Sunday, June 27, 2010

Latest and greatest


Here are a few pis of the latest happenings in our neck of the woods. I threw a baby shower for this pretty lady. She has three cute girls and is welcoming a BOY this September into her family.




Congrats, Leslie!


A few friends from Clarkston came up for the shower, including one of Kelsi's favorite people. She was in heaven and wanted to be everywhere Ali was.
Cute shot from Father's Day.




Kelsi is really good at not getting out of her bed and she usually sleeps in until 8am so the transition to a twin bed from crib was pretty easy. However, sometimes she doesn't nap - but just plays on her bed. This day, she really was tired.




Clifford, the big red dog came to town a few weeks ago. All the other little kids took their pic with Clifford and were content. Kelsi took about 5 pics with him and then wanted to go back for a hug and then wanted to go back again for a kiss and then AGAIN to hold his hand. It was really cute, but I felt a little bad for Clifford.




John's sister Jalyn moved to MS. We are sad that she is gone. Kelsi will really miss her as well.


This is a whole new adventure for her and we are excited for her journey. We love and miss you Jalyn!



Sunday, June 20, 2010

Memories from A-Z - Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Angel Games. I cannot count the number of Angel's games that I have been to. My Dad used to and still does get multiple tickets throughout the season (great seats!) to watch the Angels play. The only time he does not cheer for them is when they play the Red Sox. I now do the same.

Bishop. My Dad was bishop throughout most of my childhood in my ward growing up. He served for almost 8 years.

Cards. My Dad likes to play cards. We would like to have rummy matches and still like to play some type of card game when we are together. I also remember him playing cribbage with my grandpa when he was still alive.

Death by chocolate. My Dad is a self-proclaimed chocoholic. Thanks Dad for passing along the trait.

Entertaining. From his laugh (my sisters know the "real" laugh I'm talking about) to his funny faces in almost every picture with my mom. My Dad is a bit of a jokester and is always looking for the humor in things.

Freeway. My Dad has such a long commute. It is a little better since they moved a couple years ago, but he seems to always be on one freeway or another.

Gospel. He has a great understanding of the restoration of the gospel. He is a wealth of knowledge and I know if I have any question about anything in regards to religion that he will have an answer for it (3 hours later after answering 20 other questions that I didn't even know I had). :)

Handy. He is pretty good at doing things himself. However, one time when we lived in La Puente he was fixing something in the bathroom and he was looking at directions and saying that he couldn't read it and seemed frustrated. I took a look at the instructions and he was reading them upside down....in French. :)

Intelligent. My father seems to know so much about any topic. I could say, "Did you hear about xyz" and he would already be well versed on the subject.

Joy. I love seeing my Dad with his grandchildren. I have seen the face of joy in him.

Kisses. I remember when I was young my Dad would come at me with a fish face kiss. I thought it was so gross that I would run away. He thought he was hilarious. "Why won't you give your Dad a kiss?"

Linda. My Dad loves my mom. They always went out on a date each week. He holds her hand, smacks her bum gives her sweet kisses. He treats her with respect and has been an example to my sisters and I of how a husband should treat his wife.

Missionary. I loved and still love to hear stories about my Dad's mission in Ecuador. He has had so many spiritual experiences that have shaped his life. He continues to be a great missionary today.

Notes. I have several notes/letters/emails that my Dad has written to me over the years, especially when I was having a hard time that have meant a lot to me.

Open. My Dad has always been very easy to talk to. I feel that he has always been open and honest with me.

Pride. Or should I say the "P" word. My Dad does not like this word and would rather say that he is "pleased".

Quiet. Don't laugh. I know that he is one of the loudest people we know. I am talking about how quiet he is in the morning. I've always liked this about him. He always got up before anyone else to get ready and leave for work and still does. I think he is SO quiet and is very considerate of everyone else who is still sleeping.

Rowdy. Funny that this should fall after being quiet! However, I can remember many sporting events where my Dad was threatened by the ref to be quiet. He may have been thrown out...can't quite remember.

Scriptorian. He knows his stuff.

Tailgater. My Dad likes to hug every one's bumper. It's a little scary....especially if you haven't driven with him for almost 30 years. He is pretty aggressive.

Understanding. He has been a great listener over the years and non-judgemental.

Victorian. I always think of my Dad when I see a Victorian home. He has always liked them, probably because he is from Boston.

W (the letter W) - I remember playing charades with my family one night and I don't remember what my Dad was trying to act out, but I do remember a very tall man laying on his back with his legs up in the air trying to make a "W". I also remember that we couldn't finish the game for a while because we were all laughing so hard.

X. I really couldn't think of anything that started with an "X" so I will just say that my Dad is "X-tra" loved!

Young at heart. My Dad still enjoys cartoons and he is great at playing with his grandchildren.

Zealous. My Dad is zealous is everything he does. He is a devoted father, husband, ward missionary, employee, friend, brother, son, etc.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

SWIM
We enrolled Kelsi in swim lessons at a private home in Hayden. I wasn't expecting much. I hoped she would at least get in the water. Kelsi surprised us because she ended up being the most vocal and excited kid there. She was also the youngest (the other kids were 3.5 and 4.5). She would shout out "I LOVE THE WATER" or "I LIKE THIS" at random times which got everyone around laughing. Here are a few pics that I snapped during her swim time.

Having a splash party
Sometimes she turned around so the water wouldn't get in her face, but she laughed the whole time.She played ring around the rosey. The other moms were really helpful, clapping and saying encouraging things to Kelsi everytime she did something brave like go under the water. She would come out of the water looking scared and then a split second later she was basking in the spotlight and the attention of all the "hoorays".

She learned how to Tigger Hop (bounce across the pool). The first week of lessons, the teacher held her and bounced across the pool until I realized that Kelsi was the same height as the 3 year old that was tigger hopping. We realized that Kelsi could touch the floor and she did really good at holding her chin up so the water wouldn't go in her mouth.


Kelsi liked to stand on the "frog" and jump in to Ms. Diane.

Her teacher let her go under the water a few times when she jumped in. She did fine, but the next day she was timid about jumping in and said "I don't wanna go under the water". Broke my heart.


This is Kelsi attempting to be a pancake. The start of learning how to float. Kelsi would just curl up and cuddle with Ms. Diane instead of laying flat....she was a little nervous, but I am so proud of her for doing it and not crying.



Swimming under the water!






Blow this picture up. It makes me laugh. This is Kelsi doing her "puffer cheeks". I don't really know if she was really holding her breath since her cheeks are so chubby to begin with.




Here is Kelsi practicing her kicking. She also used a kick board and practiced "reaching and pulling".



I am so glad that we decided to put Kelsi in swimming so young. After class today all the kids got to pick one toy that they wanted to take home (Kelsi picked a football) and they got a certificate and a coupon for a free kid scoop at TCBY. Kelsi really loved it and I will probably put her into another class this winter.








Tuesday, June 01, 2010


Jalyn's Reception


We celebrated the marriage of Jalyn and Bryce this weekend. Due to horrible rainy weather, Jalyn had to move the party indoors, but it looked great and you would NEVER have known it was a last minute effort. It was beautiful. Congrats to you both.



As was her dress.....LOVED it!


Kelsi hung out with the whole family.


But these two were the cutest ever! Hailey and Kelsi are best cousins. They are only 5 weeks apart and had SO much fun together.


They just danced non-stop.


Or played ring around the Rosy.


By the end of the night she was exhausted...which is just the way we like her! :)