This is what happens...

When mom's not feeling good.

Makenna decided it would be fun to paint with mascara all over Jace's body.

I need to zoom in on this one...

On a side note, Jace chipped his tooth the other day! A little redneck...

What, mom?

Jed came to see us! Jed and his family used to live in NE Heights with us and we became the best of friends. We miss them muchas. The poor guy was down for a business trip that day and got into a car crash on the freeway going 70 MPH! Thank goodness he was fine, but holy cow how scary. We made sure to treat him extra nice!

Speaking of holy cows, that cow ice cream scoop was my birthday present last year I kid you not. Jed couldn't stop laughing about that.

Christ-like

Just thinking about this crazy world we live in. With all the shananogens going on these days, it is refreshing to know there are some really good people out there just trying to do the right thing. There are our neighbors who unscrew our light bulb in the mornings when we are on vacation, and tell us when we leave the light on in our car, there are the sweet people that hold the door open for me as I desperately try to get my monster double stroller through it, and then there's the story from Lisa's blog about the sweet couple that gave her flowers after their baby had passed away- man it just touches me to the core! I have always been inspired by Christian music- I spent my high school days going to Christian concerts such as Switchfoot in San Diego. Truth will always carry the spirit with it, and I could often feel the spirit as I listened to their songs. I have now found a new inspiring singer Brooke Fraser- her lyrics really are amazing. I am in love with this video because it helps me to realize there are people all around me seeking truth, and striving to be better, and sometimes I feel really bad that I'm not reaching out of my comfort zone more. You know how it is... the mormon mom syndrome... where it's easy to stay inside the box because it's safe and happy? Is it just me?? Well heck I may just need to step out of the box a little more! I am so blessed to have truth in my life and sometimes I want to shout it out to everyone, but then reality kicks in and I keep it all to myself. Why is that?

Sea World

Sea World was a BLAST! Makenna loved everything and Jace was obsessed with all the animals! I hadn't been there in a while and was pleasantly surprised to see that they have kid rides now! Of course Makenna loved those! My favorite as always is Shamu. I think as an adult I really appreciate now how amazing those animals are! Makenna got to feed the Sea Lions which was so much fun! They are like a bunch of begging dogs. As Makenna was feeding one, a bird {the one in my collage} grabbed the fish right out of her hand! hahaha funny. LOVE Sea World!

C-Bad

While we were down in San Diego, we had a little family reunion at my Aunt's beach house in Carlsbad with my mom's side of the family.

Here we are roasting marshmallows and starburst after a hard day at the beach {not sure why it's blury}

Uh huh

Sistassss

is this not one of the cutest babies you have ever seen??

cousins!!

Here is a little preview of some family pictures we had taken down there. I will def be posting those!

Da Beach

Do I even need to write about how much I love it???

I can't even handle those chubbs

Independence Day

We had a really great 4th this year. We spent the morning at the bike parade and pancake breakfast at the church which was a lot of fun. Then we went poolside and the kids really had a great time. In the evening we had a barbecue with friends and an amazing display of $10 worth of fireworks. It was AWESOME let me tell ya!!! I love the 4th because it really is so great to live in this country and be able to celebrate the amazing freedoms that we have... and I like the food.

Makenna's bike was professionally decorated for the bike parade

The story of Jace's life

Makenna was so proud of her medal!

buddies!

BROTHER!

Well I didn't want brother feeling left out :), so here is my awesome brother, David, and his amazing wife, Rolene. David is a really cool dude. He always makes everyone laugh, and he loves to tease! I thought the teasing would go away when he grew up, but no... I have loved seeing him become a dad in the last year. I think he was made to be one. He is an awesome Dad and husband. I'm glad he's my bro!

Rolene is such an awesome sister-in-law. She likes a lot of things I do which is really fun. It's nice to have another person my age to talk about stuff we really shouldn't be watching or doing because we are too old! I will spare you details. She is always so kind and puts up with all David's teasing really well! I'm so glad she's my new sister! Plus, it was her birthday yesterday, so...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROLENE!

SISTERS!!

This is my little sister Jaclyn. You can see more of her here. These are her Senior pictures. I can't believe she is that old! (But then again I am married with 2 kids...) Jaclyn is so cool and fun. I want to steal all her clothes, and her good looks, and her impeccable taste. I'm so sad I have missed out a lot on seeing my younger sisters grow up. I can't believe how cool they turned out without me around! :) I guess while I'm at it I'll show you a pic of my other sister that is still at home, Kara (on the left).

She is starting high school this year! She is super sweet. Whenever we visit, she is so good with my kids- I love it. Makenna is to Kara what Kara was to me, as far as age goes. I bet they will always feel a closeness. I love Kara's laid-back attitude, and I think out of everyone in the world she probably gets me the most (cause I am strange! She's a little strange too... it works.)

Well I can't write about my sisters and not include sister #3 Stacy, who is next in line after me. Stacy is super fun and funny. I love hanging out with her- we always have a good time. I have always admired her generosity and her kind heart.

Jeez I have some cool sisters. I wish we lived closer! Olive juice guys!

a week of visitors!

We have had visitors all week long, which makes for a really fun week! Scott's sister Christa came down from Idaho with her family and we had so much fun with them just hanging out and catching up. Makenna had a lot of fun with her older cousins Raegan and Emily, and was in heaven when they put on a dance show for us! It was so much fun to see them and we miss them a lot since we lived by them for a couple years. I stunk at taking pictures while they were here, but here is their ADORABLE baby Jacob!

Then Scott's best friend from High School, Justin, and his other friend, Kim, came to visit on Friday! They are married now but were both part of Scott's crew in High school which consisted of Extreme White Boys (XWB) and Dorky White Chicks (DWC). Love my husband. We had so much fun with them playing games and catching up.

Then yesterday the Bentleys + Tommy came to visit from Farmington (Tommy was down from Idaho). We went to Tingley beach for fishing and then to the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens. It was so much fun! I love watching Makenna play with her cousins... so fun! These kids loved taking pictures, and most of these poses they came up with themselves! "Take a picture Aunt Kristie!" I'm like "okay!!!" I'm not used to that kind of cooperation...

While we were at the Botanical Gardens I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the kids...

I was surprised to get this one where they were both looking and smiling- Hooray!