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.....

BELATED update!!! (FINALLY)

SOOOO......I have been bugged by many people "when are you gonna update your blog" "update your blog...I am sick of reading 'Sunday Sweetness'". =0) Well, my computer has been having issues...maybe it's hormonal, who knows. But, it finally decided to work for me today, so even though it's almost 2am, I figured I'd better get this updated in case it doesn't work again tomorrow. =)

SOOOO much has happened since my last update. Well, maybe not so much...but things have definitely changed, for the better. I will just go through this update quickly and try to not bore you too much. Some already know of the changes in my life.....

For Mother's day this year, Kennedy and I just got to hang out and spend the day together. We had a lot of fun just hanging out. After church we went to Rock Canyon Park in Provo and played for a couple of hours. I had to document it with photo's of course. =) She is such a sweetheart and I am so blessed to have her in my life! I love her sassy side....though sometimes it does tend to get a little out of hand. (we are still learning how to properly deal with that....) She keeps me laughing with the things she says and does.

On May 30th, Kennedy had her very first dance recital! I was actually quite nervous....for her, and also hoping she'd do more than just stand there and look cute, though I would have still been just as proud had she done that. To my enjoyment, she did GREAT!! She did far better for the performance than she ever had during her weekly classes. Even though she was standing in the wrong place for the dance.....she still did fine and was able to carry on, even with a different spinning partner. (if I can figure out how to get the video on here one day, you will be able to see for yourself and understand what I am saying) But, basically she was supposed to be 3rd from the right....instead she stood 2nd from the right, which threw her partner totally off when it came time to spin, and the girl who's spot she was in was also confused.....she was even trying to tell Kennedy that she was in the wrong spot before the music started....Kennedy just told her she needed to get down, into their starting position. =) Here are a few pics from the recital. All the combo classes did dances to music from Seussical the Musical.

Next thing to "change" is......I am dating somebody. His name is McKay Phelon, and he is a GREAT guy!! We met through some mutual friends....in fact, a fun little side note.....we actually had our first conversation the day of the 1st pics in this update....Mother's Day. We had met once before a few weeks prior, but he and his friend were in a hurry to leave cause they were on their motorcycles and it was cold.....so all that was said that night was "hi". I won't give the whole story of how our "first conversation" went.....but then we ended up hanging out the following weekend. He came with our friends to a party my friend was having....then the next day we hung out....and we have hung out everyday since then. Minus my 4 day trip to Arizona. (which I don't have pics on here....but I went for my b-day and had a blast!) McKay is from Orem, and we have found so many family connections, it's insane! (don't worry....none that make us related) My favorite is the one that involves his Uncle Tim. On the 4th of July Tim and McKay were talking, and Tim was asking about me....after a bit, he made the connection, came to the back and found me and said "You don't remember me??" I felt a little bad, thinking I should...I knew he looked familiar, but I was racking my brain and had NO clue why! Turns out, he was one of my dad's students and apparently my dad really worked hard and helped him get a college scholarship. My dad made such an impact on his life, that he named his son Garrett.....after my dad. He even came to my dad's funeral back in 2003 and talked to me and my brother's....thus the reason he looked familiar. =) That is just one of the SEVERAL crazy connections. McKay is such a good guy and soooooo sweet to me and great with Kennedy! We have a lot of fun together and can talk about anything and everything. We can click and relate on so many levels.....things are good!! =) He makes me really happy! (a couple pics of us)

The NEXT new change....... MY HAIR!!!!! I chopped it! FINALLY! After 2 yrs of talking bout chopping it into an A-line, and cutting 10 inches off on 2 seperate occasions....yet never cutting it above the shoulders, I finally got the guts! I LOVE it!!!!! I don't know why I was such a wuss for so long! Sure, sometimes I miss my long hair....but I love my hair the way it is now! So....here is the before and after pic. Of course....being the wuss that I am, it took 3 haircuts to actually get it this short. I didn't want to do anything too drastic at first.

The LAST thing to update you all on for now, is my job. I am NOT working at Pirate Island. They took forever to open. They hired me in what....March??? And they JUST barely opened last week. Anyway, I actually got the job I was wanting, in the career that I trained for when I first moved up here. I work for a Dr in Provo, Dr Bruce Hathaway. He is a Dr of Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease. I am his medical biller, and I LOVE my job!!! I actually saw the job posting for it back in April, when I was only 3 weeks into my training, & I was bummed cause I felt I had wasted my first 3 weeks of being here, looking for a job and then working for stupid Gary Powell for 2 weeks. Had I immediately started my 6-8 week training when I moved here, I would have been able to apply for the job. I even told my mom about the job and that I was bummed.....then a week and half later, Melinda (the gal that was training me) told me to just look around online, and if I found anything to just apply for it, for the heck of it. She told me that I had enough basic knowledge that it was really just a matter of going in and hitting it off with the Dr, and having them like ME. So I went home that day and applied for the job. I got a call about a week and 1/2 later to set up an interview. The interview went really well, I felt great about it, but of course didn't want to get my hopes up. I called the next week to follow up, nothing...called the next week, nothing....same thing the next...and the next.... then, FINALLY 5 weeks, yes....5 weeks, after my first interview, they called to set up a 2nd interview. I still remember where I was when they called. (it was a Thurs and i was at Julie's house....) So I had my interview the next day.....and felt like it went really well. I just felt like this was "my job". Everything about it seemed so perfect. They told me they would let me know either that day or the next....the rest of the day I was a nervous wreck. You can imagine my excitement when they called the next morning offering me the job! My life was starting to fall into place!!! I knew things would work out, I had that confirmation in the temple back in December.....but it's still scary to take that blind leap of faith! So, I started working there the first week in July and absolutely love going to work everyday!! I also have some nice perks to the job.....drug reps bring yummy food for lunch every Tues & Wed....and I burned my leg on McKay's motorcycle July 24th....and it got really infected!! The Dr checked on it every few days and gave me new meds to try and get rid of the infection!! I love not having to pay an office visit, and also getting free meds! =)

Kennedy starts her dance class again next week. She is soooooo excited! When we went to go register her, on her way into the building, she said "I'm so excited to dance, and see my teacher, and show her my new moves!" ---and she DOES have new moves! =) hahahaha....she watched SYTYCD every week....good times, good times!! I loved watching her try to do the moves she saw the dancers doing. =) On that note.....I will finish this forever long update for now....but hopefully will be able to update more often. However, right now my camera battery is dead, and I can't find the charger......so, I can't promise any pics for awhile. =) Hope you enjoyed the update..... We are doing really, really, well.....and couldn't be happier at this time.

SUNDAY SWEETNESS....

Sunday was a good day. Kennedy was finally better, so we were actually able to stay for ALL 3 hours!!! I had some great lessons, and felt the Spirit. It was very nice. Also met a few new people....I grew up in the ward we are in, but man has it changed. Lots of "new" people.....and now I am one of them. =)

After lunch I decided it would be fun to take Kennedy up to Bridal Veil Falls, since I don't think she has ever seen a REAL waterfall, in real life anyway....mostly on Dora, Diego, or Wonder Pets. When I told her where we were going, she even said something about how the Wonder Pets were going to help us.....ok....?? =) After we got her socks and shoes on, she got behind me (we were on the floor) and gave me a big bear hug from behind. Then as she pulled away she grabbed my hair and played with it for a few minutes. (that's not a rare occasion....she actually has an OBESSESSION with my hair) But, then she said, "Mommy, your black hair is so pretty!" So sweet!! I am so grateful to have her in my life!!! Oh....and as we were getting close to where the trees kind of creat a tunnel on the trail, she said, "Look Mommy! A rainforest!"

And, don't you worry....as you can see the sun is out in this pic, and about 20 minutes later it started POURING on us!! Yes, we were soaked by the time we got all the way back down the trail and to the car, but Kennedy was such a trooper!! That was our Sunday. It was great! (and now I am sick....so that sucks)