It's Great To Be Eight!

Kensie was baptized on May 30th. It was such a special day! Kensie was so excited that morning, and could not wait to put on her special dress.

We all headed down to the stake center & Kensie and Matt got into their baptismal clothing {much cuter than when I was baptized, by the way}.

There were four children from our ward getting baptized that day so the program was split between the four families. My brother and sister-in-law {Spencer & Andrea} played an amazing piano/guitar duet of "I Feel My Savior's Love", which made me cry of course! The Richards' family, who were in charge of the talk on the Holy Ghost, presented each child with a comforter. Amazing! It was so neat to see Kensie sitting in the front row with her daddy. They were both so excited.

Kensie was the first to be baptized. I watched from the side stairs & had a perfect view. When she came up out of the water she started to cry {I was already bawling, naturally}. I think part of it was because she was nervous, but as we went back into the changing room she said "I don't know why I'm crying. I feel so happy inside". I explained to her that she was feeling the Spirit and that Heavenly Father was so proud of her. For the rest of the day she just couldn't stop taking about her baptism! She said things like, "I just know I made the right choice.", "I am so happy", "I felt the Spirit so strong. I felt so warm inside". She would also randomly have tears in her eyes & tell me "I was just remembering when I got baptized".

It was amazing to see the Spirit radiating from her. It was a testimony-building experience for her and for me!

Her confirmation was just as special. Matt gave her a beautiful blessing & I was reminded how grateful I am to have a worthy priesthood holder in our home. Kensie cried again during it, and also told me that she thought her head was going to fall off with all those hands on it!

Everyone came up to our house afterward for some lunch & a birthday celebration for Jackson. It was so great to have so many family members there to celebrate Kensie {and Jackson's} special day. In attendance were:

Great Grandma & Grandpa May
Grandma & Grandpa Young

Grandma & Grandpa Holbrook

Uncle Danny & Aunt Leah

Uncle Spencer & Aunt Andrea

Aunt Alayna

Great Uncle Joe, Aunt Anita, Sam & Mary Hallman

Great Uncle John & Aunt Ilse

Kensie with Great Grandpa & Grandma May

From Kensie's Journal

do i really have to wait 5 months?

What Heaven Sees In You

My baby girl gets baptized this weekend.

I am so proud of her decision to be baptized. I look into her eyes and cannot help but see the pure love she has for her Heavenly Father. There are often moments when I catch a glimpse of how much He loves her, too. I see it in her smile, her eyes, her dance, her spirit. In those moments I am reminded how special she is, and how blessed I am to have her in my life.

She came to us 6 weeks before our lives were thrown into turmoil. He knew that we needed her. She was my reason for getting up in the morning. She was the warmth and comfort I needed as I rocked her in the wee hours while thoughts of our lives without Matt swirled in my head. She gave Matt hope, and some days was his only reason for smiling.

Since the day she was born she has been such a blessing to us. I hope {as she grows, as she encounters the evils of this world, the disappointments of life} that she will remember her baptism day. That she will remember that she is a strong, beautiful daughter of God.

That she will have eyes to see what heaven sees in her.




*disclaimer- get the tissues ready.... my dad gave me this song on Kensie's blessing day. It makes me very emotional! The second the music starts I lose it.

2 Years Old

No, not Jackson {that's next week}........

My Blog!

Today's my blogoversary. If you're wondering what to get me, you could get me this cake. Although, some real sushi's sounding pretty nice, too.

But you know what I really want? I'll give you a hint....

Go ahead, make my day!

Urgent Care

I went to urgent care this morning & surprisingly it wasn't for one of the kids. It was for me. I tweaked something in my neck & have not been able to move/sleep for the past 2 days. I tried getting in to my doctor but he couldn't see me until June. Ugh! So, urgent care it was. {p.s. driving when you can't turn your head is super fun}

You know I'm desperate for relief when I decide to go back there after their less than stellar track record. I got there right after it opened & was the only patient in there, yet I sat there for.ever. Doctor came in & checked my motor skills {why?}, asked if my neck hurt {duh!} and left. And I sat for.ever. I'm pretty sure that I had to wait so long because he was in his office googling "neck pain". He came back with some muscle relaxer samples, an RX for ibuprophen and the name of a physical therapist and sent me on my way. Another $20 copay well spent.


► my neck still hurts

attention coldplay fans.....

Wanna get some free downloads?

Go here to download 9 Coldplay songs {live versions} for free as a thank you to their fans!

Birthday Extravaganza

Kensie had a great 8th birthday! I can't believe she's that old........{sigh}.

What she wanted most for her birthday was to get her ears pierced. After school we headed to the mall & good ol' Piercing Pagoda. I was surprised by how calm she was on the ride there. My stomach was in knots {probably because I knew what was coming}!

Before...looking a bit nervous!

One ear done, preparing for number two!

Wipe those tears away.....

And now she's happy!

The end result

She was SO excited after it was all over. She kept saying things like, "I feel so beautiful with earrings" and "I keep forgetting I have earrings until I touch them. I love them!". She is very concerned with keeping them cleaned and twisting them. She asks me a million times a day if it is time to twist & clean.


We met Matt at the gardens & spent the evening enjoying the tulips, then headed to Iceberg for a shake.



Kensie had her friend party on Friday. We decided to tone it down this year & only invite 3 friends. Kensie wanted to have a pajama/late-over party. It turned out really fun {and low-key}.

The Bed Cake

Birthday Girl

Being Silly

Making pizzas

ready for the oven!


Pillow Fight!

Hula Hoop contests

"interesting" dinner conversation!
♫ Happy Birthday To You ♫

attempting to watch a movie....there was far too much giggling going on & the movie was abandoned for more hula hoop games & silliness!

It was a great couple of days & Kensie is so excited to be EIGHT! She's looking forward to her baptism at the end of the month {on Jackson's birthday}.

I'm so proud of her, and grateful to be her mom! She is such a loving, funny, dramatic girl.

Love you, Kens!!

my baby's almost 2!!

I just love his little voice now that he's talking! Getting him to sit still & talk for the camera is nearly impossible, but here are a few things I've captured recently.......

it's about bloomin' time!

I know it's nearly summer, but we've only just started to bloom up here! The blossoms are finally out & the weather's perfect for weed pulling!

I'm not ashamed to beg

I entered a delicious {toot, toot! that's me tooting my own horn} recipe in the Ile De France Cheese recipe contest & I need your help..........

Head on over to their blog and vote for my Brie, Asparagus, and bacon pizza {I'm six down from the top}.

I will ♥ lurve ♥ you endlessly!



oh, and you can also see the recipe here.





thank you, thank you!!