Thursday, May 22, 2008

Did you say 20?



Today is my baby girl's 20th birthday! Yes, I said 20!!!!! What a blessing this child has been in my life. I was so excited to have a baby girl and grateful that we had a boy first because I always wanted to have a big brother and didn't- so I wanted my daughter to have one.



Kami has almost always had a smile on her face. She has so much energy and never knows when to stop. Her husband says she needs to learn to slow down but she isn't (and never has been) good at that. She is always in high gear. She never wanted to play barbies or a lot of the stuff most little girls do. She wasn't meticulous in writing and art. She wanted to play soccer and tball, run, swim, go camping and get dirty. She did however, love to dance, jumprope, and do gymnastics and of course when it comes to shopping and clothes she is ALL GIRL!!!!




Ever since Kami was in 1st grade she wanted to be a nurse. She has stuck with that goal and never waivered. While she isn't there yet she has a good start. She works at Phoenix Children's Hospital as a PCT and is going to school to get her nursing degree. She loves children and anyone that knows her can tell you that kids tend to gravitate towards her. She has such a fun personality and she doesn't care if people see her singing and dancing and being silly. It has been a great asset at her job.


One thing we have come to learn about Kami is that she is accident prone. She always manages to get hurt but usually by doing something really out of the ordinary. When she was 12 she was kicked in the head by a cow when she was participating in a "horseless rodeo". Shortly after that she was thrown from a golf cart in the desert. It went downhill from there. I can't begin to list all her crazy accidents. A funny story though about one of her injuries was in kindergarten. She fell off the trampoline and got a bump on her head and she wrote in her "kindergarten journal" that she had to have a bag of peas on her head because we were out of ice. The teacher thought that was pretty funny!





Kami has always been a good friend. There are not too many people that don't like her. She wears her heart on her sleeve so you always know where you stand with her. If she is mad at you there is no question! She always goes out of her way to do things to make people happy. She goes the extra mile to help people out and tries to make a difference. I remember one year at Christmas time we saw one of the trees with children's names on it that needed Christmas gifts. She started crying saying that they were COLD and she wanted to give up some of her Christmas presents so that they could have something. When she was little she would SIGN I love you in sign language. That became her trademark for a long time. You could not leave her anywhere without her signing to you and every once in awhile she still does.

For the most part she and I have always been close-with the exception of a few difficult teenage moments- but now that she is an adult I think we are closer.
Several years ago we started using the phrase "Forever, For Always, No matter what!" I wanted her to know that even though we fight or she makes wrong choices that I will always love her.We know each other pretty well and some times we both admit to it being a little creepy. Several times a week one of us will be calling or texting the other at the same exact time about the same subject at really random times.

She has grown up to be a beautiful woman and I am so proud of her. She has worked hard to do what is right in her life and be married in the temple to her new hubby. What a joy that was!

Thanks for being you Miss Kami! I love you! Forever, For Always No matter what!




























Class of 2008




I can't believe that my "baby" has graduated from High School. Mountain Ridge High School has seen the last of my kids! I'm sure that they (MRHS administration) are relieved! But seriously, I don't see how in the world we have gotten to this stage of life. It seems like just yesterday I was taking him to kindergarten!

Boy does time fly! Although sitting through graduation is a little on the painful side, I had to hold back the tears. It's hard to swallow that my days of fighting with him in the mornings to get him up and running to the school to sign him in if he ended up being late because he couldn't manage to get out of bed are a thing of the past.

When Cory was little he LOVED school. That lasted until about 6th grade! LOL High School was a bit of a challenge because he attended released time seminary for the first 3 years and then we realized he wouldn't have enough credits to graduate if he continued his senior year. He had to take a couple classes online which was quite a chore since he was already going to school all day and had a job and busy social life. So, needless to say graduating was more of an accomplishment than it is for most people.

I'm really proud of him. He is extremely independent and doesn't like to share a lot of his life with us which makes it hard on me. Being the "baby" he was somewhat a mama's boy when he was little but that has long worn off.




He has such a fun personality and hilarious sense of humor if you are privileged to see that side of him. We were watching home videos not long ago and he was always the one keeping everyone laughing.

I try to pick my battles and I learned long ago with my oldest that HAIR was a battle really not worth the fight. Cory's hair had gotten longer than it has ever been and I was making little comments like "aren't you hot and sweaty with your hair that long?" or "can you just trim it before graduation?" The answer was always no- so although I MUCH prefer him when I can see his eyes I chose not to push the issue. Well, I got a funny text message from him yesterday (which is rare unless he WANTS something!) It was actually a picture message of him in a barber chair with the cape around him-the message read "hair has been cut." So, I was pleasantly surprised when I received the picture and message!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Oh Brother!


I was fortunate to be the only girl with 3 brothers. I don't think I always thought it was a good thing. But I do now... Being the only girl definitely has its perks and now I have 3 awesome sisters in law!


Well today and tomorrow are two of my brothers Barry and Jerry's birthdays respectively. They were born a year and a day apart. I know...my poor mom and dad! But seriously, you can feel sorry for me too because I was chief babysitter at the time and believe me they found their share of trouble. What one didn't think of the other did. It was worse than twins!!!! I remember I used to dress Jerry up in my skirts and put barrettes in his hair because I wanted a sister so bad. It's amazing the poor guy isn't warped from that. I have some really good memories of them but I will be nice and not embarrass them. But truly- my brother's are the best! They are so talented and I admire so much about each one of them. They both decided to move their families away from Arizona and they are greatly missed. David and I are the dependable Arizona kids- (and maybe not so smart now that it is getting SO hot outside!)


I wanted to send them both a happy birthday and let them know how much I love them. I feel it an honor to be their sister. (Don't worry David-your day will come)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Mother's Day Memories








Since Mother's Day last week I have been thinking a lot. The past two years my Mother's Days were filled with excitement and anticipation to be able to talk to my missionary son. No gift could compare with being able to talk to him. I looked forward to it for weeks before the call came. He was really good about sending us emails every week and filling us in on what was going on but actually hearing his voice on the phone was such a treat! Everyone was anxious to talk to him and catch him up to date on home life but for me that was my Mother's Day gift!



Well, my missionary has been home almost a year now so I didn't get a phone call- he lives at home so I see him every day! But still as I sat in Church on Mother's Day and listened to all the other mom's that were awaiting that precious phone call I was almost sad! Don't get me wrong- I love that I get to see him every day but the spirit that he had and that gift of talking to him was something you can't find at Hallmark.


I had to laugh when I opened the card that my kids got me. Kami wrote me a sweet note, Vaughn wrote me a few lines (pretty good for a son in law), Cory signed his name next to Vaughn's note (bless his little heart), and this is what my sweet little "missionary" wrote : "Mother,(he NEVER calls me mother) my note is not going to be long and mushy like Kami's but you knew that before you opened it. But-you know I love you anyway." It was so typical of Matt but I got a good laugh out of it and a little twinge of sadness that those missionary calls are a thing of the past-at least for now.



My husband spoiled me rotten for Mother's Day this year. He was so proud of himself because he did it all on his own (usually Kami gives him a couple hints as to what to get). He bought me a new refrigerator and stove. They were greatly needed and now everything in my kitchen matches. I thought it was funny that on the radio the day before Mother's Day they were listing all the things that you should NOT get your wife for mother's day and appliances was on the list. I'm glad he didn't listen to that list! I love that he thought of something practical and was so cute about keeping it a surprise (although I did figure it out and didn't tell him). He has a hard time keeping gifts a surprise or waiting til the holiday because he is so excited. He likes to give it to you as soon as he gets it! Too funny! Anyway, a big thanks to my awesome hubby!



Anyway, I did have a great Mother's Day thanks to my little family...

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Mother Dear I love you so...


Every year for mother's day I try to do something special with my mom. The last couple years we have opted for going out to breakfast. It's such a fun treat! So, this year Kami and I took my mom to Mimi's the Friday before Mother's Day. It was so much fun! I always feel like there is really nothing I can do for my mom that is adequate to let her know how much I love and appreciate her! But breakfast is a good start! Anyway, I really did a lot of thinking about how much she does for me. First of all let me just say that my mom is pretty stinkin' amazing! She can run circles around me! She is always doing something or helping someone. I'm in awe of how much she does. She remembers each one of her 19 grandchildren's birthdays, she has passed on her musical talent to her children and continues to do so with her grandchildren. She is constantly doing geneology-if not for our family then for someone else's. She takes the time to talk to me whenever I need an ear. She line dances, she goes to as many of her grandchildren's events that she possibly can, she goes to all of the singles ward events and is surrogate mother for all of them too. The list goes on and on! It makes me tired just typing it! :) Anyway, I just had to brag on her for a little bit...

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Who would have thought?

Well, I never would have thought that I would ever create a blog but...I find that I really enjoy reading other friends' blogs so I thought why not? Not sure I have a lot to say but we will see. When I got a MySpace my kids thought it was hysterical- I guess they thought I was too old. My kids are getting older -but not me! (grin) Anyway, I will give this a shot but I guarantee that I won't have as many fun stories to tell as my sister in law! Life is just WAY more exciting at her house with her little family! I always get a good laugh out of reading other people's stories. Hopefully I will have something fun to add occassionally!