PART 2 --- update....going back in time.....

OK.....so FINALLY......here are the rest of the pics from FOREVER ago! =) These pictures go all the way back to LAST SUMMER!!! WOW....I know. Slacker...but, it's hard to update the blog when I don't have a computer or internet at my house. So....be patient with me. =) I have more pictures to come....though it might take me another 4-5 months...haha. Let's hope not. Let's be honest....at that point, it takes WAY too long to upload all the pics. I started this post on the 21st....and it is now the 29th. No joke..... So here is the update...unfortunately some of the pics are out of order...and a couple accidentally got deleted as I was trying to delete the HUGE spaces inbetween pics.

So...for my birthday LAST year, 2009..... It was a really fun day. Best birthday I had had in awhile. I got to go to lunch with Kennedy, my mom and McKay (we had just started dating). We just hung out, and then Kennedy and my mom made me a cake...so we had cake and ice cream...and then off I went to the airport. Back in April 2009, (prior to McKay) I decided I wanted to have a FUN birthday...So I told my mom and brothers that for my birthday I'd really like to go to Arizona to see my best friend. So...they got me a ticket for my bday....and I was to leave the evening of my birthday. I went to see Jordan, who has been one of my best friends since my Senior year in high school. He lived in Scottsdale, Arizona....so I went out there for 4 days! It was so fun to be able to hang out and relax. He and I hadn't really hung out a whole lot for probably close to 5-6 yrs......due to being married/him on a mission...etc. It was a lot of fun, he had a sweet house...we went boating. He made me an amazing birthday dinner, since by the time I landed in AZ all the restaurants were closed.....then the night before I left, we had a pizza night. Jordan is a great cook, and made some incredible pizza....from scratch. =) **yes, single ladies....he is single** =)

Jordan making some pizza...he was thrilled that I was taking a pic. =)

Next is the 4th of July. We started out the day by doing a motorcycle ride round Nebo loop with some friends....then on to 3 BBQ's that day! Yes THREE.....one with the Madsen family (McKay's mom's family).....where we found out the interesting connection of my dad teaching McKay's uncle, and him naming his son after my dad....Garrett. Then we went to my mom's for a BBQ with my family.....then to a BBQ with our friends. WOW...LOTS OF FOOD! We also went to PG for fireworks that night with McKay's parents and some of his aunts and uncles.....my mom even joined us for that too! =) These pics are from our "friends BBQ"

Ken.....he really likes mustard. =) He is how McKay and I met.....

Also during the summer, my mom bought Kennedy a playset. McKay and our friends Ken, and Randy all came over and put it together for her.... It took most of the day, and it got pretty hot....I tried to keep their cups full with ice water. They didn't once complain bout putting it together. So nice of them. =) Tom (McKay's dad) even came and helped too....while I sat and visited with my mom and Val (McKay's mom). Kennedy was inside until the first section was put together. Then she and my mom came to check the progress.....and Kennedy didn't want to go inside after that. She stayed and watched the whole time....didn't get whiny or anything. At one point she even tried to "help". hahaha =)

WEEEEEEEE.....fun swings! =)

In October, I had a boutique to go to in St George. We decided to make a trip to Vegas while we were down that way. So, we dropped Kennedy off at her dad's house for the weekend, then went to Vegas. We stayed with McKay's Aunt Lori in Henderson. It was so fun, she made us feel at home. We got to hang out with McKay's cousin Amy....who oddly enough I met back in the summer of 2004....her husband, Randy Nielson, served his mission with Rob and they were companions twice.....and were pretty good friends. Our friend Randy Christensen went down with us. The three of us got tickets to go see Phantom at the Venetian. It was AWESOME!!!! I HIGHLY recommend going if you can! Then we ate at the Harley Cafe, where my friend Annie met up with us....then walked up/down the strip. McKay, Randy and I all went out to Hoover Dam, which was pretty fun too. They are in the process of building a bridge there, so that was cool to see. Then that Saturday we went to St George for the boutique....It was fun, & I sold some stuff, so that was great! =) Ken met up with us there at the boutique show...then onto Mesquite to hang out with my friend Shannon....Sunday picked Kennedy up, then back to Vegas. Kennedy had fun playing with Ellie (Amy & Randy's daughter--McKay's cousin). They got to have a sleepover too! We all just hung out and relaxed on Monday, then went to dinner with Lori, Eric, Amy, & Randy......and then headed home. Thank heavens McKay does well with driving at night. =)

Us at dinner @ the Harley Cafe

Randy @ the Harley Cafe

Annie & I outside the Harley Cafe...by a bunch of motorcycles

Annie doing her thang..... =)

The bridge....

Oh ya, Amy & Lori took us to Serendipity in Vegas too! It was DELICIOUS! =)

The girls having their sleepover and watching a movie in the loft. =)

Dinner at Lucille's....mmmmmmmm, yummy

Kennedy was with her dad and Amy the weekend of Halloween. I asked them if they could at least bring her for our wards Trunk-or-Treat, so I could experience that too.....since this was her first REAL experience trick-or-treating. =) She was a "purple witch"....and a VERY cute one! My friend Dorothy brought her daughter Avery and so we met up with them too. It was so fun, and the girls were just darling. Kennedy's candy of choice this year was, Kit Kat's. =) She would pick a Kit Kat any chance she could! hahaha. After the trunk-or-treat, Kennedy went with her dad and stepmom....and my friends and I went to the Haunted Forest....it was pretty lame, if you ask me. So we decided to have our 1st Annual POST Halloween Costume Party the next day. Kennedy was a purple witch again, McKay was a soccer player.....and I was..... TWISTER!!! it was a ton of fun, we had Witches Stew, Ghost Goo, Dragon's tongue, among other fun foods! =)

My cute little Purple Witch....that was a "nice witch". haha =) so cute!

Kennedy and her dad & stepmom....though they weren't quite married yet.

"hmmm...is there a Kit Kat? There is!!!! YES!!" hahaha

Me & my lil' bugs.

Kennedy and Pope Ken III, @ our Post Halloween Costumer Party.

Right hand on Green....AHHH!! hahahaha....don't worry folks, though it totally looks like the soccer player is coppin a feel, his hand is about a foot away from my chest! Seriously. =) But it totally looks like he's grabbin a lil' somethin, somethin....so I had to post it. Too funny! If you know McKay at all......you know this wouldn't happen. hahaha =)

Kennedy didn't last too long in her witch costume this night. She was hot, and was more interested in runnin around. =)

THANKSGIVING!! We went out to Eagle Mountain to visit with my fam for a bit....then We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Phelon's....McKay's dad's family. His family is so big....that we had to have it at the church. It was fun, and Kennedy LOVED playing with ALL the little kids.

Kennedy isn't too sure how she feels about all these kids jumpin on McKay....she was telling them to get off....though none of them listened.......

So, she decided to join in! =)

McKay and I......my hair needed a little help at this point.....ugh.

Kennedy and I =)

These next pics are from Kennedy's bday this year! Her 4th bday!! Can hardly believe my baby is 4!! These pics, unfortunately, aren't necessarily in order.....for instance, the first two pics.....were at the END of the day, when I was getting her ready for bed. She is definitely a "poser". She LOVES pictures....and it's rare if you can get one with her, without her posing, anymore! hahaha, so funny. So...for this year, it was her first birthday to have a "friends" party. We had a princess party....the day started with lunch with me, my princess, and my mom. Then I took Kennedy into Kamarie's (McKay's sister) salon to get her hair done "like a princess". While we were there, Val came and painted her nails...she got the royal treatment that day and loved every minute of it. Her friends all came in their princess dresses and we played princess games....including "Kiss the Frog"....made necklaces/bracelets....ate cake and ice cream. My friend made the cake, and it was sooooooo cute!! (the Ariel Cake) Then, that evening we had my mom, and McKay's family over for taco soup, presents....and more cake and ice cream. Val made Kennedy an AWESOME Barbie Princess cake! It was a fun fun day!! I think she really felt like a princess that day. For her bday present I got tickets for Disney on Ice. So, McKay and I took her to that the friday after her bday. Man.....she waited til she was 4 to have a "real party" and sure did make up for it this year!! She ended up with FOUR bday parties this year!! One with her Miller fam, then the Princess Party, the My family party, and then in April when she went to her dad's for spring break, she had a bday party down there with the Hansen fam. =) Lucky girl! LOVE HER!!!!! So glad to have her! She lights up my days and keeps me laughing!

Waiting for Disney on Ice to start.... Her first Minnie Mouse doll

Opening presents....

us and the Barbie Princess cake!

Big birthday Princess

"(gasp) a ROSETTA dress?! YAY!! It's JUST what I wanted!"

Such a pretty little girl

"Kiss the Frog"

Lunch.....PRE-Princess hair & nails

Snow White (Lily) & Belle (Avrie) waiting patiently for their cake & ice cream.

Opening presents with friends

Princess Kennedy and her princess friends. =)

My princess "diva"....she decided all the other princesses needed to be behind her....

Getting the Royal Treatment =)

McKay has 2 motorcycles, & we both like to go on rides. I recently bought a new riding jacket, with all the protective pads, and a new helmet, and some riding boots! We decided to give Kennedy a LITTLE ride on the motorcycle. =) so, she got her bike helmet and her "riding boots".....we took her on a little ride over to my mom's house......if you don't know, my mom lives like....2-3 minutes away is all. (we are in the same stake) Kennedy LOVED the ride, and tells me from time to time, that she wants to go on a ride on McKay's motorcycle again. =)

My poor car got in a fight with a median in January during an all out blizzard! (this created a bunch of stress and problems....luckily they are all solved now, and nobody was hurt)

the three of us leaving my mom's house on our way back home. =) **i warned that not all the pics were in order. =)

Kennedy and I went to visit McKay @ work, and he was showing a friend his motorcycle....Kennedy wanted to sit on it.... (pose!)

This is what I get to see everyday when we get home....Kennedy starts walking to the house, with her Strawberry Shortcake backpack in tow. =) She's so big!

Also for her birthday, my boss' wife made Kennedy & I matching aprons. =) She loves to "help" me cook now!

In April, McKay had this AWESOME bump.....at first we just thought it was a pimple.......but it turned out to be an abscess.....we had to go to the instacare and have them lance it, and drain it. Luckily it wasn't anything like MRSA..... I watched the procedure though....very interesting!! I liked watching it! hahaha

Kennedy LOVES to come get the mail with me! ESPECIALLY when there is mail in there from her daddy.

Kennedy went to see her dad for Spring break....and this pic is when I went to pick her up from my mom's the day she got back. She loves the playset, and loves to jump....she was counting as she was jumping. =)

Lil' Miss helpin me make some cookies!

When the weather finally decided ot be nice one day....in MAY.....we went to Bridal Veil Falls. It was fun. Kennedy wanted to walk in the water, but I told her her dress would get wet.....so, she decided she could solve that problem....she'd just hike her dress up. Yes.....everybody got a great view of her princess panties! =) Since she wasn't too good at holding her dress up, but low enough to cover her panties.....(she really hiked it up to her ribs!) I took her bracelet and wrapped it around the bottom of it..... it worked good enough. =) haha

So.....There you have it! A MUCH overdo update! Now you are KIND of up to date on my life, & what's going on with me & Kennedy. =) I will post another update of pics that will have more recent pics.....hopefully sooner rather than later....but you never know. =) hahaha. Hope you aren't asleep now after that forever long post, and that you are all doing well! =) <3

Picture update -- Part I

Ok people.....here are some pics. Sorry it's taken forever....and these are only semi-recent ones. I have a lot of others I want to post.....it will just take a bit, since I have no computer or internet at home. =) So, please be patient....and check back. I realize I should have started with the oldest pics first...but oh well. =) So, here are some pics, and unfortunately, they aren't exactly in order. I caption the pic UNDER the pic.....just FYI
This is me and McKay on New Year's Eve. We went to his Phelon family party for a few hours and made it home by 11:30, got Kennedy ready for bed...watched the ball drop and shot off some confetti poppers. I thought it was a fun night, and McKay said he enjoyed it too... Kennedy loved shooting off the confetti poppers. (more pics further down)

This is one of my absolute favorite pics of Kennedy that I found when uploading pics to my computer at work. hahahaha. This was still in St George. She was probably 2 at the time. I was in the kitchen doing dishes or fixing dinner, can't remember. All of a sudden I heard her calling for me, "Mommy!! Help! I stuck!!". I ran to her room and found her like this...stuck in her babies' crib. hahaha...so of course, I did what ANY good mom would do.....run and get the camera, take a pic, THEN help her out. =) She really was stuck...I couldn't help but laugh.

She got a vanity mirror...with princesses on it I might add, for Christmas from my brothers. She also got some makeup from Grandma....this was her first time applying makeup herself. =) Look at her pose...you can tell she feels soo "pretty"

We went bowling over Thanksgiving break with McKay, his sister Kamarie, and my friend Jordan. Here is a pic Kennedy and I took of ourselves. =)

My lil' bugs, comin back to sit down after her turn.

Kennedy and Kamarie.....a.k.a. "Kan-rie"

Jordan and Kams =)

Kennedy decided to be the photographer and got this pic of Kam.....

.....and of McKay's rear...hahahaha

"Mommy! Smile!!" --- I know, nice pose

Kennedy's mad photog skills again....

....and again....

....and again....

HAHAHAHA.....love this pic! Her hair was ALL in her face, so I told her I wanted to put it in a ponytail. I put it in a messy ponytail, but it fell out (her hair is JUST like mine...thick and slick) so I pulled it up on top of her head (some slipped out the bottom)....she ended up calling it her "funny ponytail". I told her I wanted a pic of her funny ponytail.....so this is the pose I got! =) She's not a ham by any means, is she?

McKay and I Christmas morning, testing out his new camera

"(gasp) Hey! My yogurt has the Holy Ghost!!!" -- Kennedy (too bad it's actually a pic of a polar bear....hahaha) it was so cute though.

She comes to work with me sometimes, when I go in for extra hours.....she keeps herself VERY busy with sticky notes. I usually find fun sticky not surprises the next day. =)

She dressed up as a fairy with her friend Lily, when we went to a Purse Party back in December

Kamarie trimmed her hair for us so that it wouldn't tangle as easily =)

"I made a pocket!" -- she has been VERY interested in my sewing machine, and will try to sneak up there and touch it nonchalantly..... so I asked if she actually wanted to make something....of course she did. She had just gotten a new tiny notebook so I told her we could make a little pocket to hold it in. She, being Miss Independant, wanted to do it "all by myself".....ya right. So, I let her press the reverse button, and help hold the fabric. She was pretty stoked =) (I enjoyed the experience too)

Aahh......FINALLY!!!! My little big girl, has her own room, and her own big girl bed......this is a pic of her after sleep in it for the first time.....for any of you who knew the situation....you know this was a feat! She has slepted in my bed pretty much....since birth, because of one reason or another. We finally got our own place in December....and it has been soooo nice for her to have her own room to sleep in, play in, and have all her toys in!! ---- though, if I have to be honest....I do miss cuddling with her at night.

My friend Anjuli and I at our work party, with our white elephant gifts

Kennedy reading a book on her new bed, just after we got it put together! (Thanks McKay & Ken)

Christmas!!! We got into our own place just in time for Christmas. As I pulled out the decorations and started putting lights on the tree....she played with her Christmas tea sets. ---don't worry that she has the pieces all lined up....and that she does this with lots of things.....she may have a little OCD...but whatever! =) Once the lights were on, I let her put all the decorations on, wherever she wanted. They all pretty much ended up in the same area....so I spread some of the bulbs out just a bit. =)

This pic is funny. She pulled out the stockings, and as I was stinging lights, I all of sudden realize that she is over telling McKay he needs to wear the socks. So this is her, helping him put them on. =)

TADA!!! Here is McKay and Kennedy with his new Christmas "socks" on. =) haha (she was kind of annoyed when I made him take them off so we could hang them up)

Kennedy spent Christmas with her dad and step-mom this year in St George. It was definitely NOT easy to be away from her on Christmas, but I know she had fun....and she scored! Santa brought her a princess bike with all the riding gear!! Not to mention all the other fun things she got from her daddy and Amy. I was very grateful to them for taking this pic of her on Christmas morning and texting it to me!! =)

Ok.....here is the confetti from New Years! hahahaha Silly girl

We had a crazy snow storm back in January...where it dumped a TON of snow, within a couple hrs....Kennedy made this Snow Grandma, with her Grandma and Uncle Jon

New Year's again.....over at the Phelon party....waiting for her turn on the little roller coaster

CHEESE!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! (here she is with her Webkins cat that Valerie and Tom got her for Christmas....she HAD to have him in the pic. Not sure what is name actually his....seems to change every time I ask her. =)

Me and my SweetPea on New Years.....getting ready to use the confetti poppers!

McKay and Kennedy on NewYears =)

Here we are just after Kennedy's Christmas Concert!!! She did such a good job!! She even slipped and fell on her bum, =( but got right back up and kept goin!! I was so proud of her! I am soooo glad that she LOVES dance! However, I was pissed this day cause my camera, AND my video camera BOTH decided to stop working this day.....of course!!! Thank goodness for camera phones I guess.....and grandma's. =)

Here she is practicing ballet in her room, just before dance class. She also made up a song to go along with her exercises "How many ballets do you have.....1-2,3-4,5-6, 7 & 8, 9-10!!!"

This pic makes me laugh. I got her all ready for bed and told her she had 10 minutes to play before it was time to brush her teeth and go to sleep. When I went into her room she was coming out of her closet like this..... hahaha. so cute. She told me she was going to school and was going to have "showy tell"....and that I could be the teacher! YES!! hahaha....so we played a quick version of school....let her have SHOWY TELL, and then bedtime. =)

I think she looks super cute in this pic! This was also taken with my camera phone, on New Years Eve at the Phelon party. This was the day I got her back after her being in St George with her dad for 10 days. It was so fun to have her home, and just in time to celebrate New Years!

I have many more pics to come.... Kennedy is SUCH a good girl and is doing really well in pre-school. She loves it!! She actually has 2 preschools, since her babysitter started teaching preschool 2 days a week. So she has a way to distinguish the two.....which helps me, for when she has "homework".... she has "Princess Pre-school" and "Regular School". =) She keeps us laughing all the time with things she does and/or says. Our lives are really great and we are so happy!! ---check out our other pics to see what else we have been up to for Thanksgiving, Halloween and summertime. =)

# 21

This is totally random...... but a realization came to me the other day:

The number 21.......
(this was literally a random thought while driving home from work....not sure how it came to me)

Here are things that have happened on the 21st:

December 21, 2002 -- My friend came home from his mission on sick leave and called me
October 21, 2003 -- My dad passed away
October 21, 2004 -- I went throught the temple and received my endowment
January 21, 2006 -- I received a 3-D sonogram pic of Kennedy's face =)
February 21, 2009 -- I moved to Orem
November 21, 2009 -- I went to St George and got the rest of my things and moved into my
own place!

** Now, I am not saying this is a "lucky" or "unlucky" number for me..... cause I have no opinion or thought on that.....I just found it kind of interesting.

I promise I will update this soon with pics!! Kennedy is growing up so fast and is amazing!! She always keeps me laughing and knows just how to make me smile. =) One day, I may even figure out how to upload a video (I think I first need to have the right "equipment") so you can see some of the awesome things she does. =)

Hope everyone is well......stay tuned....pics to come soon.....