It's a Starks Reality

My kids would LOVE this one....

2011-06-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

Cant wait to see the movie, and hope the video game is just as FUN!!

Mothers Day 2011

2011-05-08T17:58:00.003-07:00

I am beyond honored and blessed to be their mother!! I LOVE YOU Lenard, Jon and Sadie!!

Sadie made a donation from the heart (and the head)....

2011-03-21T15:23:00.002-07:00

For over a year now, Sadie has been telling me that she wants to donate her hair to make wigs for kids who have cancer, and in Feb, she did it!!

She truly wants to help these kids, and I think that is pretty special.

In February....We had a family reunion, and Jonathan turned 12!...

2011-03-21T14:28:00.004-07:00

The Moores and the Gustin's came to town making EVEYRONE here for about a week. We had way. too. much. fun.

We went to an Ostrich Ranch, and rode on a Monster truck....

We also took family photos....always an adventure with 17 grandkids.....

Then it was Jon's Birthday....He turned 12 and was ordained a deacon. What a special day. Lots of family was once again on hand to help us celebrate with him!

In January....Lenard turned 14....

2011-03-21T14:12:00.003-07:00

Where does the time go?? He had a great birthday. He was ordained a teacher, and all of Lennie's siblings and families were able to be there with us. We are proud of him and all he does in our family!

Going to play a little catch up.....

2011-02-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

Here we go.....

Christmas Morning 6:30am.....

2010-12-26T09:38:00.003-07:00

Sadie (7) climbs into bed with us....

Sadie: "Mom, it is 6:30, I think I will wait until 7:00 and then wake up the boys."
Me: "Good idea."
Sadie: "I just woke up from a dream. It was Christmas morning, and we went out to the tree, and there were only 2 presents under the tree. But it was still a great Christmas because Christmas isn't about presents. It is about Jesus and family."

That was the best present of the day!!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T08:43:00.006-07:00

Halloween costumes for this year......

Sadie - Pippi Longstocking (and Mr. Nilsson)

Jonny - Caveman (later we added a uni-brow, but did not get a pic of it)

Lenard - ASU football player

Lennie - gunslinger

wait?? what is that I see? a SMILE - in a PHOTO!? Who are you and what have you done with my husband??!!

Christi - Beekeeper

Puppies are going home today....sniff-sniff....

2010-09-04T09:45:00.006-07:00

Sister Pup

Brother pup

We will really miss them.....and we are happy they are going. Such Bittersweetness!!!

For Sale: The Cutest Puppy Boy EVER!!....

2010-08-23T23:35:00.002-07:00

The home for our boy pup has fallen through, so we are again on the lookout for his forever family!! He is AKC reg. Chocolate Lab, 5 weeks old, and the CUTEST thing you have EVER seen!! He will be ready to go home on Labor day. If you or anyone you know is looking, have them get in contact with me ASAP for details and to come see him!!!

One month old!!

2010-08-20T17:28:00.004-07:00

We are thouroughly enjoying these little guys for the next 3 weeks....then they will move on to thier new families. :o) and :o(

Can you guess what today was????

2010-08-11T13:40:00.003-07:00

I think the music and the photos say it all.....

Peek-a-Boo! and playful pups.....

2010-08-07T15:00:00.003-07:00

The pups turned two weeks old, and thier eyes opened up.....

Sister

Brother

And now they are starting to play with one another...TOO CUTE!

As you can hear from the video, we are all very amused by them.

Puppies are 10 days old now....

2010-07-30T19:41:00.005-07:00

They are oh so cute! Their eyes will be opening within the next few days, and the kids cannot wait!!!

Pics of Brother pup....

(I love this pic on Jon's knees)

Pics of Sister pup....

Sadie is head over heels for these puppies. We keep reminding her that they will be going to live with forever families when they get big, and that ours is just a temporary home for them, but I am not sure she wants to believe it. Just look at the smile on her face!!

5 days old...

2010-07-25T12:36:00.003-07:00

These puppies are getting big QUICK!! They were about 1lb at birth, and at 1lb 10oz at 4 days old!! Here are some updated pics.

Mama Marlee with the pups at 5 days old - compare this with the similar photo of them when they were 8 hours old...WOW!
All snuggled up!

Sister pup using brother pup as a pillow....sweet!

R M Puppies?? S M R Puppies. L I B!! M R Puppies!!

2010-07-20T11:07:00.007-07:00

(Maybe only the Daly family will get the title.....maybe only me, LOL)

Today, Marlee had her babies!!! All I wanted was to be here for it, and she had other plans. I left the house for less than 2 hours, and when I came home, they were both here!! There is one male and one female, and they are both solid chocolate (from the best I can tell, I havent examined them TOTALLY yet) and they are BEAUTIFUL!!! She is a good mama and they are just eating and snuggling and making the cutest puppy noises!!

The darker, smaller one right in front is the female. The slightly larger, and lighter one under her leg is the male.

This is a picture of Lenard with both doggie parents back in May.

I will post pics as they grow cuter and cuter!!!

UPDATE!! - Pics of the pups 8 hours old.....

Brazillian Bull!!

2010-06-25T09:50:00.004-07:00

Click on the pictures to see the full shot!!!

We took dad out for Fathers Day to The Brazillian Bull. Rob and Megan also jonied us. It was VERY tasty, and quite unique in how the meal was served. We will certainly go back....but not for a while (a little pricey for our budget). One of the best parts of dinner was the FLAN for desert...YUMMY!!

This is definately a place that Kevin and James must visit sometime.....if you are gonna eat here, you must like MEAT - all you can eat!!

New (to us) family toys....

2010-06-25T02:25:00.002-07:00

These came along at the right time at the right price, so now they are ours!!! YAY!! They will be perfect for hunting trips and trail riding in the mountains on camping trips too. FUN FUN FUN!! Of course the blue "zinger" belongs to my dad....he has had it for nearly 30 years, I'd guess....over 25 for sure. It is still going strong, and giving the younger kids some GREAT riding experience.

Lenard's end of the year Art Festival and Awards...

2010-05-25T23:12:00.005-07:00

Tonight, we went to Lenard's end of the year art exhibition. We somehow missed knowing about this until just today, and I am SOOOOOOO glad we found out about it. All of Lenard's artwork from the semester was displayed, and awards were given out too. HE WON 2 FIRST PLACE RIBBONS!!!! His stuff was REALLY cool!! His teacher keeps all the stuff from the semester for this show, so we had not see ANY of his art this semester until tonight.

This was Lenard's altered book of his favorite things....First place ribbon!!

This is an altered mishmosh picture of Sadie. Sadie was a little disturbed at first when she found out this was a picture of her. We quickly explained that it is supposed to look this way...that is not what Lenard thinks you look like, LOL! She even agreed to take her pic by it. Click on the photo to read what he wrote about Sadie....pretty cool!

Lenard with his art teacher Mrs. Tabor. One of the amazing teachers he had this year.

This is his cube. It has one letter of his name on each side of the cube.

This he called "Spiders Geode"

I forget what technique this is (and he is sleeping now), but the title of it is "Flow of Heat"

And this....this is Lenards MOST favorite piece. It is his wolf mask. He had to write a two page story to go with the mask as well....email me if you'd like to read a copy of the story, and I'll send it to you. This is the other piece that won a blue ribbon.

Both of the blue ribbon winning pieces will stay on display at this art center until the fall, and then they will be entered into the state fair. Lenard is a bit heartbroken about not bringing his mask home, but how COOL to be entering it into the fair!!??

I am so proud of Lenard and how well he did this year. Between all the blue ribbons and a another situation that happened there that had NOTHING to do with art...I left this even in tears.....happy, happy tears.

Amazing Jakes for my AMAZING JON!!!

2010-05-11T07:51:00.002-07:00

So happy for and proud of Jonathan!! He worked really hard this year, and is one of only two kids from his class being treated (by the school) to AMAZING JAKES today....this is for being the TOP READER in his class!! YAY JONNY!!!

Lenard's Catapult

2010-05-03T11:10:00.003-07:00

Lenard (and I) built a catapult over the weekend for his industrial technology class (that's "shop" class, BTW). Our final result works pretty good!! Here is Lenard firing a couple shots this AM before school.

Can you see it?? Why doesnt this work??? Here is a link
Lenard's Catapult

It's been a long time....

2010-04-13T18:06:00.003-07:00

...since all EIGHT of my parents children have been together at one time. Since May of 2004!! People moved out of state, there were missions, etc....but last week, somewhat spur of the moment, it just sort of happened!! All my siblings and thier children were here in town. We had to take pics!!!

Me with my brothers and sisters

All of our children...there are 17!!

All of us with our families: (2 of the husbands were not able to be here...)

It also just so happens that my dad was out of town this week HUGE BUMMER, but like I said it was somewhat unexpected. Hopefully it is not 6 more years until we do it again!!!

Good News!....

2010-02-24T07:05:00.001-07:00

Lennie had a colonoscopy yesterday, and it was CLEAR!! Still no cancer. We feel so very BLESSED each time we get such good news.

Bathing Beauty ----------> Dancing Queen

2010-02-20T17:49:00.002-07:00

We are getting ready to go to Blue and Gold Banquet tonight, and Sadie (6 years old) is in the bath....all of a sudden, I hear this song being sung at the top of her lungs....

"Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only 17!...." LOL! She cracks me up!!

I am the mother of a Teenager!!!

2010-02-04T08:00:00.004-07:00

Yes it is true....as of last week, Lenard is 13!! I can hardly believe it. Here are some pics of him on his birthday with his loot....

We also celebrated at Grandma/Grandpa Daly's house on Sunday...thanks everyone for the gifts and birthday wishes for him!!

WE LOVE YOU LENARD!!

Some stuff we've been up to....

2009-12-14T13:19:00.004-07:00

We have been busy busy busy, but I guess that is par for the course this time of year. Here are a few pics of some of the happenings of late.

Thanksgiving time was FUN FUN FUN! My sister Dixie and her family came down from Colorado and we did lots of fun stuff. I am not as good as I used to be about taking pics, but I snapped a few. During thier stay, we had Brooklyn and Macey over for a slumber party with Sadie. I love it when these girls get together!! They are such FUN.

First we went out for pedicures...then we bought pizza to taken home and eat while we watched Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure! At bedtime there was giggling...oh so much giggling. Just as it should have been!!!

During their stay, we had a football day at the park....didn't get any pics of the football game, butI did snap one of Jon after he climbed up this backstop just because he could.....

and one of Lenard playing with Brigger....

The kids had crazy hair day at school (always a hit at our house)

A couple of days ago, we found out that my brother (who will soon be going to Law School) was looking for a home for his dogs. We happily adopted one of them (my parents have the other). This way, the dogs stay in the family, our Grizzly Bear has a new friend, and my kids couldn't be happier to have another dog to love! Her name is Marlee, she is 18 months old, and is such a sweetheart! Here's a pic of the doggies soaking up some sun in the backyard.

and a pic of the kids just chillin'

Lennie is finishing up finals this week....and then finishing up Pharmacy school applications. We hope to know soon where we will be heading next fall (or sooner). I am working, and trying to keep up with my kids' activities, etc.

We have had SEVERAL choir concerts (and one more yet to go)....but I am going to make a seperate posts with the videos from those (once I get them all uploaded from the camera).

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and yours!!!!

Love, the Starks

Lenard's First Jr. High Concert....

2009-11-30T17:27:00.003-07:00

Again, this concert was a while back, but I am just now able to upload the videos.

I love to hear Lenard sing!! He is also going to have a holiday concert soon....on Dec. 10th at 7pm at the Fremont auditorium. All are welcome to come and hear!!!

Come Travel with Me

Who Will Be a Witness

My Girl His glasses fell out of his pocket before he went on stage. He was very worried about it at the time, but he pulled it off nicely!!

He also had another concert early in November at Red Mountain high school. It was called young lions, and the choirs from Fremont and Shepherd (and some of the elementary schools too) sang with Red Mountains Choir. It was AWESOME! Wish I had recorded some of it, but the video camera was at home.

Sadie's First Choir Concert....

2009-11-30T17:22:00.003-07:00

This concert was quite some time ago, but the USB cable to upload to the computer was lost, so I couldn't upload it. I am happy to have found it so that we can share!!

Sadies first concert - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Sadies first concdert - Rock n Roll

Way to go, Sadie....we love to hear you sing.

She is now it TWO children's choirs...the one who put this concert on, and another brand new one in our stake. She has several concerts coming up.

Wednesday Dec. 2nd (YES, in TWO DAYS!!) I just found out about this concert TONIGHT....how did I miss it?? It is at Gilbert High School at 7pm (I have to work....not sure if I am going to make that one.

Friday Dec. 11th at Desert View Baptist Church on Greenfield Rd. (the usual place for the concerts) at 7pm

Saturday Dec 19th at 5pm at Heritage Academy in downtown Mesa. (this is the new choir)

We'd love to see you there!!

Jon's wrestling again.....

2009-11-30T16:56:00.003-07:00

and loving (almost) every minute of it!! This is the Jr. High season (5th-8th grade), and he is the youngest of the bunch. This season the kids are divided only by weight...not age, so he could be wrestling kids quite a bit older (and more experienced)than he is, but we figure it will be great experience for him....also, it is Folkstyle.

His first tournament was in Cottonwood a couple weekends ago. I was unable to go, so we have no video. Lennie and grandpa were there to support him. He lost his first two matches, and was pretty bummed. Lennie said he looked good and tried hard, so I was happy with that!!

He had anoter meet this past weekend. It was not the Jr. High thing....it was put on by Grand Canyon State Games. Being the Sat. after Thanksgiving, it was a smaller meet, but sometimes that is really nice for a change. Anyhow, Jon basically ROCKED THE HOUSE!! There was no one else in his weight class, so he wrestled up every time....and WON....every time!! I usually arrive at the meets after weigh in (so it is not as much hurry up and wait for Lenard/Sadie and Me)....well, this meet went so fast, that I actually MISSED the whole thing. Luckily, the boys and the refs were happy to stick around and wrestle for practice and mat time, and I got some of those matches on video. I have not seen Jon wrestle since last summer, and I am surprised at how far it seems he has come since then. We are really proud of him! Here are some videos (thanks to Lenard who helped me find the USB cable for the camera...YAY)

Jon's first Gold
Because he got this gold, he gets in to the Grand Canyon State Games in June for free...YAY!!

Practice Match 1
Practice Match 1a

Practice Match 2 (against the head coaches son - he outweighs jon by 15lbs)
Practice Match 2a
Practice Match 2b

The rest of the season should be interesting....the meets seem to be at FAR away places...but here is the lineup - if anyone wants to go, let us know so we can carpool!!

2009-10 Remaining Tournament Schedule

-Dec 5, 2009 – Deer Valley Invitational, Deer Valley HS

-Dec 19, 2009 - Buckeye Dual Classic, Younker HS

-Jan 1st & 2nd 2010 – Sunkids Classic, Tempe HS

-Jan 9, 2010 – Safford Invitational, Safford Middle School

-Jan 22-23rd 2010 – Jr. High State Tournament, Marcos De Niza HS

Oh, Happy Day...

2009-11-16T15:54:00.001-07:00

Last week it was exactly 3 years since Lennie's last cancer surgery.Thursday, Lennie had a PET/CT scan.he has them once or twice a year to keep an eye on things and make sure it stays gone.Today we got the official word...100% CANCER FREE!!! YES!!! We are truly grateful for all the help we have received and the prayers that have gone up (and continue to go up) in our behalf. We are also grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who has answered those prayers and was ever mindful of us...especially during the hardest times.

Don't drop that egg......no, wait.....go ahead....DROP IT!!

2009-10-30T09:33:00.002-07:00

to be continued.....

drumroll please............it did not work. The egg broke. But it was a GREAT effort!! Lenard said about 4 of the eggs in his class survived the drop. We have made some good notes in case he ever has to do it again.

Pics of our trip....

2009-10-21T06:44:00.002-07:00

We spent 2 days in Disney/California Adventures, and the next day was divided between the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History and Redondo Beach. The Disney days were hot and humid...we kept as wet as possible on the water rides to compensate. The beach day was GORGEOUS! A little foggy at first, but then cleared up beautifully. Our kids havent been to the beach since May 2004 - Sadie didnt remember it at all, and they boys not so much....they LOVED every minute of it. They could have stayed much much much longer!!

Home again, home again....jiggety jig!

2009-10-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Home from Disney/Cali/the Beach.....and back to normal life. We had a WONDERFUL time! I must say THANK YOU to my little sis Shannon and her hubby Donald for watching our dog while we were gone. Finding someplace for him to go when we go on vacation is a HUGE stress, and they happily had him over for FIVE days!! He was happy and well cared for when we got back THANKS AGAIN GUYS!!!! Will post some pics of our trip soon!!

2009-10-09T07:57:00.001-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Sing, Sing a song...

2009-10-06T15:25:00.001-07:00

Sadie is singing with the East Valley Children's Choir this year (the same choir Lenard sang with last year)....and her first concert is FRIDAY!!

We hope you can join us!!

Friday October 9, 2009
7:00PM
Desert View Auditorium
950 N. Greenfield, Gilbert AZ

Refreshments will be served!

It's been a LONG time....

2009-09-21T09:22:00.002-07:00

Guess what I did yesterday. I made a birthday card for a friend....and it was AMAZING! I am not talking about the card, LOL...I mean it was cute too, but I am talking about the creative process!! For many years, making crafty things out of paper and ink was a weekly, if not daily, part of my life. When I went back to work full time last year, that stuff got put on hold. I was so busy learning how to be a full time working mother that I had to shut my craft room door (so to speak). Well just that 30 minutes that I spent in there yesterday making a card was so relaxing...I very much enjoyed it. There is just something about it that made me feel happy. I think I need to work scrapbooking/cards/papercrafts back into my schedule - even in small amounts.

My only regret about yesterday's card....I did not take the time to scan it in before I gave it to my friend. :0)

Lost another tooth!....

2009-08-28T15:23:00.002-07:00

This is the 3rd tooth this year for Sadie, and her first top tooth. She was SOOOOOO excited to come home from school and tell me, "Mom, it is time for you to pull my tooth!". It has been loose for MONTHS! We think her new smile is just beautiful!!!

Daddy/Daughter Dinner Date....

2009-08-26T07:33:00.002-07:00

Last weekend our stake held a Daddy/Daughter dinner that was a "luau". Sadie was beside herself excited to go. Thanks to Uncle Jaba for the accessories, Lennie and Sadie looked perfect for the occasion!!

Gotta go back....back....back to school again......

2009-08-20T15:07:00.003-07:00

Well, the kids have been back in school for one whole week!! So far so good with only a couple of minor issues and stresses. YAY!!

Sadie - 1st Grade

Lenard - 7th Grade....yeah, Jr. High!!!

Jon - 5th Grade

I just love these kids, and I am so proud of them!!!

Jon and Sadie put on a puppet show....

2009-08-11T17:32:00.003-07:00

Lenard was gone to scout camp for a week, so Jon and Sadie played a LOT together just the two of them. One day they called me in for a puppet show.....☺

PUPPET SHOW BY JON AND SADIE

Christi

Yellowstone....in just one day....

2009-07-23T13:44:00.003-07:00

Yep, that is all the time we had at Yellowstone. Not ideal, but we saw A TON in that one day there.

Here are some videos of our adventures.
Yellowstone 1
Yellowstone 2
Yellowstone 3
Yellowstone 4
Yellowstone 5
Yellowstone 6
Yellowstone 7
Yellowstone 8

It was a Sunny 68 degrees with a light breeze.....PERFECT....and we all got sunburned. Who puts on sunscreen when it is 68 degrees out?? LOL!!

Wrestling on our vacation....

2009-07-10T16:57:00.004-07:00

Well, the reason we first planned our vacation was because Jonny qualified to wrestle at Western Reigonals in Pocatello Idaho. This was his first year wrestling, ever, and we are very proud of him. He ended up wrestling at both Regionals in Pocatello and Nationals in Orem the next week. I have never seen anything like these tournaments!! The kids (and more-so, thier PARENTS) are CRAZY.....CRA-ZY about wrestling....they live it, eat it, breath it. I learned a lot, and I think Jonny did to. Everyone he wrestled was VERY VERY tough. In fact, he lost every match....he just does not have the experience or mat time these kids did. But he gave it his all, and in the end....he even got a medal at Nationals. Here are the videos of his matches....

Regional Freestyle Intermediate 75 - there were 25 wrestlers total in his weight class.
Match 1 The kid Jon is wrestling here, took 2nd.
Match 2
Jon was out after that.....it was a double elimination

Nationals - Greco Intermediate 80 - Jon put on a couple of pounds so he could wrestle up for Nationals (there were only 9 kids in the 80lb weight class, and we knew it would mean a better chance at a medal for him....even if he lost.)
Match 1
Match 2
Match 3
He did take 8th....
On the Medal Blocks

Nationals - Freestyle Intermediate 80
Match 1 - He NEARLY had it!!! He wrestled his HEART out on this one!!!
Match 2

This is a slide show of some pics I took at Regionals.

WE ARE PROUD OF YOU JONNY!!!
and Sadie and Lenard too.....it was some LONG days in the arenas waiting for Jon to wrestle once or twice.

This will put a smile on your face!.....hee hee.....

2009-07-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

10 days....6 states.....almost 3000 miles....thousands of memories!!

2009-07-07T10:11:00.002-07:00

That is what our vacation was!! I am in the process of uploading pictures and videos to get onto the blog so we can share some of our travels with ya. It is definately a trip that wont be forgotten. We had a wonderful time (although we had plenty of the cliche "are we there yet"s and "I'm squished", "He's touching me", "How much longer", etc, etc.) we are so glad we got to go....and we are also glad to be HOME!!! Pictures and Video....coming soon.

Funeral Information....

2009-06-16T17:16:00.001-07:00

Funeral for James Lenard Starks
Friday, June 19, 2009
9:00am Viewing
10:00am Service

held at the LDS Church - Tempe Evergreen building
750 N. Evergreen
Tempe, AZ
It is between Dobson and Price, off of University

Lennie's Dad passed away this morning...

2009-06-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

I am sure he had a wonderful, long, and pain free embrace from Lennie's mom and his parents when he passed. We are sad only for ourselves, and so happy for him. The funeral is most likely going to be Friday, we'll post more details when we get them finalized. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Sadly.....

2009-06-07T16:24:00.001-07:00

Lennie's dad is not doing well. He has been in and out of the hospital for a few months, his heart and his kidneys are not functioning like they should, and now he is having difficulty swallowing and keeping food down. Medications are keeping his blood pressure up and dialysis is keeping fluid from building up in his body and causing extreme swelling. He coded last Sunday and they had to shock his heart to get it going again. As of yesterday, he has made the decision to stop all treatments and go to hospice where he can be kept comfortable until the Lord decides it is time for him to be reuinted with his sweetheart who passed away almost exactly a year ago. He is so lonely for her. We are not exactly sure how the next days/weeks will go, but they are sure to be very emotional. We love our families so much and are grateful for the Plan of Salvation, the Plan of Happiness.

You know it's summer when.....

2009-05-29T18:40:00.004-07:00

You spend the day swimming at the city pool with your cousins....!!

We used our family summer swim pass for the first time today...it was great! The water was perfect, it wasnt too hot out and we had lots of good company. Hannah and Anthony, and The Aumua's joined us for some watery fun. I had the camera put away by the time the Aumua's got there, but they WERE there, and I think they all had fun...(even Jaba who was splashing the guard with his MEGA-splasy leaps off the high dive).

Leanrd was doing cannonballs off the high dive, and Sadie braved the "tunnel" slide!! I dont even think anyone got sunburned.

Jonny is at cub scout day camp, and that is why he wasn't there today. He is having fun doing archery, swimming, bb guns and much more at the "Pirates of the Pueblo" camp. Today is his second day, he still has one more day to go!!

Great news...

2009-05-19T16:52:00.001-07:00

YES!!! Lennie just got the results of his PET/CT scan from last week....absolutely NO UPTAKE!! Which means he is still totally and completely CANCER FREE!! I am grateful that Heavenly Father continues to bless us as he has throughout this entire process. This month marks 3 years since his original diagnosis...I cannot believe how far we have come. Thank you all for your support and prayers on our behalf.

Two medals for Jonny this weekend!....

2009-05-13T11:28:00.005-07:00

This past weekend was Jons first ever Greco Roman meet.....it also happened to be the STATE Greco meet....kinda funny. Well there were only 2 kids in his weight class wrestling Greco and only one kid in a weight class above them, so they combined those 3 kids. Well........he lost both his matches, but still got 3rd place. The first match I missed, but he lost by points in 3 periods. The second match I got on video....it was against the kid who was 5-10 lbs over Jons weight.

Greco Match -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O1x6MfDKNc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07niG4g-P2o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1MHSkolfr8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z30xI1Vm2Is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8FWs1q1qKw

He also wrestled Freestyle in the same tournament (which can make for one tired kiddo), and he did VERY well!! He took BRONZE, and we were very proud of him. Pretty much the only ones who are showing up to tournaments these days are the BEST kids, so each match is challenging.

His first match was against his buddy Laine. He beat Laine at his very first meet, and hasn't been able to beat him since.....until Saturday!! They are a good couple of boys, and we are excited that Laine is also going to Pocatello this summer!!

Jon vs. Laine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnGcXbCcADg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK7dhsQr_4Q
the ref and the other "judges" had to discuss some scoring or something....it took forever....then they finally came back....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_mH57uICrA

Match #2 was against a kid we dont know....it was short.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ClT6aeI7RY

Match #3 was against Anthony....a kid we see regularly....he is good, and Jon has never been able to beat him....but we are working on it. Anthony took 2nd overall at this meet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EurVdpH0qdg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEcij-eiBXo

Match #4 was against Sammy. He is from Tucson, and we have only seen him twice, but every time, he takes 1st. He is really good, but we were so impressed with how much better Jon wrestled against him this time, compared to last time. He is making great progress!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZeJzljee8M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lNk1NoDIrE

Jon has only one regular season tournament and that is this SATURDAY at Desert Vista High School. It is the State Freestyle Tournament, so it should be a good one!

Video of Sadie and her Cousins while in Kentucky...

2009-05-04T15:01:00.003-07:00

This was Saturday morning as they were heading out to the hot air balloon races (which were cancelled because of too much wind).

Sadie and Christi in Indy/Kentcky....

2009-05-01T15:13:00.002-07:00

Sadie and I had a FABULOUS time visiting with the Moores!! James is going to make one AWESOME dentist. I was SO happy I could help out by being his board patient. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I am honored to have been a part of. I really enjoyed it (REALLY).

We at at some fabulous places, and had some WONDERFUL laughs. Because I was in boards much of the time, I did not get as many pictures as I usually do, but I didnt leave completely empty handed. These are some pics of us at the Falls of the Ohio State park. The kids had a BALL! They searched for fossils on the banks of the river and then explored the lush green wooded areas around there too. We all got a little sunburned that day, it was GORGEOUS!! I have a little video of the kids too....I'll have to get that uploaded as well.

I'll be a little jealous when much of the family is there for graduation next week, but I am SOOOOOOOOOO glad Sadie and I were able to visit them in Indy before they head out for thier next adventure.....who knows where that will be????!!!

Stuff Happening in May....

2009-05-01T14:59:00.003-07:00

Lenard will be having his next choir convcert on May 16th at 7:00pm at the Desert View Baptist Church950 N Greenfield RdGilbert, AZ 85234. This will be his last concert with East Valley Childrens Choir as he will not be participating in the summer, and next fall he'll be in 7th grade, and too old for this choir. They are doing a medly of Rogers and Hammerstein songs. Should be a lot of fun!

Jons regular wrestling season is also drawing to a close. He has 3 tournaments left. They are....

May 2 - Moutain View H.S. (Freestyle) 2700 E Brown Rd. Mesa 85213

May 9 -Basha H.S. 5990 S. Val Vista Rd. Chandler 85249

May 16 - (Freestyle State Championships) Desert Vista H.S. 16440 S. 32nd St. Phoenix AZ 85048

As always, we love to have cheerleaders in the stands, if you'd like to come to watch, arriving at 11am is about right.

Jonny gets 2nd

2009-04-26T13:04:00.004-07:00

Of course the one week that just Jon, his dad, and his brother are the only ones to watch, and he places the highest yet. He got a 2nd place yesterday. I'll let Christi write more about it.

Jon is qualified for Western Reigonals in POCATELLO!!.....

2009-04-18T21:00:00.003-07:00

He did it! He placed 5th today out of 12 wrestlers...and he got a medal. WAY TO GO JONNY!! I missed the first two matches...he pinned both opponents!! The 3rd he lost by points...and the 4th he was pinned. He was quite devastated about the last two matches, but he really did GREAT (and we told him so)!!

So, it looks like we'll be vacationing in Pocatello this June. As long as we'll be up that way, we are thinking of hitting Yellowstone and some of the sights in Salt Lake City on our way home. The kids have never been to Temple square, etc. and I havent been there in AGES. Looks like it could be a very fun trip!!

Brrrrrrr......

2009-04-17T21:59:00.002-07:00

This is another scout campout weekend for Lenard. (Man, they go alot....but it is GREAT for him!) This time they went up near Strawberry....I just checked the weather up there....it is 38 degrees, and it is only 10pm!!! Good thing he got an awesome 20 degree mummy bag in February....looks like it will come in handy tonight. I think even with the cold he'll have a blast! He usually does. By the time we go to Greespeak this summer, it'll be like nothing to him. LOL!

Gearing up for this weekend...

2009-04-16T08:26:00.001-07:00

It is the Western Regional Qualifiers. If Jon places in the top 6 this weekend, he can go to the Western Regional Tournament in Pocatello, ID in June. He's gonna have to be in top form, and he has been practicing hard this week!! The tournament is at Highland High School, 4301 E. Guadalupe Rd. Gilbert 85220. If you are coming to watch, I'd say getting there around 11am is the best idea. I have to work the night before and the night after, so I am not going to be able to be there the whole time.....hopefully, I can get a little sleep and make it there for most of it. Wish him luck!---and lots of PINS!!!

Sadie and Mom go to the Stuffington Bear Factory

2009-04-09T12:33:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was Sadie's last Kindergarten field trip. They were going to the Stuffington Bear Factory. Sadie REALLY wanted me to come on the field trip, so I arranged my schedule so I could (although I did have to work the night before, so by the end of the field trip...I'd been up for 24 hours, and I had worked over 12 of them----->pardon my YAWN). We learned all about the origin of the teddy bear, how the first bears were made and what they were stuffed with. Then we toured the factory and got to see the whole process. After that, each child and parent chaparone got to make a bear! So fun!! Sadie's bear is Pink, and she named her "BubbleGum".....my bear is brown, and I named her "ButterScotch".

At the end of the day, I was a little sad knowing that this will be the LAST Kindergarten field trip I go on!!

Jon fought hard this weekend and got a MEDAL!!...

2009-04-06T10:14:00.002-07:00

Jonny took 3rd (BRONZE!!) out of 9 wrestlers this weekend at Mesa High. It was a great tournament. He is also making some good friends (the wrestlers from the other clubs)

Sadie, Lenard and I cheered from the stands, and Lennie was down on the mat with him. Lenard even got to do some of the video taping this week....he LOVED that!

1st Match - Jon won on points.
Match 1 - a
Match 1 - b

2nd Match - Jon won by pinning (we think?....this ref was not very good)
Match 2

3rd Match - Jon lost on points
Match 3 - a
Match 3 - b

4th Match - Jon Lost on points
Match 4 - a
Match 4 - b

This week is a short school week....FRIDAY OFF, YAY!! I am thinking of taking the kids to see Monsters VS. Aliens (maybe I can bribe them to clean the back yard first??)

Stuff that happened last weekend....

2009-03-30T09:14:00.004-07:00

Lenard went on a Deacon's quorum campout. They went fishing at Roosevelt Lake. Only one kid and one leader caught anything, but they all had a great time. Lenard came home sunburned, but happy.

While Lenard was gone, Jon had another wrestling tournament. He had 5 matches....he pinned two opponents (his first two pins...he was THRILLED), lost one match on points (it was very close), got pinned in one match (again, his first time...he was BUMMED), and won by default on the 5th match (the opponenet didnt show). All in all, he placed 5th out of 12 in his age/weight class. We think he did great! It was fun to watch with Grandma, Grandpa, Nancy and the Aumuas! Here are the videos if you wanna see....

Match one - Jon won by pinning.
Match 1 - a
Match 1 - b

Match two - Jon lost by points. This kid was one Jon beat in the very first tournament (he wore yellow).
Match 2 - a
Match 2 - b
Match 2 - c

Match three - Jon won by pinning (in like 5 seconds.....and yes, his opponent was a girl)
Match 3

Match four - Jon was pinned.
Match 4 - a
Match 4 - b

(as usual, please turn the sound off or just try to ignore the crazy lady running the video, she can't keep her mouth shut...she tried, LOL!)

Later that night, Lennie and I went to an Elders Quorum Pinewood Derby. We made a minivan for our car, LOL....looked just like our old Chevy Lumina van. The kids got a real kick out of it. We won about half and lost about half of our races....LOL, it was fun, and we already are working on some big ideas for next year.

Wrestling Tournament this Weekend....

2009-03-26T23:06:00.002-07:00

this weekends wrestling tournament is ON! Jon's been practicing hard, and learning some great moves and having a great time with it.

The tournament is at Desert Vista H.S. 16440 S. 32nd St. Phoenix 85048. That is basically Frye and 32nd St in Ahwatukee. If you're coming to watch, I'd recommend getting there about 11am.

No wrestling this weekend....

2009-03-20T09:31:00.002-07:00

The tournament at Maryvale this weekend has been cancelled. Jon gets the weekend off.

Suddenly SNOWING...

2009-03-16T09:31:00.006-07:00

On our way home from ShowLow on Saturday, all of a sudden it was snowing!! Not really hard, and it wasn't leaving much on the ground, but the kids have never been snowed on, so we stopped at the side of the road and let them stand in it for a short time.

More wrestling fun!

2009-03-15T16:12:00.002-07:00

Saturday morning we woke up REALLY early and headed to ShowLow for this weeks wrestling tournament. It was a long day, but we had a blast! Jon did well! He placed 4th out of 6, and we were so proud of him. Now that I have a new video camera, I took lots of video....in the interest of space and downloading time, I'll link to them individually so you can see them one at a time if you want to. :0)

Match #1...Jon won this match. It was very close, but in the end it went Jon's way, YAY!!

Match #1 - a
Match #1 - b
Match #1 - c
Match #1 - d
Match #1 - e (this is where they show that he wins!!)

Match #2...Jon lost this match. The kid he is wrestling took 1st place. He has been wrestling for 5 years, and his dad is the coach. He pinned ALL of his opponents....BUT NOT JONNY! I thought that was pretty cool!!

Match #2 - a
Match #2 - b

Match #3...Jon lost this match too. This is the one that was most upsetting to Jonny. At the end, he pins this kid, and time runs out before he can keep him down.

Match #3 - a
Match #3 - b

We saw Raine and her family there, and I talked with her a little. It was nice to see them. We may see them at future tournaments. Fun!

Magnificent Melodies.....

2009-03-15T11:48:00.001-07:00

Friday night, was Lenard's choir concert. He did a FABULOUS job!! We were so proud of him. Nancy, Suzi, Isaiah, Halia and Grandma were able to attend as well, and it was fun to have them there. I took video of each song, the videos are kind of long and large files, so I am not going to post the actual videos on the blog to save space. I loaded them onto youtube, and I'll link them here. Please go watch them....they are great!!

Sunset In My Mind

Just Another Ordinary Miracle

Dona Nobis Pachem

After being in this choir, Lenard decided to sign up for choir as an elective in Jr. High....YAY!!

In a couple of months, he'll have another concert. We'll be sure to let you know when it will be!!

Brrrrrrrrrrr.....Ice, anyone?

2009-03-09T10:45:00.001-07:00

My kids went to an ice skating birthday party in Feb. It was the first time any of them had been ice skating. It was rather amusing to watch. At first of course all of them were CLINGING to the wall, but eventualy, and with some coaxing (some more than others) they all came off the wall and did quite well for first timers!!

Wrestle-mania....

2009-03-09T08:14:00.005-07:00

WOW, Saturday was a long and FUN day!! We had an AWESOME showing of support for Jon! Aunt Nancy, Uncle Rob, and Grandma and Grandpa all came out to watch!

Jons first tournament of the season was at Red Mountain High School. Lennie took him down at 8am to weigh in, and then it was a whole lot of hurry up and WAIT! He did not wrestle until close to 11am I think. Nancy was there the WHOLE time waiting. I got there with the other kids close to 10am and Grandma/Grandpa and Rob came shortly after that. Once the wrestling got underway, it was a whole lot of fun and adrenaline.....for Jon AND us up in the stands.....HOLY COW. Jon did FABULOUS!! He put his WHOLE self into it. He was exhausted at the end of the day. Lennie and Uncle Rob were down on the mat with him. He wrestled 3 matches (he was supposed to wrestle 4, but the 4th kid puked before the match and went home). He got a bronze MEDAL!! He is so proud of it! I took pictures of the first match (which he lost, but his coach said was scored incorrectly and he should have won), and video of the 2nd (which he won).

I used Grant's digital camera to shoot the footage, and I am not that great of a videographer while I am trying to watch the match as well....so I didn't get some of the "good stuff", LOL!!

I was trying to take a picture of this, but it was still set to video, but this is both boys at the end of the match....exhausted.

The parents of the kid Jon was wrestling in this video came up to us afterwards and congratulated Jon and told him he was really good (the dad was a coach). Then Jon and Lane (the kid) talked a bit. It was pretty cool.

Saturday morning is wrestling in ShowLow. My cousin Raine has a son who will be wrestling in that tournament as well, and we look forward to seeing them there!!

Don't forget that Friday night Lenard has a concert, we are really looking forward to that!! He has been working really hard for the last couple of months!!

PS - if you are ever at a match and have trouble locating Jon....just look for the WHITEST kid there, LOL!! ;0)

Coming Events....

2009-03-04T09:25:00.002-07:00

Wrestling Matches for Jonny
On Saturday's
$3 Adults, $1 Kids

March 7th - 8:30am - Red Mountain HS
March 14th - 8:30am - ShowLow HS
March 21st - 8:30am - Maryvale HS
March 28th - 8:30am - Desert Vista HS
------------------------------------------------------------
Lenard's Choir Concert

Friday, March 13th at 7:00pm. It is FREE. Refreshments will be served.
Desert View Baptist Church Auditorium
950 N Greenfield Rd. (Greenfield between Baseline and Guadalupe)

PS-East Valley Childrens Community Choir is now enrolling for the Spring Session. It is 8 weeks, and will be a musical theater production - "Go West!" There will also be Cowboy poetry and melodramas, etc. So much FUN!! If you are interested in the details, let me know.

Check it out....

2009-02-28T10:58:00.001-07:00

At wrestling practice on Thursday, they had a special guest coach. His name is Anthony Robles, he is 20, and wrestling at ASU. He went to Mesa High, and was wrestling the same time as Kevin. He was born with only one leg. He took 2 High School State Championships, and 1 National High School Championship. He is currently ranked 10th in the nation in Freestyle, and is expected to make All American this year. He came and talked to the kids and showed them some of his favorite moves, and then jumped in and helped coach them through the moves. He was only able to actually work with a couple of pairs of kids, but Jon was one of them! It was pretty cool.

Gone Camping....

2009-02-28T10:51:00.001-07:00

Lenard went on his first Deacon's quorum campout this weekend. Apparently it is the first of many....I am told they go camping about once a month?? LUCKIES! :o) He got a new 20° mummy bag since he is going to be needing it! He was really excited to go...even though he knew they were going on a 5 mile hike today. I hope he is still excited when he gets home!

Getting him packed up made me look forward to the summer and camping at Greens Peak or ????wherever!! Lets start making plans!!

The Scrap Review....

2009-02-24T08:21:00.001-07:00

I know, I know, I have not been scrapping much lately, HOWEVER.....it is never far from my mind, LOL!! I will, one day, find a way to work scrappy time back into my schedule.

I am afraid that, as I am currently taking a bit of a scrappy break, I will miss so many fun things that are coming into the scrappy world. This is why I am so happy to have found a new scrappy site called THE SCRAP REVIEW which will be launching next week!!!

They are going to have real product reviews by real scrappers, and that is what I need to see. I want to hear all about the new stuff, so I can be dragged (ever so willingly) back into actively scrapping!!

I cannot wait to see what they have to show us!!

4th Grade Patriots....

2009-02-23T12:35:00.003-07:00

Last Friday, the all the 4th grade classes at Jon's school put on a Patriotic presentation for the parents. It was obvious that they had worked very hard on the songs and speaking parts. I was so happy that I was able to go and see it. Here is just a tast of the program, but the whole thing was GREAT!!

WRESTLE!.....

2009-02-18T10:36:00.004-07:00

On Feb 9th Jon started wrestling. I have been looking for something active to sign him up for that he would truly enjoy, and I think we have a WINNER! He is LOVING wrestling. They have practice 3 times a week for an hour, and he is doing great (well as far as my untrained eyes can tell). He seems to be quite strong for his size. His first match is March 7th - he weighs in at 8AM, and I think the wrestling stars at 9am!! Can't wait.

Go JON!!

I heart Sadie's hair!....

2009-02-18T10:25:00.003-07:00

This was Sadie's Valentines Day hair. Unfortunately I didn't actually do it ON Valentines day, LOL! But she still LOVED it. I cannot take credit for the idea though....it came from a fun hair blog at http://www.shedoeshair.blogspot.com/

I was excited that I can still play and do fun styles now that it is shorter!!

More than just a little trim....

2009-02-05T09:59:00.003-07:00

It was bound to happen sooner or later.....Sadie's hair has always been long and all one length, she basically started growing it out when she was 8 months old . She has always enjoyed it (and so have I)....until recently. Shortly after she started kindergarten, she started telling me she wanted it cut "to her shoulders", and asking for a haircut. I tried to discourage it, but then one day a couple of weeks ago she took it upon herself and cut herself some bangs!! It was not as bad as it could have been....she really didnt cut that much, it was just a bit short. So after thinking on it for a bit I decided to let her have her haircut....it is just hair after all. SO yesterday was the day, and she LOVES it. She swings her head and flips her hair and cannot stop looking in the mirror and smiling. It is, of course, absolutely DARLING (we are still talkng about SADIE, lol)....but it will take some getting used to....(and I want the bangs to grow out just a bit). :o)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Lenard is TWELVE!....

2009-01-28T16:37:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe and AMAZING, I know. Lenard is 12, will soon have the priesthood, be in Jr. High, and is going to MUTUAL tonight!! I love this young man more than I can say, I am proud of him and his accomplishments!! Here is a little look back at Lenard (or Grant....whatever the case may be, LOL!)

We love you Lenard!!

Another "FIRST" for 2009....

2009-01-15T15:00:00.002-07:00

On Monday night for family night we had a FHE about Money.....spending it, saving it, budgeting it, etc. As part of that, we wanted to get the kids started with their first savings accounts (and it counts for Jon's scouts too!!). So today after school, I took them down to the bank and they each got thier own savings account. It was kind of fun, and they feel all "grown-up" about it too. I only had my phone with me for pics, so this is all I was able to get....

Sadie lost her first tooth!....

2009-01-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

Sadie lost her first tooth on New Years Day!! The grown up tooth that is replacing it was already in......it came in in OCTOBER!! Weird!! She was scared for her tooth to come out, but was SO excited and proud once it did!

She sold it to Grandpa Daly for $5.....who needs a toothfairy when you can get that kind of a deal?

Holiday Magic at Disneyland....

2009-01-12T07:01:00.002-07:00

This was our first time at Disneyland when it was COLD. We usually go in the summer or fall....and it is always hot. I LOVED being there in the cold. It was kind of rainy both days....or more drizzly, misty, foggy....whatever it was it was AWESOME! It must have kept some people away, because I did not think it was terribly crowded. We had my sister, Nancy, with us and Lennie's dad came too. It was SUPER fun, and we really cannot wait to go back. We even got EVEYRONE....yes even all the kids.....on Tower of Terror!! That will probably never happen again, lol, so it was quite impresive! Here are some pics from our Wintery Disney Trip.....

Want to know what makes a New Year really HAPPY!?...

2009-01-09T17:29:00.003-07:00

Lennie had some bloodwork and tests done at the end of December and he is still TOTALLY CANCER FREE!!!! Heavenly Father continues to bless us with answered prayers, and we are truly grateful and recognize His hand in all of this.

We are also thankful for the MANY MANY MANY of you that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers the last 2½ years.....ps- don't stop now :0)....we can still use all the help we can get.

Lennie and Christi Starks and Family

Christmas Joys....

2009-01-06T11:50:00.005-07:00

These are just some of the things that brought us joy this past Christmas.....

We hosted two Starks Family parties at our house this year. One was on the 22nd. It was a cookie party for the kids. We decorated Nutter-Butters to look like reindeer, and we made Rolo Turtles.......mmmmmmmmmm......those are my favorites! We also decided to have the Starks families over again on Christmas Eve. It was a wonderful party, and almost everyone was able to make it (we missed you Emilie). We ate, and exchanged gifts, read the Christmas story from the scriptures and had a talent show too. It was an important night for us to get together as a family and just share some good times. Here are some pics from those events.

Christmas day started out opening presents at our houes...and the rest of the day was spent with the Daly side of our family....another WONDERFUL time!! Again, we ate, exchanged gifts, and played played played. All the while we were missing our out-of-town families terribly. We really look forward to being all together again for the holidays soon!!

At one point in the day, Uncle Rob went outside and fired up Braden's dirtbike, which was still up at the house from the dunes trip I guess. Jon heard it, and next think you know, he was zipping around the yard and down the road!! He took to it FAST....even though he'd never ridden one before. He loves it, and I think we are in for much more dirt bike ridding in our future!!

and PS - I didn't know he was riding until I was called outside to watch...I promptly got him a HELMET!!

We also got a fun box of goodies from our friends Merce and Manolo in Ponferrada, Spain. Lots of Spanish sweets! We were all very excited about it, especially the kids!

We hope all our friends and family had wonderful holidays and a happy new year!!!

Last minute plans....

2008-12-27T05:34:00.003-07:00

are sometimes the BEST!! We decided that we really should see Disneyland all decked out for the holidays, so we are taking the kids and heading out New Years Day for California (I checked the schedule, and Disney leaves Chistmas up until the 5th)!! How fun is that?! Lennie and I both got the time off, as well as Aunt Nancy!! It will be a bit of a whirlwind trip, but it will be fun. And we got a SMOKIN' deal on a hotel room since we booked so last minute....go figure....it was ½ price and directly adjacent to the park!! Good times!!

Christi

We hope your holiday's were as Merry as ours!!!

2008-12-27T05:28:00.002-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while, but we have just been so busy!! We had two holiday parties at our house before Christmas. Christmas Day was lovey, and we spent it at my mom's house (Lennie's dad did join us there for dinner.) Thank you to all of our friends and faily who were so graceous to send us cards and gifts, etc. I will update this post soon with pictures of our festivites (including Jonny learning to ride a dirt bike!). We hope everyone had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christi

Decking the Halls....

2008-12-10T18:02:00.003-07:00

Monday night for Family Night, we put up our tree and a few other decorations. The kids were SO excited they could hardly contain themselves when we started getting the ornaments out. It is amazing how it just FEELS more like Christmas once the tree is up!! I love it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Temple Lights....

2008-12-08T11:15:00.002-07:00

Saturday night, we went to the temple to walk around the grounds and see the lights with some members of my family. I took pictures (*of course*), but I guess I need to practice my nighttime shooting more, because they are all pretty blurry. You still get the idea, LOL. It was a fun night, we even got to sit and listen to 2-5-9 sing. Havent heard them in years, they were still quite entertaining. Here are some shots from that night.

New family photos....

2008-12-02T15:23:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday evening, my friend Ashley and I arranged a SWAP! We met at the temple grounds, and she took our family photos, and I took hers. Such a deal!! It was fun to see her (she lives on the WEST side of the valley, so we don't get together often) and get family photos too!! All went very well (well....except the part about Lennie putting his glasses BACK on after I told him to take them off!) Not sure if SUN glasses are photoshoppable or not....I guess we'll see. :0) (Love you, honey)

Anyhow, here are some of our pics. Some of them I have done some photoshopping and changes to....some of them not yet.

Murphy's Law.....ever heard of it....

2008-11-27T10:03:00.003-07:00

I have!!

So....what is today? Oh yeah, Thanksgiving. Right? What happens on Thanksgiving?....you eat. How do you prepare much of the food you eat?.....the oven, right?

Yeah well, my assignment for dinner today is the ham. No problem. Except that there *IS* a problem!! I was baking some fish last night for dinner. At the end of the baking time, I turned my oven to Broil to get a nice golden crispy finish to my parmesean crusted cod. Two minutes later, I go to take the fish out and turn off the oven, and it will NOT turn off of broil. I cannot get the knob to BUDGE. What is going on!? So I take the outer knob off and try to turn the post that sticks out....nope, not moving. I move to pliers....still NOT moving. Well after several minutes of trying and trying, I finally got the broiler off, but the oven is still on and set for 500 degrees.....knob still not wanting to turn. I kept trying to turn it down....I kept at it until......well, you guessed it.....I BROKE IT!! Now the knob turns alright.....and turns and turns and turns and never stops......and the oven is still on and set for some unknown temperature. It is still WAY to hot to touch, so I go OUTSIDE and flip the breaker so that it will cool down and Lennie can pull it out and look at it. SIGH.

We have no oven. Lennie took it apart this morning, and I am thinking this oven is heading to the dump. Looks like I am going to go to my moms EXTRA early for dinner tonight because I have to bake the ham there. Which means I miss my nap....which I need because I work tonight. Ah Well.....I am thinking it will be a slow night at work anyhow - maybe I'll even get cancelled (dare I even think it???).

One funny thing that happen amid all this.....Sadie - the ever-positive-look-on-the-bright-side wonderful girl she is, said to me "Well, mom....now we can get a BLACK so that it matches the fridge and the dishwasher". LOL, such a girl to think about that hee hee....but you know......she is right!!!!

crAzY hAiR and PaJAma DaY!!....

2008-11-26T07:35:00.003-07:00

Every day for over a week, I have heard the question "How many days until the day before Thanksgiving?" At first I was puzzled by this question, until I found out that today is Crazy Hair and Pajama Day at the kids' school. They could not wait!! I didn't even have any trouble getting them up and ready for school today....they WANTED to go, LOL!! I, of course, snapped some photos before they got too far! Fun. Sadie calls hers a "princess hat of hair", LOL (some of you may recognize this style from girls camp a couple years ago)!!

Everyone Loves a Parade!!!

2008-11-16T13:58:00.008-07:00

For as long as I can remember, it has been an annual tradition in my family to be involved with the Watson Flower Shop float and a parade. The flower shop was opened by my Great Grandparents in 1927 (I think)...and is still owned and run by family. I worked there all through college.

Now, the tradtion has evolved over the years....it used to be the Mesa Days Parade in March....and now it is the Gilbert Days Parade in November. Decorating the float used to involve pinning colored stock (a flower) into styrofoam boards to cover the float....now it involves gluing petals and leaves to boards to cover the float.

But some things never change...each year, it is the 5 year olds in the family who get to ride. I rode when I was 5, as did my siblings, and all (or just about all) of my 52 (yes, I said FIFTY-TWO!) first cousins. Now it is our children who are riding. Each year, many of the rest of the family walks along side the float passing out stems of flowers to parade watchers. It is a fantastic tradition for our family, and one that regular parade attendees look forward to as well.

This year, Sadie was a float rider. She was SOOOOO looking forward to it, and had a blast smiling and waving as the float went down the parade route. Since she is our youngest, she is the last one in our family to ride. It seems strange to think that we are done with that. Here are some pics I took of her that day. Oh yeah, if you are thinking to yourself...."my, it looks a bit warm in the photos....even for AZ".....you'd be RIGHT!! 85 degrees is TOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOT for November!!

One of my fondest memories from my childhood is riding the float. I got to ride with my cousin Charlene. She and I were good friends. We were less than 2 months apart, and all the other cousins our age were boys (who we loved too, but there is something special about girl cousins!). She passed away when we were 11, and I cherish the memories I had with her. I called my uncle (who still owns the Flower Shop) and he sent me a photo of the year I rode the float!! You can see that alot has changed....and some stayed the same. Click on the photo for a better look.

I also have to give a HUGE thank you to two of the nurses I work with at Gateway. I did not know the dates of the parade had been changed this year, and I was scheduled to work Friday and Saturday nights. This would have made it very hard for me to be there and be awake, let alone have Sadie there and ready on time. Brandi and Sarah both went out of thier ways to make schedule changes with me so that I could be there, and I appreciated that SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!

Fun on Veteran's Day...

2008-11-11T20:29:00.001-07:00

Since the kids had school off today, and I was not working, I wanted to do something fun with them. We decided that it would be fun to spend the day at Oak Flats. Man, was that a GOOD idea!! We invited Grandma and Zayah, as well as a friend of Jon's to come with us. A fantastic time was had by all!! The weather was perfect, the kids were SO well behaved, we visited the cave, we climbed trees and rocks and had lunch....and I was click, click, clicking away with my camera. I took about 80 shots...they were SO fun!

I bet you think that right about *HERE* there should be a slide show of all the fabulous fun we had today. Well there SHOULD be, but somehow, I managed to delete the WHOLE ENITRE CARD of pictures. So all we have to show for it are dirty faces, tired bodies, and memories. Guess we'll just have to go again, LOL!!

Flashback Friday....

2008-11-07T09:14:00.001-07:00

I found this hiding in the files on my computer last night, and I was CRACKING up. Maybe it is just me, but looking at our little Sadie-bug (who was 3 years old at the time) singing this song from The Little Mermaid made me laugh and laugh (oh, and the BURP in the middle of the song helped too). Thanks to Mehana who caught this moment of cute-ness for us on her PHONE back in 2006, LOL!!

Lenard is on a ROLL.....

2008-11-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

HONOR ROLL!! Way to go Lenard!! We are proud of you and we love you!

The Poodle, The Pirate, The Jedi....

2008-11-01T15:54:00.004-07:00

Those were the costumes of choice this year. Lenard sort of made his costume up...he is his own kind of Jedi!! Jonathan's was a recycled costume from years past, and we made Sadie's after she saw it in October's Family Fun Magazine and fell in love with it. I thought they all looked Great! I was sad that I had to work, so I could not go out trick-or-treating with them, but I got them all dressed and took some fun pics. I am lucky to have kids that dont mind indulging me in some fun photo-ops!! Lennie took them to Aunt Shannon/Uncle Donalds house to trick-or-treat with the cousins in their neighborhood, then they stopped by the hospital so I could see them (and show them off, LOL). A fun night which resulted in WAY too much candy. ;0)

Oh yeah, since we are allowed minimal costumes at work, I decided to wear my nurses hat (from gruaduation 13+ years ago) and be the "old-timey" nurse. Everyone at work got a big kick out of that.

Oh YEAH I did!!......

2008-10-28T18:02:00.005-07:00

I, for the first time in over TWO MONTHS, I went into my scrappy room and created something!!! It felt really good to handle paper, cutter, scissors, glue, ink, chipboard....all those fun things.

I made this title page for an album. It is not for me. I have an Uncle who is dealing with some significant health issues right now, and my dedicated Aunt is right by his side. They have done so much for me over the years of my life, and I feel a bit helpless right now. Well, my Aunt is one of the most positive people I know, and she has a great deal of faith as well. She is taking all of this and making the best of it. She really is finding joy in the journey.

I already had the idea of making her a notebook where she could put her photos she takes and notes and emails that people send. I even thought about the title, and 000when I heard President Monson speak in General Conference about Finding Joy in the Journey, I KNEW that should be the title of the book. Here is what I came up with this afternoon.

Birthday Artwork....

2008-10-27T08:24:00.002-07:00

Saturday was my birthday, and when I walked in the door that morning (from work...I worked the night before) my kids were there showering me with beautiful artwork and singing to me "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". I have great kids, and I am lucky to be thier mom!!! I wanted to share a few of their lovely creations with you.

Disney Memories...

2008-10-24T15:19:00.002-07:00

What a FUN time we had!! We are definately going back!! It is amazing the difference a couple of years makes. All the kids are old enough to deal with an entire day of fun without naps, etc. WOOHOO!! We went ahead and bought annual passes, so you can be sure we're going back SOON!! Hopefully so we can see it all decked out for Christmas!!!

The countdown is ON!!!....

2008-10-06T15:13:00.002-07:00

MySpace Countdown Clocks

Well, we've actually been counting down for about SIX MONTHS....but we are getting down to the wire now!! I have been busy getting things ready. I got new tires on the Tahoe and had the oil changed. I am putting together traveling bags for each of the kids with activities for the car ride. I am so excited about these! I know, I am silly, but it makes me happy to think we'll be prepared for the car ride. The kids have no idea I am doing this or what is going in them. I have gotten some great ideas from friends about fun ways to include snacks and other goodies in them. I'll be sure to take pictures of the bags before I let the kids dig into them. I think later this week I am going to go to the Disney Store Outlet and get some t-shirts (much cheaper than buying them inside Disney, LOL). After today, I only have 2 days off work before we go....I am going to be TIRED on the trip over, so hopefully the kids will be engaged in thier bags and goodies and I can sleep a bit in the car :).

I am NOT going to vote on November 4!....

2008-10-06T07:27:00.005-07:00

I REFUSE......I won't do it. Nope, no polling lines for me.....because I just ordered my early ballot!!!! YAY! (of course, I am still VOTING!)

Since I am working nights now (and I don't know my schedule for that time yet) I'd rather not spend a couple hours in line when I need to be sleeping, LOL.

That being said, I am REALLY ready for this election to be over already! I am done hearing about it, let's just get on with it!! The end results will be whatever they will be....whether I like them or not.

Its ALMOST cooling off....

2008-10-03T18:09:00.003-07:00

Well, it is October, and it is ALMOST cooling off. We even dared to take a trip to the park while the sun was still up the other day----GASP!! It was just under 100 degrees (as you can probably tell by the reddened faces of the kids)....which is, believe it or not....COOLER than it has been. We invited a friend of Sadie's to come along with us, and the kids all had a great time....in spite of the heat.

I took the opportunity to play a bit more with my camera and new lens.....the setting sun made it a bit of a challenge, but I still came out with some decent shots. I love playing with photography and hope to someday take some classes to improve my skills.

School Picture Day, and I got a new LENS!!

2008-09-26T07:47:00.003-07:00

Today is school picture day for Sadie, Jon and Lenard. So they all got new shirts, and last night the boys got haircuts. I take so many pictures, that I dont buy the school ones, but I still like them to go looking nice for them...and I usually buy a class photo anyhow.

Yesterday I got a new lens for my camera - to replace the one I dropped on our 4th of July trip. I wanted a good "walk around" lens. I looked and read reviews, and I chose a Canon EF 28-135mm IS USM. I love the image stabilization feature, and the mid range zoom which will be good for most situations. I still have my 70-300 zoom with image stabilization if I need it. I am excited to learn about it and play with it some more (and take it to Disneyland in THREE WEEKS!!!). It was a good excuse to snap some pics of the kids before they left for school today :)

Not much scrapping going on here.....correction....absolutely no scrapping at all going on around here!! However, I did win a layout contest last month (with a previously designed layout) and I spent my prize winnings on some new paper!! YUMMY. Got some FUN Halloween stuff....so maybe, just maybe I can pull out some pictures soom and get some cute pages done!