1/3 of a year has gone by.

Has it really been that long?

Can you tell that blogging went on the back burner? Not sure if it is really because I went private or if it would have happened anyway. I am promising myself to be better about it in the future. Gracey and Emily start school this week and so I feel I have a fresh re-starting point.

We are in Kansas. We love it. We will miss plenty about Kingman. Our ward, our friends, our house, just to name a few. However, this place feels like home. The community and the neighborhood is seriously what I have wanted for my kids to grow up in. Gracey and Em play with the neighbor kids all day outside. They ride their bikes up and down the street, they have been picking apples off of the trees, and are going to bed way too late. It is likely we won't live here forever of course, but this area has already occupied a piece of my heart. (how cheesy was that?) So what that the temps last week were well over 100 degrees with a humidity of 80%? Okay, so that was awful.

As I promised my sister, I would post something. I have been pretty awful about taking pictures recently. I have done quite a bit of video taping, but that doesn't help the blog much.

Here are a couple of pictures of our AZ departure....

Here are the girls playing "store" among some packed boxes. It was pretty clever.


Here Emily would crawl up to the top bunk, then slide down the mattress. It looked it was burning some good energy from both girls. Over and over and over and over....


This is obviously in front of our house as they were preparing to load the truck. They have to do inventory and let me tell you, it makes you feel like a hoarder. I swear, we are not.




An empty house that has lots and lots of good memories. (I don't remember what Em was doing in this picture)


And finally, the traditional pose-in-front-of-the-house picture. (Gracey played "make up" with her friend right before! Ha!)


This week I will photograph more things as we go around town. I will give you a virtual tour of this charming little community.

Should I be proud of her or embarrassed for me?

While swimming with our girls, I was coaxing Gracey to dive deeper and deeper into the water to get the dive toys. I wanted her to get the toy from a certain deep part that I knew she could do but was a littler nervous about. It was about 5 feet deep. After asking her if she wanted to do it, she said,

"No, no, no! That's too deep!"

My response, "Please? You can do it!"

Gracey says, "Will you give me $50 bucks?"

I start laughing and say that I will give her $.50.

She says, "Okay!" and dives right down and grabs it!

Her and I celebrate this small victory while I am still laughing about her wanting to do it for $50.

Corky swims over to us and I tell him the story. Just as I am telling him, I realize that I just got highballed and tricked by a 5 year old. We were laughing so hard!! $.50 to a 5 year old is gold mine and I totally gave in because she first suggested $50!!!!

She is good. She is very, very good!

In short, the rest of the Easter weekend.

The rest of the weekend consisted of just hanging out.

• There was some easter egg coloring
• Late-night swimming
• Drakey-poo smooching
• sleep deprived children
• and Easter-Basket getting!

Gracey and Emily, the Dog Whisperers!

My step-dad has a new dog. She's a German Shepherd dog, she is (said in my best "Hank" impression for my family) named Zeba. She has been trained really well and is not even a year old yet. Of course, the only reason she will ever listen to me is because my step-dad repeats my command. I am definitely not an alpha in that relationship. Gracey and Emily are another story. Zeba minds them so well. Here is some proof. These pictures only show a portion of it all. By the end of this exercise (or torture for the pup) Zeba had crackers on both paws, her back, all up her nose, and behind her ears. She just stared longingly at Gracey and Emily, waiting for the command of "okay!"

St. George Easter Egg Hunt

Anytime we spend Easter in St. George, we most certainly attend this. It is 30 minutes of waiting around at your designated area. Then a 10 second count-down on a mega-phone. Then it is parents pushing their kids out into the hunt when the count-down gets to about 4! Then it is cheering your child on and encouraging her to pick up as much candy on her own while the parent next to you is loading up candy and dropping it into her own child's bucket. I assure you, it is awesome!!

Did that sound like a complaint?? My bad. We really do love, it is just comical to see some of the parents do the job of a 3 year old, among other 3 year olds. I want to say to those parents, "Go buy a freaking bag of candy at Wal-Mart!!!"

My girls think the egg hunt is the bomb and I truly do enjoy watching them (do it on their own!)! It is a fun tradition that we have done the last couple of Easter Holidays!

Here are some pictures of Emily from the beginning, when Grandma Joyce was giving her instructions, to when she was showing off all her fun stuff!


And here is Gracey! She was a pro!


And if you don't believe me about the parents, look closely at this photo. I wish I would have taken a closer picture, this lady was literally dragging her kid around!


After the Egg Hunt, we went over and held some cute baby chicks. Gracey was all about holding them, Emily only want to barely touch the head as long as I was holding it. They were cute....and so were the baby chicks. Glad they weren't mind though!

Check out the intensity in Em's face!

Private Blah!

When people set their blogs to private, I usually forget and have to catch up on a months worth of posts to feel reconnected to that person. If you are like me, lucky you, you don't have a lot to catch up on here. Setting myself to private has caused me to do the exact same thing to my own dang blog.

Hmmmm...I haven't even finished up the posts and pictures from Easter. Someday.

PVHS-ers! Remember this guy?

Good old Officer Brown! For those who didn't attend Pine View High School, he was the cop that worked full time at the high school. He was well liked and respected, and everybody thought he was the coolest. My guess is the trouble-makers wouldn't agree, but that's okay.

In his spare time, when he isn't arresting bad guys, he is the lead singer of the local St. George band, the Lawn Darts! They opened for Kansas and it was fun to see him do his thing. I spoke to him afterwards and he is as cool as ever. He was stoked when I asked him if I could post this video!

Kansas Concert

My dad gave us some tickets to the Kansas concert! They were performing at the Tuachan Amphitheater. How cool is that? Kansas is a 35 year old rock band that were around before I was born....and they still rock! It was so much fun! After the concert, I told my dad that if I had to choose 5 songs that I feel I grew up with, this song would definitely one of them.



And on another note, did you know I married an Oompa Loompa? Just kidding, honey!! Corky had been golfing that day and forgot the sunblock. The combination of that, then sitting next to me, and me being white and the closest to the flash, his "orangeness" was inevitable!

CannonBall!!!!

While spending time with my family in St. George over the Easter weekend, we got a lot of swimming in. The outside temps were quite chilly, but my mom and step dad decided to splurge and heat the pool for us to enjoy! The temperature outside were the low 60's, but the pool was a warm 95 degrees! It was like swimming in a giant bath! We enjoyed being outside, even if a bee attacked my face and stung my cheek! (There is a sweet, cynical revenge in knowing that a bee just died because it stung you!)

It was Drake's first time in the pool and that kid loved it! (Jess, I think he looks like you in this picture!)

Gracey pretty much perfected her cannonball! After watching Home Alone 2 as often as she does, I knew she would be wanting to get it down!

And then there is Emily! I can't help but laugh when I see her in her swim get-up! As much as I ask, she doesn't want me to help her fix her goggles!

A Little Explanation....

I feel like such a sell-out. I honestly vowed that I would not go private....ever. I didn't want to live my life in fear or paranoia that someone was out to get me or my family. I mean, if someone wanted to find me, all they had to do is look up our names in the white pages. It is public record. I was well aware that by googling our names our blog did indeed come up, but I was always mindful of not posting pictures of schools, driver license #, or even pictures of my kids friends who I didn't ask for permission to post. I liked that old friends were able to find us.

My tune has changed. Not radically though. I am not scared by any means, nothing remotely scary has happened to make me go private. The thing that is going on though is that Corky's plant that he works for is shutting down. The company itself is doing fine, but they are phasing out the manufacturing plant here in Kingman. That is bad news for nearly 76 local employees, other local businesses, and the community. Luckily for us, Corky is being transferred within the company. He will continue his work as an Operations Manager, still being employed by Southwire.. We are grateful for the opportunity that he has been given to continue working for them. They are a great company that has treated our whole family incredibly well.

With his transfer though, he has gotten a lot of criticism. Understandably, people are upset by this closing and are a little resentful that Corky is being transferred. Of course, there are employees that understand that when the business isn't seeing a profit then changes need to me made. Sadly though, there are plenty of employees who feel entitled and want to put the blame on someone else.

Anyway, Corky has gotten wind that some people who aren't too happy with him, are knowing more about his personal life than he has personally shared. While we have nothing to hide and are proud of our family blog and its content, neither of us feel comfortable knowing that people who don't like us are searching it out. One guy at work came up to Corky and said, "Is it true you were thinking about going to medical school?" If that information was found through our blog, then someone was looking back at posts from over 2 years ago.

Another reason to go private is not just because it is creepy knowing that people who don't like us are looking, but also I want to be sensitive to them. So many people are losing their jobs when the only thing to really blame is the economy. It sucks. We both are sad and worried about their families and hope they can find employment soon after this summer. It would just feel wrong of me to document our move, the job, and this new chapter in our lives that we are so excited for, knowing that people who aren't so fortunate are reading.

With all of that said, I can look back at all the hard work and long hours that Corky has put in (that I usually griped about) and be so grateful. I am so grateful that he has shown his value with this company. We have been truly blessed since Corky made the decision to get out of the army. His hard work and attitude has paid off thus far and we can only pray that the blessings continue to be great!

And now that I have babbled on and on, is anyone curious to where we are moving by the end of the summer?? Huh?? :)

I will let the picture do the talking!


I better start now and brush up on my "Little House on the Prairie" knowledge!

Locking it Up!

I vowed to not ever do this.... but for the time being, it is for the best.

We are going to make our blog private for a while.

It is such a pain in the booty, I know.

Blogger has a limit of 100, I know that too.

Not that I think we are super popular, but we do have a good amount of traffic. With aunts, uncles, cousins, and then all the friends we have made in the bajillion places we have lived, it happens! If we exceed the limit of 100, I will create a second (identical) blog to accommodate. We don't want to leave anyone out.

Leave me a comment with your email, send me a message on facebook, shoot me an email, or give me a call.

Like I said, we don't want to leave anyone out. Blogging has been a GREAT way to be in touch with friends. If you are old friends, new friends, my friends, Corky's friends, friends of friends, parents of friends, etc., please give me your email.

Lots of explaining to come!

Cinderella Hair

Corky snapped this phot of Gracey a couple of days ago while she was in the bath. He wanted her to see how her hair looked like Cinderella's hair.

Camera's are so much better than mirrors!

Life's a Beach

Last week my friend Natalie had a great idea to take the kiddos to Lake Havasu. They are moving to Las Vegas this week and so we were cramming in the fun things to do. We went to this great family-friendly park where the kids were able to roam free. The temperature outside was about 80 degrees, a good 15-20 degrees warmer than Kingman, and the water was freezing. The kids didn't seem to mind at all though! Gracey was so excited to be at a beach. They even found hand fulls of little seashells!

I am not sure why we haven't spent more time in Lake Havasu. Growing up, we went nearly every summer to visit my aunt and uncle and play in the lake. We have now lived in Kingman for 2 years and sadly, this was the first time I have been to Havasu since. We will definitely be going again soon!

Spring Break

A couple of weeks ago was Spring Break for Gracey. We didn't have big plans to do anything for it but a couple of days before it began, I text my sister in law and said "can we come hang out next week?" Luckily, it was her son's Spring Break as well! Perfect timing. So me and the ladies drove down to Phoenix to spend 4 full days in the sun!

The weather was absolutely perfect! And when I say perfect, I MEAN perfect! One morning I went on an outside run for the first time since last October. It totally trumped the enjoyment of the treadmill! I could smell every blossom and flower that was growing and I could feel the sun on my back, but it wasn't super hot!

Perfect, I tell you.

And the kids, they played outside for HOURS every day with each other! They were in heaven. They pushed each other on the swings, they had picnics, threw frisbees, and they blew (or spilled, however you want to look at it) bubbles!


One day, the kids wanted a bit of a scene change, so we loaded up and spent nearly 3 hours playing at the park. We had to go home 2 times for potty breaks, but the kids weren't finished....and neither was I! They loved playing in the sand and as you can see, my totally white legs rocked the shorts! If you think I couldn't care less, you would be right!


The kids also had a lot of fun with food. One night, they got to decorate their own pizza. Then for dessert, we went and got some frozen yogurt!


Thank you Whipple Family, for letting us hang for a while!

Peyton (2), Emily (3), Gracey (5), Connor (9 mths), Blaise (5)

Doing Homework

On most afternoons, the girls and I will spend some time doing "homework." Gracey usually has a worksheet to do from preschool or will work from one of the workbooks that Corky and I have bought her. She calls it her homework, so naturally that is what Emily calls it too. Whether it is coloring, drawing, or tracing.

In just the last month, Emily's motor skills and attention span has improved so much. I bought this little dry erase book for Gracey when she was 3. It has all the letters and numbers in it to trace, with lots of repetition. Gracey has always loved to draw letters and numbers and picked up on them real quickly, but would often speed through them. Not really caring to repeat things over and over again. We learned to get creative. Emily though is a little more subdued, not in a good or bad way, and takes her time and really focuses on getting it just right. It is fun to see the differences between my beautiful and talented little ladies.

Visitors (Bailey and Skyler)

In the last month we have had so many visitors that we have felt spoiled! My mom came down about a month ago, (no pictures, doh!), Dallas and Jess 2 weeks later, then Bailey and Skyler just 2 weeks after that! It has been so much fun!

The weekend with Bailey and Skyler was full of fun stuff!

Lots of golf,
lots of good food,
(including those Asian Lettuce wraps)
comparing "flabby knees",
jumping on the trampoline,
getting pedicures,
watching the new movie "Alice in Wonderland",
making funny faces,
and just hanging out!!!





Come back soon! We love you!

Visitors (Dallas, Jess, and Baby Drake)

A few weeks ago my little brother and his wife, Jessica, and their son (my boyfriend) came to visit us for a long weekend. The weather was pretty cold and gloomy most of the time, much to Corky and Dallas's dismay since they wanted to go golfing, but we had a nice time just hanging out at the house. It wasn't until I put the pictures onto my computer that I saw that Gracey and Emily, hijacked my camera. This is what I found from the first night they were here.


When we have visitors, I try my best to feed them well. Really well. We ate some darn good food the whole weekend. We had Chicken Curry, Monkey Bread, Deli Sandwiches, cookies, and treats. But the real winner of the weekend was this, Asian Lettuce Wraps.. I used to make them for just Corky and myself a while back. We loved them then, but just hadn't made them in a while. Try them. You will absolutely not be disappointed.



(I used ground turkey, you could use pork, beef, or chicken. If you try them, be sure to go a little heavy on the Hoisin Sauce and add some crushed peanuts. Then use Mongolian Fire Oil mixed with soy sauce on the individual wraps! Holy Moly, it is good!)

After dinner, I hogged Drake. Who am I kidding? I hogged him all weekend. He didn't like it much....but I did it anyway.


While visiting, it was Jessica's birthday. The day before, Dallas asked if I could take him to the store to get her a birthday cake. Me, trying to be hospitable, just offered to make her a cake and save Dallas $20. I have close to 20 cake mixes. I asked her what her favorite was and it was white cake with white frosting. I said "No problem, you got it!" So the next day (Sunday) I go to make the cake and realize I don't have any of that kind. How dare I? It is Corky's favorite. So for her birthday, while she requested a white cake with white frosting, ended up getting a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I felt awesome! Sure, I could have done something from scratch...but remember, I have 20 boxes of cake mix!


This was pretty much the look that Drake gave me all weekend! Someday he will realize just how much he loves me!


And then came goodbyes! We sure had fun! My girls were in heaven playing with Drake all weekend, and I absolutely loved having Dallas and Jess come to visit!

Christmas Cards

Christmas cards are some of my most favorite parts of Christmas decorations. I love hearing from old friends and far-away family, and seeing their growing families. I took down my Christmas decorations within a week of Christmas being over with, but the Christmas cards usually stay for a while. In fact, I usually PLAN to take them down at about Valentine's Day. Corky always asks for them to come down sooner, like, when all the rest of the Christmas deco comes down. Here is my argument....

Some of those Christmas cards don't show up until right before Christmas. It isn't fair to those cards that didn't get to be enjoyed. I am just trying to even things out here.

So until Valentine's Day they stay.

Except this year, it was closer to St. Patrick's Day!

Oops, my bad.

On another note, but sort of the same. Every year I worry about what to do with all those Christmas cards. Some our handmade, some are handwritten and very personal, and the ALL the pictures are to die for. I have piles from year after year that I find difficult to just throw out.

This year, I found the solution!!! I was scanning all of Gracey's school work and art projects a few weeks ago to put into her little blog book (you know, so I don't have huge piles of papers) and a light bulb went off! "This is what I will do with Christmas cards!"

So today, I scanned in all of my Christmas cards that I received. I put them in my December 2009 photo folder, and they will be added to my blurb book.

I don't claim to be a genius but this is a great solution for me. I never want to be a pack-rat or a hoarder and this is going to make a difference for me. I will be able to enjoy my Christmas cards year after year in a very condensed manner!

Rest assured all you folks who sent us one, it was not a waste! They will be treasured always! And if you didn't send us one, shame on you, add us to your list!

Holy Snow!

We woke up this morning to thunder and lightning....and lots of wind! (The wind is completely normal)

Before long, it was hailing.

Not too long after that, it was snowing!

As we were driving to Gracey's preschool, Gracey said, "This is the BEST day ever!!"

When Emily and I arrived home, all Emily wanted to do was make footprints in the snow and eat it!


As of right now the snow has stopped and the sun is starting come out. I was really hoping that it would last long enough for Gracey to enjoy after school. Oh well, we always have the mountains nearby.

The Cut

Gracey was so excited all day! Her only citeria for this new cut was that it "still could go in a big pony-tail." (She is totally my kid)

Gracey had just enough to donate.

Emily's hair looks so much more healthy and even.

Both of them look great!


Our girls are growing up right before our eyes!