dachshund, I was not very thrilled at the moment, because this breed of dogs tend to be very YAPPY! I have gotten used to Scooter who will howl when he hears sirens, and bark when their is someone he doesn't recognize going down the street. He is a very quiet and blind dog. And we also have 3 red eared slider turtles that don't make any noise at all. Then I decided that I would train him not to bark from the beginning. Wish me luck! The girls have named him Thor!

UURRGG!

2008-08-13T08:12:00.003-07:00

I can't believe that Jodi is already SICK! The 3rd day of school and I am having to keep her home. She was up all night because she couldn't breath, she sounds horrible, her nose is stuffed up, she has a nasty cough and she is here at home crying because she can't go to school. I am just frustrated. She loves school. I know sounds weird coming from the mommy who was scared to send her. She is truly ready for school, and I am growing up. Thanks for letting me vent.

1st Day of School!

2008-08-11T10:38:00.003-07:00

I began this day with very mixed feelings. Our baby Jodi started Kindergarten today. Last night when we were getting ready for today and Jared was giving the girls their Fathers Blessings, I was crying realizing that it is here the day I do not have anymore children at home during the day with me. I finally asked Jared to give me a blessing also, and was greatly comforted by the blessing. I was afraid that Jodi would not do ok in school, (she still has a hard time going to primary). That she would be crying for her teacher and wanting mommy and daddy to stay with her, and not leave her side. Well I was wrong! When school started she walked right on into her classroom put her backpack and lunch box in her cubby, went and sat down and started playing with the string and beads that her teacher had out on their tables. All while she was laughing and talking with her new classmates. Boy was I stressed out for no reason!Jodi all excited!
Candace had a bit of a hard time. She wasn't seeing any of her friends from last year, so she was a little scared. But when the bell rang she finally saw a friend from last year and went to class with no problems. Candace is starting 2nd grade.
Amber was overjoyed to finally be back in school where she could be the cutest and smallest girl in 4th grade. All of her friends found her and she was off playing.
Breanna is starting the 6th grade. She is excited because their is a friend of ours from our stake in her class Kaylee Cherry. She was excited because their will be 2 of them who have the same standards.

So for now I am not crying! I think that I am going to make bread without any interruptions.

A Funny Story!

2008-08-09T10:29:00.002-07:00

I wanted to post about this yesterday but I forgot about it when I saw that the price of fuel was cheaper. So here I am posting the funny story a day late.

Friday morning the girls and I were helping Jared to pack the trailer so that he could go on a guys trip to the Cinders. When he found out that most of the Dad's were taking at least one of their children he asked Breanna and Amber if they wanted to go. (He asked them because they are older and can pretty much take care of themselves.) They of course said yes and instantly started packing, and Candace and Jodi instantly started crying. When I was walking through the house I overheard Candace telling Megan, (daughter of John Armstrong, and one of the girls going) that it wasn't fair, because Breanna and Amber get to spend time with the fun parent, and that her and Jodi HAVE to spend time with the parent that isn't fun. I heard her say that Daddy is the one that they have fun with, and Mommy is the one who makes them do their chores, take their vitamins and eat healthy, and that they didn't want to do any of that. So Jared promised them that while he was gone that they didn't have to do any chores. I was laughing so hard because it sounded so cute coming from Candace. But after they left I started thinking that maybe I need to be a little more fun. So I am trying not to always be the "Meanest Mom on the Block" as my girls have told me before.

Diesel Fuel!

2008-08-08T12:20:00.002-07:00

I just ran to the store for a few things that we needed and I came across the Shell gas station at 43rd Ave and Northern, and their diesel fuel was only $3.97 per gallon. I was so excited to see that the cost had come down so much. OK so just about $1.00 but still, Woo Hoo! Too bad both of our trucks were already full.

Isn't this the TRUTH!

2008-08-06T18:24:00.003-07:00

I just thought that this picture was funny, my sister Elena sent me an e-mail with a bunch of pictures like this one on it. This is totally how Jared and I feel right now. He drives a F250 which of course is diesel, and I drive an Excursion which of course is diesel. It cost us about $200 to fill each of our trucks. Anybody want to buy an Excursion?

The Lee Family Reunion 2008

2008-08-03T15:28:00.001-07:00

Riding Horses with the Halls in Show Low, AZ

2008-08-03T15:06:00.003-07:00

wAtEr FiGhT!

2008-07-28T07:33:00.003-07:00

On Saturday we went to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch with Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Laura and our cousins Wade and Jed. Then after that mom had daddy stop at the dollar store for water fight supplies. When we got home all of the adults filled up water balloons and water guns for us. When they were done we started the water fight with our cousins Wade and Jed and our neighbor across the street James. Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Jeremy got in on the fight also! It was very refreshing to be able to cool down on such a hot day!

The Lee Family Reunion!

2008-07-27T13:17:00.007-07:00

After our visit in Show Low we headed to Hannagan Meadow Lodge about 2 hours from Show Low for the Family Reunion on Jared's side of the Family. This place is beautiful, and out in the middle of the forest with nothing around, and cars would come down the road about every 1/2 hour. It was so peaceful, it rained everyday, and it never got above 78 degrees. We would watch deer and elk come into the meadow across the street in the early morning and in the evening. We had a washers tournament and Denee and her husband Robbie won the tournament. We went to Big Lake about 1 hour away and rented rowboats and took the children out on the water, then we headed into the forest and had a picnic. The children had many crafts to do, and games to play. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone, and just relaxing! Thanks to Denee for planing this years reunion!

The Scavenger Hunt!

On the row boats!

Making Crafts!

Playing with cousins Lenika and Benson!

The Bon Fire!

I wish that I could post all of the pictures from the Reunion, but I am going to make a slide of all of the pictures and place it on the Blog.

Where do I begin?

2008-07-26T21:23:00.004-07:00

We have had a fun and wonderful week. We left last Friday and headed to Show Low, AZ to visit our friends Jared and Lisa Hall. We got there Friday afternoon/evening sometime. We had dinner and visited, and of course the children had fun playing. On Saturday we woke up and Jared and Jared went to go and help a sister move in their ward. We then went horseback riding. Jared H. owns a horse, and his 2 brothers who live in Show Low own several also. So we went and the children helped to brush the horses so that they could saddle them up, and load them into the horse trailer. After we got them loaded we headed to the Hunters property up there in Pinedale. They have a cabin that backs into national forest so it is easy to go horseback riding from there. The girls really enjoyed it, and Jared L. did also, and of course the Halls did. Now me on the other hand, I wasn't to sure about it. When I was 12 or 13 years old and at girls camp, I got bucked off of a horse not once but twice. I haven't been to sure about horses since then. Jared H. took 2 different groups on a nice long trail ride. It was allot of fun! Thanks Halls!Jared riding Diamond!Breanna riding Cowboy!Amber riding Max!Candace riding Cowboy!Jodi riding Max!

and last but not least,Yes, I did get on a horse, it was Cowboy. It took me about 1 hour to get up the courage to finally decide to get on, and then about 5 minutes standing beside the horse to get on. I decided to get on the horse so that I could show my girls that I was ok, and that I wasn't afraid of horses any more. But the one thing that they couldn't hear was my heart about to jump out of my chest. But I did it, I got on and road around for about 5 minutes, and then I was DONE.

That night we then went to the annual dinner that the stake that the Halls live in put on for Pioneer Day. The dinner was delicious. When we pulled up the weather turned into a torrential down pour. But we stayed and ate dinner, and the children got to run and play. While we were in line for food, as we got towards where they were serving food we looked up and saw a very dear friend of ours serving food. Shawn Bryant, he lives here in the valley. I guess that his dad lives in the stake and he came up to help him with cooking and serving the food. We truly had a wonderful weekend. Thanks again to the Halls!

WE LOVE RAIN!

2008-07-14T09:17:00.003-07:00

It has rained twice in the last week. The first time was on Thursday night. We were at Volleyball and the girls and I left at about 8:30, when we walked out of the building it was a torrential down pour. We had a blast driving home through the flooded streets. And then it rained yesterday afternoon/evening. I wish that I had let the girls run outside and play. But when it rains here in the valley it is a big treat.

oUr FuN aNd FaBuLoUs FoUrTh!

2008-07-08T13:17:00.005-07:00

We had a very nice weekend with Justin and Tahna and the kids. On Friday morning we woke up and loaded up the truck, then headed over to our 4th of July Bishops pancake breakfast. The food was Yummy. (but everything taste good when it is cooked on a camp stove.) After the breakfast we headed to Tucson. We got there and just hung out. For dinner we had a fire and was cooking hot dogs on the fire when it started to rain hard. I wish that I had pulled my camera out for this but Jared was sitting in the rain cooking the hot dogs for everyone. We had gotten the fire hot enough that the rain didn't put it out. Needless to say Jared was drenched. After the rain Jared and Justin took the kids onto the roof to see if they could see any fireworks. When they came down the kids did sparklers. On Saturday Jared and Justin took off for a ride on their dirt bikes, again we just hung out around the house and played games, went swimming at their next door neighbors house. Thanks Frank and Jackie, we had a blast swimming! After the rain and dinner the sprinklers came on on the golf course just behind the house so the kids had fun running through the sprinklers.

Amber and Jodi!

Mason, Amber and Breanna!
These are pictures of the kids swimming at Frank and Jackie's home.
And of course we can't forget Jared at the Supermotto track!All in all we had a fun weekend! And we are looking forward to the Lee Family Reunion in a couple of weeks. Can't wait to see everyone!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

2008-07-03T15:40:00.002-07:00

Jared is getting very excited! We are heading to Tucson on the 4th so that Jared can try his new bike out on the Supermotto track before he turns it into a dirt bike. The girls are excited because we will be staying with Justin and Tahna, so they can play with their cousins. We are feeling guilty because we couldn't make it to Utah for Brody's baby blessing. Not that this is any excuse, but fuel would cost us upwards of $1000 to go to Utah, and going to Tucson is just going to be $150. We love you guys and wish that we could be there. I will call on Sunday to talk with you. I will try and get pics of Jared on the track or even some video. We hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend. Love the Lee's!

What to do NEXT?

2008-06-27T07:41:00.004-07:00

I now feel that we are truly at the next step in our lives. I received a phone call last night from Dylan's mom, they are going to use their cousin that lives right around the corner from them as their babysitter instead of me. I am sad, but completely respect their decision and understand why they are doing this. I have now filled out an application for Receptionist or Lunchroom Assistant at the girls school Cooperwood Elementary in the Peoria Unified School District. I am scared! I again ask that you pray with us as we try figure out the best thing for our family. Thanks again, and much Love, Alyssa

The next step in our lives!

2008-06-26T16:04:00.004-07:00

I cannot believe that we are at the next stage of our lives. Jodi will be starting school this next school year, and Jared and I have always discussed that when all of our children are in school that I would go back to work and work in the school where they attend(so that I will have the same hours that they have, and still be home for them when they are home). Now that the time is here I am excited and sad and confused all at the same time. There is a possibility that I will be loosing Dylan, due to changes in their lives. I am sad that this could be happening, I have had Dylan since he was 6 weeks old. I will miss him and his sister Tatum (I have her during the summer). But I understand where they are coming from as Parents of these 2 beautiful and wonderful children. I am sad that my baby, Jodi is starting Kindergarten, but I am also excited for her because she is ready for the next step in her life. I am confused because I am so scared to be possibly heading back to work. I have not worked for over 10 years now. I have a wonderful husband who made it possible for me to be at home with our girls. Thank you Jared I am truly blessed to have you in my life. I LOVE YOU! Please pray with us as we try to figure out the best thing for our beautiful family. Thanks and Much Love, Alyssa!

Cheez!

2008-06-24T21:27:00.003-07:00

I thought that I would share this cute moment with everyone. When I was getting out my camera to take a picture of the girls and Jared. Dylan (the little boy I watch)instantly got this cheezy grin on his face and said "Cheezzzzzz" and wouldn't stop until I took his picture. Way Cute!

My Cinderella's and My Prince Charming!

2008-06-24T21:10:00.003-07:00

This afternoon the girls kept telling me that they were bored, and couldn't find anything to do or watch or play(you get the picture). So I put them to work scrubbing the grout in the kitchen. I told the girls to go and get their tooth brushes and start scrubbing the floor. The look on their faces was priceless. Then Candace finally asked if she had to brush her teeth with the tooth brush again. I of course wanted to say yes, but I controlled myself and told them that I would give them new ones. I LOVE my tile floors but I HATE grout. They then told me that working together as a family like this was fun. I do believe that those were the wrong words to say. I will remind them of this every time that they give me a hard time and don't want to do chores. When Jared was done on the computer he even got on the floor and scrubbed for a little bit. We got about 1/3 of the floor done, and I told the girls that they had better get the whole floor done by Friday when Aunt Kerry picks them up for a sleep over. Yep, Jared and I will be alone for almost 24hours. I am just as excited as the girls are.

Where do I start?

2008-06-21T12:29:00.007-07:00

We have been busy, and still are busy. I will start now and maybe finish later. Last Wednesday the 18th we were able to go back to Aunt Kerry's work and swim in the water park. News Channel 3 was there this time. We had a blast! We were able to get our pictures taken with Brad Perry(when I get that photo from my friends mom I will post it)! Our friends the Livingstones were able to come with us this time. And they brought Allison's Mom and her sister. It was allot of fun. The picture up above is of Jodi, Breanna, Amber and Tessa. They were on the Zuni River. Thanks again Aunt Kerry! We love being able to help you out. We are looking forward to this Friday and Saturday! Can't wait.

Then Thursday was our last day of swimming lessons. Candace isn't in these pics, she stayed home with an upset stomach. I think that she was sick from being out in the sun most of the day the day before.
This is Breanna working on her Elementary Back Stroke!Amber working on her Elementary Back Stroke!Jodi working on floating on her stomach!
We got home from swimming lessons, and I finished cleaning the house because my parents were coming in from Colorado, and my brother Miles his wife Tam and their 2 girls Maddie and Emma came from Maryland. We had a nice visit. A friend of theirs got married this last Saturday in the Mesa Temple. The funniest part of them visiting us was that Emma who is 3 (and was potty trained at one time) when I was changing her pull-up I asked her why she didn't poo in the potty she proceeded to tell me that it was her day off. I was laughing so hard. On Friday my parents took us out to eat at Famous Daves. They have really good BBQ. Then Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to Build a Bear to buy them new outfits for their bears that they bought them at Christmas time. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa. Then of course we had to hit Cabella's. My dad really likes the store, and since I live less than 20 minutes from the store we went. I wish that I had more pictures of this weekend. But it was so rushed that I kept forgeting to pick up the camera. On Saturday Miles and Tam left for the wedding and the girls stayed with us. Grandma and Grandpa and Jared and I took all 6 girls swimming on Saturday afternoon. Grandma got pics of that but not me. All of my family left this morning. I was sad to see them go, but I had a wonderful time visiting with them. We love you guys!

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-14T22:26:00.004-07:00

Jared got really lucky this year for Fathers Day. I bought him a new dirt bike. It is a 2003 CRF450r. But the funny thing about it is that he got it around Mothers Day. This is the nicest bike Jared has ever owned. He really loves it, and can't wait to finish converting it back to dirt bike from Supermoto bike.
This is Dauv a Supermoto racer who we bought the bike from. Jared had to go clear to CA to pick up the bike. Enjoy your bike sweetheart. I want to tell Jared how much I LOVE and appreciate everything that he does for us. He is a wonderful husband and father. I am thankful that he allows me to be a SAHM with our daughters. I love that the girls look forward to him waking up in the afternoons. I am truly thankful that he is a worthy priesthood holder and that whenever the girls or I need him he will be there for us. I Love You Jared.

I also want to tell our fathers Happy Fathers Day! We love you guys!

Workin' for Dinner!

2008-06-13T20:23:00.002-07:00

Tonight I had planned on having grilled steaks for dinner. I had the steaks marinating and was getting ready to grill them, and Amber asked what chore she could do to get her favorite dinner. So Jared said that she could mow the back yard and mommy would cook pizza for dinner. So here she is mowing, and she can barely see over the handle, but she was a trooper. So I made homemade pizza. Good job Amber!

Having fun with Cousins!

2008-06-11T15:08:00.002-07:00

Well, where do I begin? On Saturday the 7th of June Justin and Tahna came up from Tucson to attend the Temple. Their children Mason and Lenika wanted to stay and play with the girls, so of course I said yes. Jared got home from Scout Camp at about 3:30pm to 7 children in the house instead of just 4 girls. He was a great trooper. So Mason and Lenika stayed until Tuesday when I drove them 1/2 way to Tucson and met their father Justin at the Flying J. The girls had a blast with their cousins here. On Saturday they all went up to Aunt Denee's and Uncle Robby's home while Jared and I went to a Wedding Reception for a dear friend of mine, Haley Jensen-Ward. CONGRATULATIONS! Then on Sunday we went to church and then to Grandma and Grampa Lee's home. On Monday the girls started swim lessons, so we walked over to my friend Azure's home where they are taking swim lessons. Why you ask, when it is 103 degrees outside? Well, not only did I have my 4 girls plus Mason and Lenika, I also had Dylan and his sister Tatum. Did you count them? 8 children, and Jared had to sleep. My plan worked, get them HOT and TIRED, and they will lay down and veg in front of a movie for part of the afternoon. It was actually kind of relaxing. We had allot of fun with the cousins here, and I wished that I had taken some pictures, but we do have the video from the water park, because they were there with us. Love you Mason and Lenika!

Amber's other Debut!

2008-06-10T19:54:00.001-07:00

She wanted me to let you know that the water park was not her 1st time on TV with Cory from Fox 10 News. He came to the girls school this last year for Whirlybird Wednesday, and Amber was in the cartwheel contest. It is the last video, and she is wearing a brown and pink jacket.

MyFox Phoenix Whirlybird Wednesday

The girls are TV Stars!

2008-06-10T19:38:00.002-07:00

You can click on the link below and it will take you to the page on My Fox Phoenix and you can watch video clips of the news that the girls were in. Jared's Aunt Kerry works for Arizona Grand Resort, and they have a Water Park there for guest, and Cory the wheather man from Fox 10 news is trying to find the fastest water slide in the valley. The resort needed children to be in the shots so she invited the girls to come down and play. The one and only time we will get to do this without staying at the resort. Thanks Aunt Kerry, we had a fun time. See if you can find the girls. Jodi is the only one not seen.

MyFox Phoenix Oasis Water Park

We Are AWAKE!

2008-06-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

Can you guess why? It was 5am this morning!

I almost forgot!

2008-06-05T20:19:00.005-07:00

I want to wish my Dad a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Thank you for being such a wonderful father . I am grateful for the example that you set for me, and the guidance that you give me. I love you!

The Week is Almost Over!

2008-06-05T16:26:00.003-07:00

I'm so glad that the week is almost over. Jared comes home Saturday morning or early afternoon. We have had a productive week. When Jared is here I can only get certain things done while he is sleeping, and only have so many hours to work while he is awake and before the girls go to bed(he is still working nights). Many things have fallen behind when it comes to housework. But we have been catching up this week, washing baseboards and walls, cleaning out closets, cleaning vent covers and ceiling fans. Going through stuff and sending some to DI and throwing some stuff away. I am feeling good about having house guest in a couple of weeks(Tam and Miles!). The girls haven't been to thrilled about having to clean though. But I keep telling them that we are a family and families work together. (I'm not cleaning up their mess, when I have taught them how to put things away properly!) I am dreading cleaning the grout in the tile. I do not like grout!!!!

Well, the workers next door didn't even come to work on the house today. Yea, my girls got to sleep in. Oh how I enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Oh My Goodness!!!!!!!!

2008-06-04T06:17:00.003-07:00

I am all for my neighbor (who's house burnt) to get his home fixed but this is getting old. Everyday this week I have been woken up before 7am in the morning. School is out, I don't need to be up before 7am. They have started work on the home next door. Monday at 6am they delivered a big trash bin, then the guys started working on the home immediately. Tuesday they were there at 6:30 am. And today they were there at 5:45am getting a new trash bin. I guess for me the worst part of it all is that they not only wake me up but they wake the girls up. So this morning at about 6 I went out to talk to the guys who are working on the house and asked them if they had to do this this early in the morning. They proceeded to tell me that they have a job to get done. I told them that I had children that needed sleep and that they have woken us up every morning this week. Then they had the audacity to say "You can hear the pounding in the house?" They are Mexican so they speak little English. I was like yes we can hear the pounding. These guys are gone by 2 to 2:30 in the afternoon. My thoughts are they can start 1 hour later and stay 1 hour later. It hasn't even hit 100 degrees this week so far. I told them that there are noise laws and they can't make noise until 7am. I am so tired.

Sorry just had to vent. I can't vent to Jared since he is gone. I wish that I had my camera, (Jared took it to Scout Camp)there have been a couple of times when I had some cute photo opportunities with the girls. But oh well, what am I to do?