Vivi's First Day

Vivi started her first day of school yesterday. She has been begging me for at least a month to be able to go back to school. She has been dying to be with Miss Jen again. I guess her mom isn't nearly as fun. Which is probably true. I don't know anyone quite as fun as Miss Jen. So happy day, Vivi got to go back to school, and let me tell you, she's about died and gone to heaven about it. I don't know what she's going to do next year when she has to move on to Kindergarten and leave Miss Jen behind. It might get ugly. ;)

1st Day of School!

The boys started back to school this morning. While I miss them and wish we could all still just kick around and relax for a few more weeks, I have to admit, it has been kind of nice having such a quiet house today. It is amazing what taking two kids out of the equation for several hours does to the volume in our home.

Trenton is starting fifth grade this year. When did I become old enough to have a fifth grader? I think he has been a little nervous this last week about the new school year. He has hit that age where he has started to worry about what other people think of him. It makes me sad that he is starting to worry about that stuff. By the time he left for school this morning though, he seemed really excited. He was dressed, had his bed made, had eaten breakfast, and had most of his lunch made by the time I woke up at 7:00 this morning.
Colson was equally excited. He has been wanting to go back to school for the last two weeks now. He will be starting 3rd grade this year. Do you love the outfit he chose for his first day of school? Hawaiian print green and khaki shorts, and blindingly bright yellow shirt. I love Colson's choices of clothes sometimes. He is such a happy kid.

While it's hard to have the summer end, it is always fun and exciting for the kids to start a new school year and be able to watch them learn and grow not only from their books, but from their experiences as well.

12 Years and Counting...

My darling hubby and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary today!

Neither of us even realized our anniversary was so close until we went and did sealings in the temple the other day and were asked how many years we had been married. We looked at each other and you could tell the thought hit us right at the same moment that it was going to be twelve years in just a coupe days time! What a special time it was to go back and do sealings for others just two days shy of our own sealing date. (Even if we didn't realize it at the time;)

I recently had someone ask me to describe what life with Trent is like, using three words. At the time the three words that came immediately to mind were: fun, interesting, and never boring.

Anyone who has ever been around Trent knows that he loves to laugh and have fun. He loves to make others laugh too. And I've never seen anyone so good at making themselves laugh. ;) I can't tell you how many times we have come home from parties with friends, and he has a pounding headache because he spent the whole night laughing his brains out. Oh, and what a laugh he has. It is a very distinct and contagious laugh. You could definitely pinpoint him in a room of hundreds of other laughing people. I love that he has such a great sense of humor, and that it doesn't take much to get him laughing.

Life with Trent can definitely be interesting. In a good way of course:) Several years ago he was taking a Microbiology class. I think this was one of his all time favorite classes. I've never seen anybody get so excited over germs and bacteria. Anyway, I got to spend the whole semester hearing about all of the lovely little bacteria and microbes that were growing on my dish cloths and other various places in the house, and on or in my body (a little more infromation than I really wanted, but whatever, right?). It is generally like this when he is learning about things he finds fascinating. You get to know and hear about all the gory details. (Thank heavens he's only taking Spanish classes right now:)

Things are never boring around our house. Even if you took our four kids out of the equation, life would still never be boring with just Trent around. I have never known such a projector. I remember when I was still in school, I would come home and the furniture would be all rearranged. Trent loves when he can mix things up a little, or make things just a bit more exciting. That's probably why we have already had the inside of our house repainted several different times, even though we've only lived here for a little over three years. There's always something going on with Trent around, whether it is a project, a new job, a new class he is taking, or whatever. Like I said, never a dull moment.

Trent is fun, intersting, never boring, and so much more. He is very kind, loving, tolerant of others, trustworthy, compassionate, and friendly. Trent is truly one-of-a-kind. He is the type of person that people like instantly. I am always amazed at some of the things people will tell him, even after only knowing him for five minutes. And I have never seen someone win over such a grumpy person and get them smiling in such a short amount of time. It's true, I've witnessed it thousands of times in our married life, and am amazed every time. I have learned so much from him about how to treat others.

I love that husband of mine, and am so grateful for the day that he chose to have me as his eternal companion. He has brought so much joy and happiness into my life. He is a wonderful husband and an amazing father. I am so grateful for the example that he is to our children and to me. I love you my darling, and am so grateful that I not only get to spend the next twelve years with you, but eternity as well!

My Dad

I was thinking about my dad this morning, and just remembering what a funny guy he was. He had a really funny sense of humor, and he liked it when he could make you squirm a little bit.

When I was about 14-15, I used to love to pull the car into the garage. Now you have to understand that from the time I was seven or eight, I was counting down the years, months, days, until I could drive a car. I think just to get me to shut up, my mom let me start pulling the car into the garage. She probably was thinking twice about her decision the day I accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake. We had a big huge freezer against the back wall in the garage that took the brunt of the impact, but I did manage to put a nice sized hole in the dry wall behind the freezer. At least the car didn't go all the way through the wall to the patio, right? Anyway, this all happened while my dad was at work, and I was really worried he was going to furious at me, so I begged my mom not to call and tell him. It's not like he wouldn't notice when he got home anyway. When my dad got home from work that night, I was at a combined Young Men/Young Women's activity, so I didn't get to see his reaction. He made sure he was the one who came and picked me up that night. He walked into the gym at the church, and in a very loud voice (so everyone was sure to hear) he said, "Let's go Kiffon. The cops are at the house looking at the damage you did to the freezer and the garage." I could have just died! My own dad called the cops on me! Well, not really. Like I said, my dad loved when he could make you squirm. He let me think the worst (was I going to go to jail?) for about a minute or so before he totally busted out laughing. He thought he was so funny. Actually, being a parent now myself, I think it is hilarious, but at the time, I could have died of embarrasment. After hearing him tell the story to others several times, I think he was actually proud of the perfect indent I left of the license plate on the front of the freezer.

Amazing Mother Nature

When the tornado and hail struck 2 months ago, I wasn't sure our flower and vegetable gardens would bounce back this year.

Our veggie garden after the hail hit.
Here it is now. I'm going to have tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers coming out my ears, there are so many growing.
I was so sad about my flower garden.
As you can see, my flowers snapped back just fine. I love having lots of flowers around. They make me happy. These are right outside my sewing room window. :)
The poor pear tree. You can see all of the shredded leaves around the base of it. And you can also see that the flowers that were growing so beautifully at the base of the tree are no longer there. They were torn to shreds.
Well, the tree grew lots of new leaves and filled in quite nicely...
And as for the flowers at the base of the tree, they're not looking too shabby either.

Wah Hah Hah Hah!

Notice anything different about my door? An added feature perhaps? Something in the way of a brand new lock, towards the top where Preston can't reach, even with a chair? (For now anyway.)
Installed today by yours truly. Preston has been brought back to our home by one of our neighbors a few times too many. It was necessary. What kind of mother must they think I am anyway? "Ummm... Here is your kid. Again. Found him halfway down the street." Honestly. We'll see how long it keeps him in. He's already been putting his little evil genius brain to work trying to figure it out. If I survive this kid, it will be a miracle.

Barnacles and Tartar Sauce

I think Vivi has watched a little too much Sponge Bob lately. Should I even be admitting this? Every time she drops something, or has any kind of oops, I'll hear, "Oh barnacles", or, "Oh, tartar sauce!". While it is pretty funny, I think we'll be laying off the Sponge Bob cartoons for a while. :)

Cousins

Trent's sister, Stephanie, her husband, Ryan, and their five kiddos were here visiting from Austin, TX recently. Since going to Texas is not a quick ride in the car, and 6 plane tickets are pretty spendy, we don't get to see them all that often, so when we do get to spend time with them, it is such a treat.

We played and played at the park while they were here. Vivi was in seventh heaven to have her cousin Fo (Taryn) in town. She has been dying to see her.
They just have the best time together.
We all played a little tennis.
The boys were excited to practice some of the things they had been learning in their tennis lessons. Trenton loved having Trevor on his team.
Every chance she got, Fo was snuggling with her uncle Trent.
She loves Trent.
Tate the Great, AKA Tater Tot. Although, I'm not sure if he likes the Tater Tot nickname so much anymore, being twelve and all. ;) I'll have to ask him. Tate had tons of card tricks for us this visit. My boys, well all of us really, were pretty amazed.
Tristan and Trenton had to make cookies together. It is becoming tradition for them to make cookies whenever the cousins come to town. BTW, what is with my son's crazy faces? Every picture I take of him, he has either a super crazy face, or he is really serious and into posing. What a goofball. :)
We also were able to go up to Steamboat (my most favorite mountain town) with them for a couple of days. Colson couldn't get enough of Trevor. Every time I turned around, Colson was hanging all over him. Trev sure was a good sport. Oh, do you love Trey's face? In the restaurant, there was a TV right by our table and the X Games were on. At one point or another, all the men/boys had a look like this on their face while watching the TV.
Vivi, Taryn, Trisy, and Ryan. All the girls wanted to sit on Ryan's lap.
They had these bronze statues of famous people all over downtown Steamboat. I can't remember who this guy is though.
The kids and Albert Einstein, and Ben Franklin is behind and to the left of them.
We must have worn Preston right out because he layed down next to Trent, and within 30 seconds, he was gone. I love how he put he his hands behind his head, just like his daddy.

We had so much fun with Ryan, Stephanie, and their family. We can't wait until we can see them again!

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bellan

Last weekend, Trent, my mom, my brother, and I all flew out to Ohio to go to my darling friend, Meagan's, wedding. I have known Meagan for over 20 years now, so it was so wonderful to go and see her take this next step in her life.

I first met Meagan when she was 6 and I was 9. She would come and stay with her dad for the summers. At the time, my mom was doing daycare from home, and that is how Meaggy Mo (as we often called her then) came into our lives. I remember as a kid being so excited for summer because I knew Meagan would be coming. And I also remember the let down when summer was over because she would be going back to her mom in Ohio, and I wouldn't get to see her for nine more months. As we got older, she came for shorter amounts of time in the summer, then just for a week or two here and there sometime during the year, so it was such a treat to be able to go to Ohio to see her. It was so wonderful to meet several of the friends that I had heard her speak of for so many years, but had never met.

A funny little story about Meagan. When we were little she used to ask me, oh, I don't know, at least 5 times a summer, "Kiff, if I died, would you speak at my funeral?" Now, you have to understand that we were only about 10 and 7 when she first started asking me this question. While thinking, "What in the heck is she talking about dying for?", I would always answer, "Sure Meag". Then she would follow up with, "Well, what would you say?" I think at the time, what she wanted to know was how much I really thought of her. Well, just so she knows, I think she is one of the most amazing and beautiful (both inside and out) people that I have ever had the priviledge to know. I am so grateful for all of the summers that we were able to spend together. She was like the sister that I never had, and I just adore her.

We got to Ohio Friday, July 24, and made it in time for the rehearsal dinner.

Meagan and all of her beautiful bridesmaids.

Meagan's mom, Sherry, and dad, Jim, walking her down the isle. It was a beautiful wedding. And Meagan looked absoluetly stunning. She was all aglow. There was a funny moment where the priest was talking about Meagan and Mark wearing their wedding clothes again the next day, and how everyone would think that they were on crack, or drunk. I remember looking at Trent and thinking "Is he allowed to say 'crack' in church?" I'm still not quite sure where he was going with that one, but I got a good inside chuckle.

Meagan, with her new hubby Mark, my brother Dustin (far left), and my mom (between him and Meagan). The reception was lovely, the food was delicious, and it was wonderful just to be there and see how happy Meagan is. She is one of the most wonderful people I have ever known and deserves all the happiness in the world. I don't think I know anyone with a kinder heart. I guess she and Mark are talking about moving to Colorado. Oh happy day if they do! I told her I would pray my heart out that they do. Here's to Meagan and Mark! Congratulations!

Kirtland, Ohio

While in Ohio for Meagan and Mark's wedding, we had a little spare time one morning to go to Historic Kirtland.

We were able to go in the store that was owned and operated by Newel K. Whitney. We had the opportunity to sit in a room in which Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ had appeared. What an amazing and overwhelming feeling to know that they had appeared in that same room that we were in. It was so neat to learn more about the time that the Saints were in Kirtland.

We also saw the home of Newel K. Whitney,

the Inn,

and the Saw Mill and Ashery. We drove past the Kirtland Temple, but unfortunately didn't have time to go in. The missionaries that were our guides (a cute little couple from Holiday, Utah) were so wonderful and full of the Spirit. I kept thinking how amazing and wonderful it would be to serve a mission with Trent someday. I sincerely hope we get the opportunity to do that together.