Kirkham Family News

Christmas & Other Stuff

2012-01-24T15:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2011

This year we got to spend Christmas in Idaho with my family. (Every year we trade off spending Christmas in Idaho and in Utah.) We started the morning out with Santa stuff. Then we went to a really nice Christmas Program at Church with my mom. After Church we came home and had breakfast, then opened family gifts. This worked out really well. We didn't have to rush. It was nice to take our time and enjoy the day.

Madi with her Straightening Iron

Em with her Volleyball

Jesi with her dress up dolls

Sami showing me her coloring book

Reading stories

Madi opening her PeeWee Pillow Pet - I think she likes it.

Em & her video camera

Jes finally got her DS

Sami kept playing with Mom's Nativity Set. She is trying to hide it from Mom so she can't take it away from her. What a punk......

Later that night, we got together with all of the Chapple's to open gifts with the cousins. I love this tradition. I love spending the holiday's with my family.

Shelby

Abby

Dave & Reese

Michelle & Paxton

Tanner

Sami giving Tyler a hug bye! She loves Tyler.

Isn't she just so cute?

Sami's new favorite toy. The Rubic's Cube.

One afternoon I was doing laundry with the help of Sami. I had just emptied the dryer and turned to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. When I turned back to the dryer, the door was shut and Sami was no where to be found. I started calling Sam, then the door to the dryer flew open and this is what I found. Seriously, this was about 5 seconds after I had emptied the dryer. What a punk. Yes, she is reading a book. She thought she was pretty funny.

Life is slowing getting back to normal. Glad the holidays are over and we are getting back into a routine again. I just wish family were a lot closer so we could see them a lot more. :)

What a Slacker!

2011-12-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a slacker! Updates coming soon!

Happy Birthday Emily!

2011-10-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Emily is now a teenager. What had happened to my little girl? Well, she isn't so little anymore.

She had a bunch of friends over and they partied the night away.

Happy Birthday Em!

Soccer, Soccer, & More Soccer

2011-09-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

For about 3 years Jesi has been begging to play soccer. The first year she asked we were in the middle of trying to move. We weren't sure where we would be for the fall & spring season, so we didn't sign her up. The next year we had a new baby and mom wasn't on top of things and missed the sign ups. Finally this year we got her signed up. She is loving playing. She is really on top of her game. She stays in front of the ball and blocks a ton of shots. She is one of the fastest girls on her team and is constantly running and keeping up with the ball. By the time she is done playing, she is so worn out she just sits forever. I never thought we would find anything that would wear out that girl. I love watching her play. She is so much fun.

GO JESI!!!

Getting ready to kick it.

And there it goes.

First Day of School.

2011-08-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

First Day of School 2011 - 2012

Em - 7th Grade - Yep Jr. High.

Madi - 5th Grade.

Jesi - 2nd Grade.

Madi & Jesi

Sami wanted to go to.

A week at Grandma's.

2011-08-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the girls and I went up to my mom's for a week to hang out. We got to meet our newest cousin Paxton for the first time.

Sami checking out Paxton. She loved the "baby".

Jesi holding Paxton.

Sami loves being outside. Since mom has a huge backyard, we let her pretty much run around and enjoy the outdoors. She loved swinging with Madi.

Madi and our cousin Allie taught Sami how to climb up the slide.

She would climb to the top to Allie and then slide back down to Madi. She did this laughing the whole time forever. They all had so much fun.

Sami refusing to come in. She would laugh at us and run back outside again.

While we were at Mom's, Reese had her 3rd bday. We all got together and had a bbq and partied.

Shelby blowing bubbles for Reese & Sami. The loved them.

I love to watch new dad's with their babies.

My brother Dave with new son Paxton.

Sunday was Paxton's Blessing. He was born on Madi's 10th bday so we had to get pictures of them together.

Reese & Paxton. I think he's had enough for one day.

A few days after we came back home, I couldn't find Sami. This is where I found her. She is sitting on the bottom of my plant stand looking at Madi's scrapbook.

What a nut!!

Cupcake Parties & Family Reunions

2011-07-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Our really fun neighbor Danaca likes to entertain. This time she decided to have a cupcake party. We all went over to her house to decorate cupcakes. Sami loved them. She ate 3.

Jesi and Madi had fun too.

For Jesi's bday this year, her Grandma Cathy got her a Butterfly Garden. She got caterpillar larva that she was able to watch grow into caterpillars, chrysalis, and then butterflies. After about a month she let them go into the wild. She loved it.

Later that day, we headed out for the Kirby Family Reunion. This is my mom's siblings and all their kids. We usually end up with about 70 people camping together for a weekend. It's really huge and really fun. This year we went to Mackay Idaho. The camp was really grassy and private. It was really nice.

Reese and Sami swimming in the kiddy pool

Part of the campground this year was flooded because of all the rain and snow. It was about a foot deep in the deepest part, so the kids used it as their own personal swimming hole. They loved being in the water. But it was so cold. They would have contests to see who could sit in the water the longest.

Sami decided that she LOVES my brother Drew's dog CJ. Where ever CJ was, Sami was close by. She would climb all over her and she would let her. When she got tired of Sami, she would get up and walk away. As soon as she sat back down, Sami was all over her again. CJ is such a good dog and just let her maul her. It was so cute.

Jesi caught her first fish. She decided she was a big girl this year and wanted to go out on the boat with her dad. Reluctantly she got in and Kelly put a line in the water for her. Within 2 minutes she had a fish on her line. She decided boating and fishing are really fun and can't wait until the next time we get to go out. Madi also caught a fish, but I couldn't get her to sit still long enough to take a picture.

While we were all getting ready to head home some of the kids got bored. They decided a water balloon fight was in order. For some reason they decided to pick on my cousin Nick. He didn't like that idea so he grabbed his sister Kari's baby Rafe. They then set their eyes on Kari's husband Dan. He wasn't sure what was happening at first, but soon caught on. They chased him around the campground for a while, but eventually got him. It was so much fun. They were all laughing and having a blast. Thanks Dan for being a good sport.

The girls deciding who to go after.

They decided Dan looked good.

Dave trying to get Reese to join in. She wasn't having anything to do with it.

Sami did really great at the reunion. I wasn't sure how she would be since this was her first camping trip. She did awesome. But by the time we got home, we were all a little tired and ready for our own beds.

After we got home my niece Shelby, who plays softball for my brother Drew, had a softball tournament down in Salt Lake. Since they live in Idaho Falls, I don't get to see their team play. we decided it would be fun to go down and watch them.

Drew warming up the girls

The team getting ready for the game.

Shelby plays center/left field.

Shelby batting. Yep, one pitch actually hit her. OUCH!

The team didn't win the tournament, but they had a lot of fun.

Loving Life

2011-07-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Kelly's brother Dave and his family came up to visit. We decided it would be fun to go shooting guns. My kids have shot a BB gun and that's it so the boys thought it would be fun to take up the 22's, the 357 pistol and the Shotgun. The kids loved the 22's but thought the others were way to loud. Which they were. They all had fun anyway.

Madi shooting the 22

She thought she was pretty cool

Sami hanging out with Em

Em's turn

Jesi wasn't to sure at first. Then she loved it.

Kelly with Madi, Jesi, and his niece Maggi.

Our backyard is slowing coming together. We are almost done with phase 1 of 3. YEAH!!! Sami has loved playing in the dirt. She thinks she is big enough to help out and gets in the way A LOT. But its sure fun having her want to be with us.

Happy 10th Birthday Madison!

Madi woke up on her birthday to a huge surprise outside from Emily, Jesi, and our neighbor and friend Caitlin. They decorated our driveway with sidewalk chalk. Madi loved it.

Later that day, we went to Classic Fun Center for Madi's bday party. They all had a blast.

Sami loved being free to run around everywhere. She thought she was so big.

Madi got to spin the birthday wheel. She won a Vortex necklace that lights up. It was pretty cool.

Madison loves Peace and Hippies so she had to get a peace VW bug birthday cake.

Opening Presents.

The 4th of July.

This year we decided we didn't really want to fight all the crowds to go see the big fireworks, so we got together with the neighbors and lit fireworks in the street. There were 3 different families lighting them off at various places down the road so we had quite the show.

We started out with sparklers for the kids. They thought that was pretty cool.

Kelly & Jesi lighting sparklers.

Kelly's parents came up to share with us. Sami loved the lights.

but not being held down by Jesi......

she did let Madi hold her for a few minutes. But not long. She wanted to be wandering.

Em's ready for the bright lights.

Utah has always had a ban on any fireworks that left the ground. This year they changed the rules to allow anything that stayed under 150 feet off the ground. It made for some fun home fireworks.

I love the 4th.

Catching Up.

2011-06-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, my brother and his family came down and we all went to a Real Salt Lake game. It was windy & raining, but it was really fun. We had the seats under the roof so we got to stay dry. People in the seats below us were all moving up by us because they were all soaking wet. It was really funny. I guess sometimes it really pays to have the cheap seats.

Jesi & Allie showing their team spirit. Yes she was freezing.

Sami - she loved the game. She didn't cry even once. And it was COLD!!!

Tanner & Madi

A few days later, it was Miss Jessica's 7th Birthday. She got a new bike this year and thought she was in heaven.

Jesi opening her presents.

Later that night, Kelly was hanging out with Sami just before bedtime. I walked into the room to get her and put her in bed and this is what I found. Yes she is sucking on her big toe. :)

Saturday brought Jesi's friends party. She decided to go to The Syracuse Fun Center. They bowled, played Laser Tag, and got tokens for the arcade. They had a blast.

Tuesday Night brought Jesi's dance recital. She has worked really hard at dancing and has loved every minute of it.

Getting ready to go.

The Hip Hoppin Diva.

Jesi and teacher Janessa.

Atlanta

2011-05-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Every year for our Anniversary, Kelly and I try to go somewhere overnight just the two of us. Kelly also has to take a training class for work out of state once a year. I've been able to tag along to a few of these. Kelly usually gets to pick where he gets to go. This year he found out that there was a training the week of our anniversary in Atlanta Georgia. Those of you who know Kelly well know that he is a HUGE Atlanta Braves fan and the Braves just happened to be in town while we were going to be there. Kelly's birthday is 2 weeks before our anniversary so we decided to get him some tickets to the game. Because this is his team and probably one of the few chances he will be able to see the Braves play on their home field, not to mention the love of his life Chipper Jones, we got really good seats. They were 5th row behind the backstop. They were awesome. Our tickets also came with dinner in the 715 VIP lounge. That was really cool.

Turner Field.

This is the original fence that Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run over.

A statue of Hank Aaron outside of Turner Field.

Dale Murphy's Number outside the front gates.

The game from the VIP Restaurant.

The wonderful Chipper Jones.

Of course they won!!

Kelly & I at the game.

On our actual anniversary, Kelly & I along with the other couples that went with us were able to attend the Atlanta Temple. They had just reopened it 2 days before we went after having been closed for more than a year for remodeling. That was really cool. The people there were so nice.

Kelly & I outside the Atlanta Temple.

We had a wonderful trip. I'm really glad we got to go.

Happy 1st Birthday Sami!

2011-05-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday Sami!

This last year has been such a fun year. Sami has such a sweet personality. She loves everyone and everything and is just a happy person. We have been very blessed to have her be a part of our family.

Sami loves being outside. If she is ever unhappy, take her outside and she will start smiling.

Sami also loves our neighbors dog Bernie. Anywhere he is, she is following him. He will bring a ball to her try to get her to throw it. When she doesn't he will pick it up and drop it in front of her again and again. Eventually he will give up and walk away. Sami will follow him around everywhere. They are so cute.

Bernie trying to get Sami to throw the ball. He gave up.

The week before Sami's birthday, we went over to Kelly's brother Brock's house. He has some chickens that they let wander around the yard. Sami wanted to get the chickens so bad. She was following them around the yard. When they finally came up to her, she freaked out and climbed up on Jesi's lap. She wouldn't let Jesi put her down.

The morning of Sami's birthday.

We had a party in Idaho for Sami's birthday/Mother's Day.

Sami loved her cake and the candle. She tried to grab the flame, so we had to help her blow out the candle. She wasn't so sure about the frosting. She kept poking at it. Kelly broke the cake in half and when she could reach the actual cake, she went to town and ate the whole thing.

After cake and ice cream, we opened presents. Sami wasn't sure about the wrapping paper, but loved the bags with the tissue paper.

Her musical farm from Dave, Michelle, and Reese.

Clothes from Grandma Chapple

Clothes and toy keys from Drew, Teresa, Tyler, Tanner, and Allie.

She had a fun day. I just can't believe my baby is 1 year old already.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl. Love you.

What a week.

2011-04-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

The end of this last week has been a pretty crazy week at the Kirkham house. It started out on Wednesday with a dentist appointment for the girls. Their teeth looked beautiful according to the dentist. YEAH!!! Also, he informed Jesi that her teeth should be getting loose soon. Since she has yet to loose any teeth, this made her day. She was beaming for the rest of the afternoon. Emily and Madi both had to have a Frenectomy. (This is where they cut the skin in the front of your gums that connects the upper lip.) This was keeping their front teeth from staying together. This was an experience all in itself. NOT a pleasant one. I'm just glad its over and done with.

Thursday brought us both Madi's 4th grade program and Jesi's field trip to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden.

Madi's program was on the State of Utah and its Counties. They did a performance on all the things that had to do with the start of Utah. It was pretty cool. They sang songs, showed a few slide shows on the history of Utah and the Pioneers, and did some dancing. Madi got to do the square dance. She did a really good job.

Madi singing some songs.

Madi holding a Dinosaur Bone.

Jesi's trip to The Dinosaur Park was really fun for her. They got to see lots of fun dinosaurs.

Jesi with the "girls" from her class.

Saturday brought us Emily's Ballroom Dance Team's Spring Concert. They have worked really hard this year and it shows. They took 1st place at their competition in January.

Em doing The Waltz.

We also started framing our basement this last week. YEAH! Finally. The guy that was supposed to come and do it never showed up so Kelly and his brothers decided they could do it themselves. They actually have done a really good job. So far we have Madi's room and the kitchenette framed. This week they are going to work on Em's room, Jesi's room, and the bathroom. I can't wait for it to all be finished.

Our Crazy Life!

2011-04-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

There have been some major changes at the Kirkham house this last month. First of all, we decided to start some major demo work on our backyard. We are trying to level out the back, making 2 levels of ground. The back right off the back porch will be one level, where the side will be another level. So Kelly got his dad's tractor and started moving dirt. The girls thought this was awesome and had to jump right in and help.

Em helping out.

Jesi's turn.

Madi helping out.

Sami wanted to be outside! She loved watching the tractor.

The backyard after they took a break.

Jesi learned how to ride her bike without the training wheels. She thinks she is so big now.

She actually learned last fall, but got scared this year and had to start over. She is a pro now.

The last few weeks have been so much fun with Sami. Her personality is coming out so much. I love to just watch her facial expressions. She is turning into such a tease.

Sami loves to be outside. Anytime the front door is opened she is there. She won't let anyone shut the door.

Sami also loves the mirror. She loves to kiss and play with the "baby".

Her new found entertainment is to empty all the lids out of the lid cupboard. She will do this for hours.

She also loves to pull the lids out from the stove drawer. Today she actually climbed in the drawer and played forever. She would climb in and out. She had so much fun. What a goof ball.

Life in General!

2011-03-05T16:58:00.001-08:00

Ok, my computer completely crashed about a week ago. Good thing we have the laptop to carry me through. I've been able to hook most everything up to the laptop until I get my big computer back. So here goes on catching everyone up.....

Well, not much has been happening. The girls are loving school and their friends. They are hardly ever home. Or else, half the neighborhood is at our house. I really do love being in a neighborhood with kids.

Sami is now almost 10 months old. At her 9 month appointment, she weighed in at a mighty 16 lbs 4 oz. She is only 15% in weight, but makes up for it height. She is a whopping 85% in height. YEAH!!! She started crawling right after the first of the year and hasn't slowed down since. She has figured out how to stand up to furniture and walk around to get where she wants to go. She has gotten really good at sneaking up behind you. We all have to check before we step backwards so that we don't step on her. She loves the outdoors. As soon as any door is open, she is crawling as fast as she can towards the exit. She is developing such a personality. She loves to tease and mimic everyone. She has been so much fun to have in our family. Last week my neighbor & I went out in search of some fun places to take pictures. We found a really cool tattoo shop that had some graffiti paintings on the walls. So we took some fun pictures of Sami.

Jesi is doing really well in 1st grade. She is a math wiz and is loving reading. She comes home every week with a new friend that she wants to play with. Everyone in her class loves her. Its been really fun.

Madi is also a math wiz and getting much better at reading. She too has many friends and is constantly making new ones. She is loving Activity Days and Girl Scouts. She is always asking if she has one or the other that week. She is sad when she doesn't have either.

Emily is getting reading to start Junior High. She has her 7th grade orientation this coming week. We then get to pick out her classes. I'm telling you all that I am NOT old enough to have a Junior High Student. She is loving Young Women's and has become quite the babysitter in the neighborhood. All the kids love her and ask her to come play often. For Valentine's Day, the 6th grade puts on a lip sinc program. Every 6th grade student has to participate for a grade. They were able to get in groups of up to 6 people. It was so much fun to go and watch the personalities of the students come out. She has also been taking a Ballroom Dance class at school. They had a competition the end of January. They competed against other schools in Layton. Em's team took 1st place. It was so neat to watch. They all got gold ribbons and a huge trophy for the school. She was so excited. We're really proud of her.

Getting ready for the lip sinc

Em & her dance partner Matty

Kelly is now officially a Property Manager. He came home last week to inform me that they made him a Property Manager months ago, but just forgot to tell him.

Mary is still loving being home and can't wait for the weather to warm up so that we can spend more time outside.

We are starting our basement this month. The girls can't wait to get moved downstairs. They are already planning out their rooms and picking what to decorate with. I can't wait to get them all in their own space.

Well, that gets you all caught up for now. YEAH!!

Computer Still on the Fritz!

2011-02-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Ok so my computer is still having problems! I am hopefully taking it in this week to get fixed. YEAH!

During one of its good moments, I was able to upload a few pictures. So lets catch up on some stuff.

Finally here are some Christmas Pictures!

The family got Super Mario Brother's for the Wii. Here are the girls opening it up.

I think they were just a little excited.

Em got a PillowPet for her birthday in October. Ever since, the other girls have wanted one. They finally got them for Christmas.

Madi was so excited. She got a Penguin.

Jesi got a Panda Bear.

Sami got a Ladybug.

Sami opening her gifts. She wasn't sure about the whole thing.

The big girls each got their own CD player from Santa. They loved them.

A few weeks ago Emily's Ballroom Dance Team had their first competition! They took 1st overall!!!! Em's team of 6 won a gold ribbon. A bunch of kids also won individual medals. It was really cool. They all did such an awesome job. Good Job Em! (Haven't been able to upload these pictures yet!)

While at Grandma Chapple's for Christmas, Sami found the piano pedals. She loved them. She sat there and sucked on them forever. It was really gross and funny at the same time.

We have an old dresser of Kelly's that we are fixing up for Sami. Emily thought it would be funny to imprison Sami in it. She loved it. She hung out in there for a really long time.

Hopefully soon my computer will be fixed an I can get some more pictures loaded. Keep your fingers crossed......

Merry Christmas!

2011-01-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

Ok its a little late! But my computer is having issues and I can't download any of my pictures right now. So those will have to come later.

Anyway! This year was our first Christmas in our new house! It was great! We set up the tree in the front room in front of the window. You could see the tree from the family room too so it was really cool.

Sami also figured out the tree just before Christmas. I was sitting on the couch in the living room reading a book by tree light with Sami playing on the floor with some toys. I heard a noise and looked up to see her pulling ornaments off the tree. Oops. We really fast had to move everything up a foot where she couldn't reach them anymore. But from then on, we couldn't keep her away from the tree.

I have a glass block with lights in it that I keep under the tree. She really liked this but wasn't so sure about actually touching it. She would sit in front of it and just stare at it for ever. It was really funny.

Christmas morning was so much fun. The girls woke up around 5:30 but we kept sending them back to bed. Finally around 6:45 we all got up. Opening presents was fun. Sami really liked pulling apart the wrapping paper.

(Pictures to come later)

Around noon, we went to Kelly's parents for lunch. His sister Stef and her family came down from Logan and spent the afternoon with us. Later Kelly's Grandma Jean came over and then his brother Brock & his family came over. We ended up staying their until almost midnight. We had a really nice time, but the 45 minute drive home after wasn't. I forgot we lived that far until we got in the car and starting driving. Then I wasn't so happy we had stayed so late. Well ok, not really! I'm really glad we stayed that late. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday morning - the day after Christmas - we got up and packed the car to head to Idaho for the week. As we were loading the car, a major snow storm decided to start. We started out thinking it wouldn't be to bad if we were careful. NOT! We drove less than a mile and my 4 wheel drive was sliding all over the roads. So we decided to head back home and wait until Monday to leave. So we left the car loaded and got up Monday morning and headed out. The weather was much better.

The girls decided they wanted to stay in Idaho for New Years Eve. This was the first year we stayed that long. We usually leave a few days before the 31st so we can be home for the new year! My niece and nephews came down to mom's and we partied. We took the Wii up with us so we had a Wii party, played Sorry, Phase 10, Racko, and had a puzzle going. We made homemade pizza's and had Root beer floats. We had so much fun. I think we might have to do this again.

The New Year has been quiet around here. The kids started back to school the day after we got home from Idaho. Sami got so used to having everyone around that the first few days the girls were back in school, she would crawl all over the house looking for them. I pointed out their pictures on the wall and she would sit under them and just stare at them. As soon as they walked in the door after school, she went crazy excited to have them back.

What a crazy Holiday break, but well worth the fun!!!

Our Growing Family!

2010-12-20T13:36:00.001-08:00

This weekend, my awesome neighbor Adrienne was at it again. Only this time she got the whole family behind the camera.
We had been wanting to do family pictures for a few months now. We were waiting for the leaves to change so we could do some fun fall pictures. Mother Nature unfortunately didn't cooperate! The leaves went from green to on the ground. So then we decided to just wait for a nice weekend and then do them. Around here lately, nice weekends don't exist!!! So finally we said whatever, lets just do them. So after a really nice snow storm in the morning, we headed out and had our pictures done. Adrienne did an awesome job. Thank You!

Of course we have to have some of us at our best!

And then some of the parents.

And the kids!

Then the kids decided since mom had pictures with just her and dad, the kids needed to do this too.

Didn't she do an awesome job???

Thanks Again Adrienne!

Hip Hopping Attitude

2010-12-11T14:20:00.001-08:00

Today Jesi had her very first dance recital. She kept telling us she was so scared because she had "stage fright". It was so funny. She did such a great job though. She is taking Hip Hop and her teacher wanted them all to have attitude. Yes my child did attitude very well. Go figure.

Jes waiting for her turn to dance.

Getting into position.

She just noticed that I was taking pictures and got shy.

But as soon as the music started, her attitude came right out.

She did such an awesome job. I am so proud of her.

After the dance recital, Jesi was playing with Sami. She had her laughing so hard. So of course as soon as I pull out the camera she stops. Crazy kid. So I got down on the floor with them and then she started laughing again. After a while Madi came to see what was going on so I had to put her in a few pictures too. Here they are having a good time.

Love these two of Sami smiling. They show how happy of a kid she really is.

Winter Wonderland

2010-12-01T14:07:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was spent at my mom's house. My brother Dave brought down his snow machine and took all the cousins out for rides around the pasture.

Reese & Dave getting ready to head out.

The girls waiting their turn.

Jesi's turn

Em's turn

Madi's turn

Tanner

Allie

The next day the girls decided to make Christmas Cookies. This has become a tradition while at Grandma's house.

We gave Sami a cookie. She wasn't to sure she liked it.

On Saturday, mom & I took the girls to the park to sled down the hill. They were having so much fun.

Snow, Dare Graduation, and More Snow

2010-11-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

This last week, Sand Springs Elementary had their Dare Graduation for the 6th graders. Emily was able to participate in this. To graduate, they had to participate in Dare classes where the Dare Officer came and taught classes on drug and alcohol prevention. They also had to write an essay on what it meant to be drug free. They had an assembly where the Dare Officer and the Mayor of Layton came and talked to the students. Then the teachers, principal, Dare Officer, and Mayor presented the students with graduation certificates. The students all wore Dare T-shirts. It was really cool. Our last school had Red Ribbon Week where the students all pledged to stay off drugs, but not an actual Dare program. This was really cool. Good job Em.

We had our first really big snow storm this weekend. The kids loved it. They spent hours outside playing in the snow with the neighbor boys. They built a snowman, then let the boys destroy it.

After the snowman, they played on the trampoline. It was really slick so they were slipping all over laughing the whole time. They loved every minute of it.

The neighbors dog, Bernie wanted to play with the kids so bad. He stood at the side of the trampoline and barked until they would throw snowballs at him. He would catch the snow in his mouth then run back and bark until they would throw another one. It was so funny.

Emmy & Foster. These two love each other so much. As soon as Foster sees her, he comes running and yelling her name. They will hang out for ever and just play. It is so cute. Usually where ever Em is, Fost is close by. (and she loves it just as much as he does.)

Sami 6 Months Old!

2010-11-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

Sami is now 6 months old. Wow where did the time go?

My wonderful neighbor Adrienne took Sami's 6 months pictures for us. They turned out AWESOME! Here are my favorites.

Didn't she do an great job? Thanks Adrienne.

Happy Halloween and other things.

2010-11-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

So I decided to take some new pictures of Sami because she is getting very vocal about everything. She was in the exersaucer playing and decided she had had enough. I took these pictures one right after the other. She was funny. She was fussing, then content and looking at me, then crying all within a minute. Funny kid.

While I was taking pictures of Sami, I was watching our neighbor boys Jake & Colin. They decided they wanted me to take pictures of them too. So they got all goofy and asked me to take their pictures. Then they would run over and look at the pictures that I took. And then it all started over again. Here are some funny pictures of them.

Colin

Jake

Saturday Morning started out pretty nice. The girls had yet to carve their pumpkins, so they grabbed their dad and headed out to carve them. They love to do the carving, but really hate cleaning out all the junk inside.

Of course in the State of Utah Halloween has to be either freezing cold, snowing, or raining. This year of course it was both below 40 degrees and raining. What fun Trick or Treating in the rain is. Luckily our Ward had a neighborhood Halloween Party at our church. It was going to be outside, but since it was raining, they moved it indoors. YEAH!

Jesi was a "Hip Hop Dancer." Em thought she looked more like a gangster.

Sami was a candy corn.

Madi was a cheerleader. (Yes this is mine from High School)

Em was a "Dead Homegirl". The youth of our ward put on a dance at the church carnival/Halloween party. So they all had to be something dead.

The girls at the church.

I can't believe how grown up Em is getting.

At the party, there was someone dressed up as this huge beast. He was such a hit. The kids hated him and the adults loved him. How awesome is this????

After the carnival/Halloween party, the girls decided to go trick or treating around the neighborhood. They took the neighbor boys with their umbrellas and went out. Crazy kids. They came home with so much candy, I think we are set until Christmas.

All in all, it was a good day.

Scary Hill

2010-10-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Every year around Halloween time, Cherry Hill Water Park turns into "Scary Hill". They change all the decor to Halloween themes. We decided to check it out this year.

I love this picture. It's the only one I could get of Sami smiling.

Scary Hill offers mini golf. The girls thought this was fun. We tried to keep score. I don't think the girls get the concept of actually counting each stroke. Madi kept saying her score was 3 when it was really like 8 or 9. Jesi just cheated all together and didn't care. At least they had fun.

Emmy

Madi

Jesi - check out that form. She made her daddy proud. She kept trying to putt left handed. She would ask us each time if this was right. We'd tell her no it was the other side. The very next time, she would go left again. I finally gave up and said to putt however she wanted.

The girls loved climbing on things and posing more than golfing.

After we went golfing, we went on a tractor ride around the camp ground. They had skeletons set up everywhere. I tried to get pictures, but they all turned out blurry. They also had a hay bale maze, a ball pit, and batting cages. It was fun. I'm glad we went.

The girls climbing around the wagon on the tractor ride. I couldn't get them to hold still.

Fun in the Idaho Wind...

2010-10-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that the only time I ever take pictures and do anything fun is on the weekends? Weird but true for most of us. But actually this last week on TUESDAY the girls and I went to Gardner Village with Erika and her kids to see the witches. This is something we try to do every year. The weather was really nice and sunny. YEAH!! The girls love to walk around and see where they have moved the witches to each year. This year they even added a fireman witch. She was spraying water out across a pond. It was fun.

The girls hanging out with one of the witches.

The girls behind the fireman witch.

Jesi with Tessa. They were like this the whole time. It was so cute.

Friday morning we headed to Idaho to can Applesauce. I think we ended up doing 3 dozen quarts. It was A LOT!

After a much needed break Friday afternoon, we went to a pumpkin patch and picked pumpkins with our cousins. The kids loved being able to wander the patch and find the "perfect" pumpkin. They also had a little corn maze that the kids got to run through. That was fun.

Jesi and Allie

Tanner with a "Giant" pumpkin

Jesi, Allie, & Madi in the corn maze.

After we got all the pumpkins, the kids went on a train ride around the pumpkin patch.

The whole crew. Jesi & Madi

Allie & Emmy

Reese & Tanner

On Sunday we had a family birthday party for Em.

Em and Grandma.

It was a busy weekend, but so much fun.

One of my favorite places!

2010-10-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, Logan Utah is one of my most favorite places in the whole world. Cache Valley is nestled between some of the most beautiful mountains around. When you enter the valley one of the first things you see is the Logan LDS Temple. For as long as I can remember, my family made a game out of who could spot the temple first. Still to this day as I am entering the valley, the first thing I look for is the Temple. I love this building so much.

My Grandpa & Grandma Chapple lived in Logan for a really long time before they died, so I spent many a summers at their house. We would go for walks around the neighborhood and look for the temple. My grandpa would walk and walk until one of us would spot the temple. Then we would stand their and just look at the building for a while before finally heading back.
One of my other favorite places to be was my grandparents house. They had hummingbird feeders all around their back patio. We would spent countless hours sitting on the patio watching for hummingbirds. Unfortunately, my grandpa passed away when I was 16. But I remember still going to grandma's and hanging out on the back patio. It just wasn't quite the same without my grandpa.
This past weekend, my cousin Amy was able to go to the temple for the first time. She also has strong memories of Logan, so she chose to go to the Logan Temple. This was the first time that Kelly and I had been back since we were sealed there 14 years ago. We have driven through Logan and by the temple countless times, but hadn't taken the time to go back. I am so excited that we were able to go back. Thank You Amy for sharing with us.

Amy, CJ, & Landon

Amy's session was at 9 in the morning. Since we had to be at the temple so early, we all decided to get a hotel room and stay the night before in Logan. The kids thought this was the best thing ever. They love to go swimming in hotel swimming pools. I'm not sure, but this is one of their most favorite things to do. Every year when Drew & Teresa come down, that is the first thing the ask. If they can go swimming with them at their hotel. So this was a special treat for them.

My cousin Rob met us at the pool and entertained the kids with Kelly for hours. By the time they all got out, they were prunes.

Kelly & Rob decided to see which girl could do the best jump off of their shoulders. I'm not sure who won, but the girls loved it.

Madi

Emmy

Jesi was a little hesitant being in the deep end. But as long as her dad had a hold of her, she was happy.

Kelly decided to try on Em's goggles. They didn't quite fit...:)

We put Sami in the pool for a little while. The water was just cold enough that after about 2 minutes she was shivering. Poor kid.

After Sami got out of the pool, I took her up to our room and put her in a warm bath. She liked this much better.

We had a wonderful weekend. I'm glad we got to spend time in one of my favorite places.

Birthday's Everywhere!

2010-10-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

This last week we have been really busy with Birthday's.

Monday was our neighbor and good friend Bridger's 4th Birthday. He had a Halloween Birthday. All the neighborhood kids and some of the adults dressed up. It was really fun.

All the kids.

The Kirkham's

They painted pumpkins.

Sami was a candy corn.

Sami with her pumpkin.

Em sharing her pumpkin with Sami.

On Wednesday was our Papa Lynn's Birthday. We all went out to eat to celebrate with him.

Then on Saturday, it was Emily's turn. She is now 12!!! She isn't old enough to be 12.

The birthday Girl!

Em with her new boots.

Her Pillow Pet. A monkey of course.

Bridger and Foster came to sing her HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Emmy got a new bike. She loves it.

Kelly decided he needed to try it out.

Em and Foster.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!

Wendover! Slots, Poker, Blackjack?

2010-09-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ya Right! We went for the Wendover Air Show! It was so much fun. A bunch of people from our Ward in West Valley all got together and went to the Air Show. The planes were really cool. Then we went on a tour of the old Air Base. Very interesting.

Sami hanging out in the only shade around!

The girls loved being around all the planes.

Jesi & friend Amelia

Amberlee

While at the show we ran into our old neighbor and friend Alexa. Jesi was so excited to see her.

The Marines

The US Air Force

We sat by the staging area, so we got to see the planes start up and taxi out to the runway. That was cool.

This plane ended the show by flying about 100 yards above the crowd. It was so LOUD!

These are the planes that fly by our house daily. The kids were used to the loud so it didn't scare them like some of the other kids.

The Whirlybirds taking off after the show.

After the show we went on a tour of the base in the back of an Army Truck. That was fun. The movement put Sami to sleep.

Different planes were parked at the base for you to look at.

This plane was used in the movie ConAir! Independence Day and a few other movies were also filmed on this base.

This is used for machine gun practice. It is filled with sand. They hang a target up over the hole and fire away.

All in all it was a really fun day.

Spud Day and Birds of Prey!

2010-09-22T18:32:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we decided to go to Shelley to Spud Day! It was so fun. The girls loved the parade. Then we went over to the park for the booths and games. We were looking for the petting zoo, but this year they didn't have one. That was what the kids really wanted to see. So instead, we wandered around for a while and then went back to my moms.

The parade this year was mainly farm equipment which was weird but fun at the same time.

My niece Reese kept telling us all the names of the tractors. (Her daddy is a farmer). The girls thought that was awesome that she knew the names of everything.

The Tractor - they also had a combine, but I didn't get a picture of it.

An old fashioned car.

Sami hanging out at the parade.

my cousin Eric's little girl Caitlin - she just sat on top of my grandpa's truck and waited for everyone to bring her candy. Which of course we all did. She loved it.

The kids waiting for the parade to start. They were ready with their bags to get lots of candy.

Madison

Driving home on Sunday, we got to about Ogden and could smell smoke really bad. We couldn't see any fires, so Kelly got on his phone to see where and what was burning. He found out that the mountain just south of Herriman (South end of Salt Lake County) was burning. The fire started at Camp Williams while the National Guard was doing Machine Gun training. A bullet bounced off a rock and started some weeds on fire. Because of the dry conditions and the wind, the blaze was soon off and running. Almost the whole town of Herriman had to be evacuated. This is a really rural part of Salt Lake County with a lot of livestock. Luckily their is an equestrian arena close by in South Jordan where the residents were able to take their horses. As of today, Wednesday, the "Machine Gun Fire" has burned close to 4500 acres and destroyed 3 homes. The fire is 50% contained and luckily everyone has been allowed back into their homes.

A friend of a friend took this picture. I thought is was beautiful and wanted to share it.

They labeled this "Heaven and Hell". I thought it was appropriate.

This is of the Machine Gun Fire with the Draper LDS Temple in front of it.

On Wednesday we had a really good thunderstorm move through the area. After it was over, Sami & I went outside to enjoy some fresh air. All the birds in the area were chirping really loud and flying around. I started looking around to see what was going on and this is what I found....

These are called Turkey Vultures. They are nesting around our neighborhood somewhere. After the rain storm, they were hanging out in the trees drying off their wings. It was so cool to see them. I counted 10 of them just hanging out. The red head ones are the adults. The brown head ones are juveniles. We had seen them flying around before, but thought they were hawks. Little did we know, they are really vultures. How cool is that?

Also this past week, Sami learned how to roll over. She hates being on her stomach, so as soon as she turns over she screams until someone turns her back over. But then as soon as she is on her back, she rolls over to her stomach and we start all over. Go figure.

What a goof ball!

Oh What FUN!!

2010-09-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Oh what a FUN week we had. Last Thursday Jesi was out playing with the neighborhood kids. I walked outside with Sami and she decided to come running up to us. But little did she know that her body had other plans. She tripped on a black downspout tube and face planted it into the side of the window well. She gave herself a fat lip, bloody nose, and bruised gums. Luckily she didn't break any teeth or bones. She did have a pretty face for a few days though. Poor kid.

OUCH!!!! The Damage!

Have I mentioned how much I love our new neighborhood. Our neighbor's are great people. We have had so much fun this summer with everyone.

On Friday we decided to go to South Ogden to a "Splash Pad". This is in the middle of a neighborhood at a regular park. The water is turned on from Memorial Day till Labor Day. How awesome is this? The kids loved it.

Adrienne and her boys got there before we did since my kids had to do a few chores before we could go. When we finally got there, this is what we found.

Jake chilling on the bench. He had had enough.

Colin playing in the water.

This was the first time I had taken the "big" girls. I had gone before with Adrienne, Jake, Colin, & Sami. It was so fun that I decided to take the girls. They loved it and can't wait to be able to go back next summer.

After a little while, Jami, Bridger, & Foster came to play. They weren't so sure about the water and ended up just hanging out for a while. My girls love these little boys. They will go over to their house and just hang out forever. The boys love Kelly too. When he gets home from work, they come running and want to wrestle with him. We really have been blessed to have such great neighbors on all sides of us.

Bridger hanging on the tables.

Bridger & Foster

Foster trying to decide if he wanted to go in the water or not.

Sami loved just being outside. She was such a happy baby.

Saturday we went to a Ogden Raptors Baseball game. After the first 2 innings, we got another fun surprise. We were sitting just left of home plate and up about 6 rows. We were enjoying the game when a foul ball was hit. The ball bounced off the roof and came down and slammed Jesi in the back of the head. I saw it coming but was holding Sami. I ducked so it wouldn't hit Sami and didn't think about anything else. Little did I know it would get Jesi instead. Poor kid. First her face and then the back of her head. The Raptors Doctor came and checked her out and brought her a bag of ice. She cried for a few minutes and then was back to being herself. A kid a few rows over caught the ball. He felt sorry for her for being hit, so he came over and gave her the ball for a souvenir. It was so nice of him. She loved being able to bring home the weapon. She wouldn't let me take a picture of her with the ball, so all you get is the story.

Monday was Labor Day. We decided to drive up Ogden Canyon and see what we could find. We ended up at Monte Cristo on the way to Wyoming. It was a beautiful place. Lots of camping sites and trees. We found a really cool place we want to camping at next year when Sami is a little bigger. It reminded me a lot of Island Park. We can't wait to be able to go back.

All in all it was a very interesting few days.

1st day of school!

2010-08-24T15:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the girls first day of school! They were so excited to go and meet new teachers and friends. This year they get to ride the bus. This is a new experience for them since our last school was only a block away from our home so they had to walk everyday.
Emily is a mighty 6th grader this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Sturm. She is really excited to have her and to be the "big" kids at school.

Madison is in 4th grade this year and has Miss Boman. Emily is really jealous because Miss Boman was in charge of the play the 5th graders did last year and Em fell in love with Miss Boman. Madi is really excited to have her and hopes to learn a lot from her.

Miss Jessica is a big 1st grader this year. She has Mrs. Braby who just recently got married. Jesi is scared and excited at the same time to have to be at school all day. By the time she got home on the first day, she was so exhausted, she didn't know what to do with herself. She loves eating lunch at school but since she eats like a bird, she is starving by the time she gets home.

The Three Stooges!

I made them go out front to take a few pictures before we left to catch the bus. The sun was so bright they couldn't see. FUNNY!!

The Dinosaur Park

2010-08-19T11:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we were able to go to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden with our neighbors Bridger, Foster, & Jami for Foster's Birthday. The kids had so much fun.

The girls climbing the dinosaur skull.

Emily & Foster inside the nostril.

Emily climbing on the skull & sitting on a turtle.

An Iguana

After we ate lunch, the kids decided it would be fun to sit on the railing keeping them out of the displays. The rail was really bouncy so the kids decided to see who could stay on the longest while everyone was bouncing it. Emily lost.

The kids digging for fossils.

Em was keeping track of Foster. She decided it would be funner to get down on his level. What a dork.

Sami was such a good girl. She loved being outside with all the kids.

Just before we left, we got the kids popsicles and let them hang out under the mister.

Foster had a red popcicle. I think he liked it.

Our Fun Family Weekend

2010-08-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were able to have my family come spend the weekend with us. Friday night we got to watch my niece Reese while her parents went to the Tim McGraw/Lady A concert. She loved Jesi and followed her around everywhere copying everything Jes did. They went for a walk around the yard and colored my front porch with sidewalk chalk. The artwork is really interesting. Jesi would color and then Reese would come up behind her and draw a line right beside what Jesi drew. It was so cute.

Reese thought it would be funny to put the chalk under her chin and try to make it stay. She would put it there and then when it would roll out she would laugh and try it again. She definitely had all of us laughing.

Saturday everyone came over to our house for dinner before Drew, Teresa, Tanner, Tyler, Dave, & Chelle went to the Real SL Soccer Game. The kids were trying to get Reese to do funny things. Here is their progress.

Reese loves Tanner and will copy almost anything he does. Here they are being goofballs.

Then on Sunday we blessed Sami. We had most of my family and some of Kelly's family with us. We are so blessed to have family close enough that we can all support each other.

Sami did so good. She was quiet through the whole blessing. Kelly gave her a really neat blessing. He was really nervous, but did a great job.

This is the same dress all 4 girls wore for their blessings.

After we got back home, I had Drew take some pictures of our family since we don't have any with Sami in them. I think they turned our pretty good.

Later after everyone headed home, I went outside to get the girls. When I came back in, this is what I found. Sami was so exhausted after a busy day, she fell asleep sitting in her dad's lap.

Teresa's friend Angie makes bows for girls hair. Teresa brought them over this weekend and I just had to have a "few". Didn't she do a great job? Thanks Angie.

So after a really busy weekend, I still am glad everyone got to come and hang out.

Sami latest obsession

2010-07-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Sami has decided that she DOES NOT like to lay down flat. She has a toy where she lays on the floor and it hangs over her. She will play with it for a few minutes and then is done. She isn't to keen on sitting in the bouncer chair either. She will tolerate the swing, but not for very long. She wants to be sitting up. Preferable in someones arms but to keep her from turning into a huge monster, we had to come up with something else. We decided to try the excersaucer and see if she would like that. She LOVES it. She has figured out how to turn in circles already. She will play in that thing forever. I know, she is only 2 1/2 months old, but whatever. It keeps her happy.....

Bountiful Peak

2010-07-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 24th we decided to go up to Bountiful Peak in the mountains above Bountiful. It was so beautiful. The view was breath taking. It was interesting to see how large the Great Salt Lake really is and how low the water is. We drove up through Bountiful and stopped to have a picnic. Then we drove home through Farmington and found a few places that we would love to go back and camp at. Hopefully next year when Sami is a little bigger we will make it back up there. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

Me & The girls at Bountiful Peak.

Sami in the carrier. Thanks Tiff. She loves it.

Kelly looking at the Salt Lake Valley from Bountiful Peak - look how low the lake is.

Looking out at the Lake. The tan part should be water.

Looking out toward Farmington.

Looking further north toward Ogden.

What goofballs. The girls loved being up that high. The views were beautiful.

Sami's had it. Time to head home.

What a Month!

2010-07-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a month July has been for us. First of all we celebrated Madi's 9th Birthday on July 1st. Then we had the 4th that started on the 3rd and finally ended on the 5th. The 5th Sami & I went to Mom's to help her out while she had shoulder surgery. Mom had her surgery on Tues the 6th. It went really good and she is healing really fast. I then proceeded to play Farmer. I flooded the pasture, watered the garden & flower beds, fed the cows, waited on mom and took care of a 2 month old. It was wonderful. I loved being outdoors in the comfortable weather getting back to my roots. While Sami & I were gone, Kelly & the big girls hung out at home, went fishing, swimming, and painted the garage floor. I think they were as busy as I was. On Monday the 12th, I headed back home to do laundry and help get Kelly ready for his trip to San Diego. Wednesday the 14th I took Kelly to the airport at 8:30 am, then Sami had her 2 month well child check up at 11:30. She ended up getting 3 shots and an oral vaccination. Not fun!!!!! I then came home and got the rest of the laundry done and repacked me & the kids and headed back up to Idaho to spend the rest of the week. On Friday, I went and got my niece and nephew to come and hang out with the girls for the day. They had such a blast. On Saturday, my sis in law Teresa, mom, me, Sami, Madi, Jesi, & my niece Allie all went for a supposed 3 hour drive to look at a camp site we wanted to check out for next years family reunion. Teresa got directions from Google so we thought this would be a quick trip down and back. NOT!!! Google was totally off. We ended up in the totally wrong place. We asked the locals for directions and found out we were on the wrong side of the mountain. So we headed back out and 2 hours later finally found where we needed to be. We decided the campsite was a bust and started heading home. With the help of some more locals, we found a faster way to get home. YEAH!!! On the drive back home, I looked up the road and saw something big and black run across the road and jump over some railroad tracks. My brain started going through every animal I could think of that was about that size trying to figure out what it was. I was thinking maybe a cow or a large dog. BUT NO!! IT WAS A REAL LIVE WILD BLACK BEAR!!!!! It was so awesome. We stopped on the side of the road where I had seen it cross and found it out in a field. It stopped and looked at us then ran off into the trees back up the mountain. There were about 5 cars that passed us and then stopped and turned around and came back to see what we were looking at. It was so cool. Did I say that already? The kids loved seeing the bear. He was so cute. He was maybe 400 - 500 pounds, so not very big....... After we got back into town, I went over to my Grandpa's and picked Strawberries. My legs and back hurt so bad by the time I was done my legs were shaking and I had to lay down until they stopped. But it was worth it. Tomorrow I'm going to make strawberry jam. Yummy! Then on Sunday we headed home and then to the airport to pick up Kelly. We are all glad to be back home. But we really enjoyed our adventures. I hope the rest of the month is as fun as the first part was......We have an ortho appt this week, then start swimming lessons the next week. And we cant forget my birthday!!! Then my family is coming down here on the 30th to spend the weekend playing. We are then blessing Sami on August 1st. Wow what a month. i think by the 2nd we are all going to pass out and sleep for a week. :) But oh what fun.

Madison Nikelle

2010-07-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Madi!

Madi turned 9 on July 1st. She was so excited she kept reminding us for days that her birthday was coming up.

Here are some pictures of her big day.

Madi's new DS. She has wanted one of there for a really long time.

The new games to go with her DS.

Madi is really into anything peace right now. She should have been born a hippie..........

Em & Mad being goof balls.

Sami

2010-06-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had Sami's first pictures taken. She was such a good baby and did a wonderful job. Here are some of the pictures.

Our Week

2010-06-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we had the fun opportunity to go to Idaho and see my nephew Tyler receive his Eagle Scout. Him and 4 of his friends all got them together. It was a really cool program. These guys have been best friends for a really long time so to see them all earn this together was just amazing. CONGRATULATIONS TYLER!

Jesi had her family birthday party while we were there. She got some really cool stuff. Here are some pictures of her and her gifts and her cake!

Make a wish!

While Jesi was opening her presents, I just had to torment Reese and try to get her to smile for me. She wasn't having anything to do with it. Surprisingly I got some pretty cute pictures of her anyway.

Later that day Kelly was playing with Sami. He kept telling me they were having staring contests and he was loosing. It was so fun to watch them just stare at each other. They were so cute I just had to take pictures of them.

This one is my favorite!

After we got home, Sami needed a bath. This girl loves the bathtub so I had to take a picture. I haven't met a newborn who loves the tub as much as she does! Isn't she so cute?????

Happy Birthday and Graduation Jessica!

2010-06-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today is Jesi's 6th Birthday! Happy Birthday baby girl.

Jesi with her new Banana Chair! This is what she wanted more than anything else.

Jesi also had her Kindergarten Graduation today. What a busy day! Congratulations Jes.

What a beautiful "Big" Girl!

Jesi and her teacher Miss Washburn.

Gotta love the attitude!!!

Jesi during the program.

Jesi with her diploma.

Jesi and best friend Amelia

Em's big performance

2010-05-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

This last week Emily & all the 5th grade classes put on a performance. I can't believe how well everyone did. Not only did they ALL sing, they ALL performed. I've never know a whole grade to put on such a good performance.

Also, Sami had her 2 week appointment this last week. She now weighs 8.5 lbs and is 21 inches long. The doctor said she looks perfect. Of course she does. She's my kid...:)

Samantha Kay Kirkham

2010-05-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Samantha Kay Kirkham aka: Sami was born Saturday May 8th, 2010 at 5:14pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has dark brown hair and we think maybe blue eyes. (at least we are hoping)

Her sisters love her to death and are very excited to have her here!

Jesi & Sami

Madi & Sami

Emmy & Sami

The 4 Kirkham Girls!

Sami has been an amazing newborn. She never cries. She grunts and makes little squeaky sounds but that's about it. She is a good eater and sleeper. We are very lucky to have her in our family.

Time to Catch Up!

2010-04-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, we are finally in our new house and love it. It is in South West Layton. We have horses and cows right out our front door. Reminds me of Idaho, but not so cold. We are all really glad to be out of our apartment. I really don't recommend it to anyone with children. It worked for the few months we were there, but I wouldn't want to do it permanently......
The girls started school at Sand Springs Elementary and already have new friends. I'm so glad. That has really made being here easier.
We also just found out that our Bishop from our ward in West Valley is moving about 3 blocks away from us here in Layton. One of Jesi's best friends is their daughter, so we are really excited about that. Everyone in West Valley is a little sad, but I'm excited. Sorry everyone.
Now for our other exciting news. (Just in case you didn't already know.........) We are expecting baby girl #4 in 3 weeks. I know, weird and crazy, but obviously our family wasn't complete. We are all really excited and a little scared all at the same time. We are all ready for mom to be done being pregnant. I'm not a good pregnant person.
Well that gets you caught up for now.
More to come soon.

Now What???

2009-11-29T17:49:00.000-08:00

We have finally sold our house! YEAH!!! So now what? We have to be out of this house in 2 weeks and have yet to find anything we like enough to want to spend the next 30+ years in......So where do we go from here? Actually, I'm not really sure. We are looking for a house, looking at apartments, and going insane all at the same time. Let me tell you, this is not fun. When we get things figured out I'll let everyone know.

Happy Halloween!!! or was it???

2009-11-01T08:14:00.001-08:00

We are still trying to decide if Halloween was good this year or not. Kelly and the girls spent 2 days carving and making the "perfect" pumpkins. They turned out so cute. Then we woke up the next morning to find 2 of the 4 pumpkins smashed in the street. The girls were heart broken. I'm trying to decide if I want to kill all pesky teenagers or just notch it up to Halloween. It still makes me mad either way.

Other than that, the girls had a blast. Jesi was a "Fairy Angel". She lasted about 1/2 hour and had had enough. So she stayed home with me and passed out candy. She thought that was more fun than going house to house anyway. Madi was a "Devil". She does play the part very well. Em was an "Angel". I know a stretch for her. But with Madi being the devil and her an angel, it worked out pretty good.

Madi as a devil

Jesi as "The Fairy Angel"

Em as an Angel

Emily turns 11!

2009-10-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't believe that Emily is now 11 years old. Where did the time go? Grandma Chapple came down for the weekend to spend Em's birthday with us. That has been really fun.

We all went swimming for Emily's birthday. That was an experience all in its own. The pool we went to wouldn't let Jesi get in the water without someone over 18 within arms reach of her at all times so I was lucky enough to be able to get in with her. FUN!!! NOT!!! Actually it wasn't to bad. Been a really long time since I went swimming.

She got a DS for her birthday and hasn't put it down for more that 10 minutes at a time. I think she likes it.

She also got a "Monkey" blanket from Grandma Chapple. She carries this with her everywhere.

We ended up at Sizzler that night with the grandparents to celebrate her birthday. She ended up having a really great day.

Happy Birthday Kunkey!! (Cute Monkey)

Changes!

2009-09-20T16:16:00.001-07:00

Many fun changes have been happening in the Kirkham household.

First off - Emily got braces. She is excited for now. They haven't really started the painful part yet. She also had to get 4 teeth pulled. This she wasn't very excited for, but her "I" teeth were growing in crooked and trying to push out her front teeth. This wasn't good. So they pulled her 2 "I" teeth and 2 molars. Now she is ready to get the real stuff going. She goes in on October 14th to get the springs put on. Poor kid...... But doesn't she look so old?????

Next, Madison decided she doesn't like long hair anymore and wanted a real hair cut. Something like Grandma Chapple's but not so short was her description. So here she is in her new "older" hair cut.

I'm hoping this is all the excitement we have around here for a while. I really had a hard time with just this.

First Days of School

2009-09-05T12:19:00.001-07:00

Ok so I'm a little slow.

Madi & Emmy started school on August 18th. Madi is in 3rd grade & Emmy is in 5th. They both have male teachers this year for the first time. They love them both and are having so much fun.

They are getting so big. Here are picts of their first day.

Emmy getting ready to leave.

Madi getting ready to leave.

Sometimes they do really like each other.

Jesi started Kindergarten this year on August 25th. She was so excited and scared at the same time. Now she can hardly wait to go. She asks me everyday if she gets to go to school today or not. I'm so glad she is enjoying it and having fun.

Here she is on her first day.

Jesi getting ready to leave.

Jesi with best friends Sage & Tessa

Jesi at her new desk.

Madi's Day

2009-08-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

Madison was baptised on Saturday August 1st. She looked so beautiful. Here are the picts from the fun day. Her friend Reagan Young was baptised the same day.

Madi & Grandma Chapple - Madi & Daddy - Madi & Reagan

Madi & her cake.....

Since Dave & Michelle were here for the baptism, my friend Emily, Chelle, & I decided to take Reese down to temple square to take her 1 year old pictures. Here are some samples of what we got.

Is she not the cutest thing ever????

After the baptism, we went down to Cabella's with Drew & Teresa. We were able to watch the staff feed the fish. It was really cool until they started to toss live gold fish into the tank. Jesi freaked out. She bawled and bawled. She told me we were not allowed to buy a big fish ever. They were mean eating the little fish. She talked about the fish being eaten for days to follow. Poor kid.

After the trauma of Cabella's we went to Drew & Teresa's hotel to swim. The kids had so much fun. Here are some shots of them playing in the pool.

Madi jumping in - Emmy jumping in - all the kids hanging on Drew

Madi in her floatie. Allie helping Jesi float

2009-07-27T17:13:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What a Month!!!

2009-07-24T12:00:00.001-07:00

Ok so here we go catching up yet again. This last month has been very busy for the Kirkham family. First we went off into the wilderness for the Kirby Family Reunion. This was so much fun. All of my Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins and families were there except for 3. And coming from a family the size of the Kirby's this was amazing. Some had to travel really far to get there, but we were really excited to see everyone.
The kids had so much fun. They got to make their own pinata's. They then got to break a large pinata and fill their smaller ones with the candy from the larger ones.

Madi & Jesi making their pinata's.....

Allie, Madi, & Jesi taking their turns breaking the large pinata...

Shelby & Tanner taking their turns. It took the "big" kids to finally get the thing broken.

Emily & Allie in their matching PJ's. Weird how these two look more like sisters than cousins..??..

All the 2nd generation cousins getting their candy.... Reese enjoying a treat.

Jesi getting adventurous & playing with Koda.

Reese with her "new" hair style.....

Allie, Madi, & Jesi relaxing while eating Sunflower seeds.

Each night we all sat around the campfire had had Smore's. My kids loved these.

Reese trying to get my camera. Mom & Grandpa sitting around the fire.

The girls making & eating smore's. I'm afraid they liked them a little to much.

After the family reunion, we headed back to mom's. That night we had a major lightning storm. It was so cool. Being stuck in a valley in Salt Lake, we don't get storms like these.

The next morning, Kelly & I headed back to Salt Lake and left the girls at mom's for a week without the parents. They loved it, but after a week being away from my girls, I was having a hard time and couldn't wait to get back up there to pick them up.

Jesi, Allie, & Tanner enjoying time at Grandma's.

While up at mom's, Grandma Kirby's headstone was installed. Here it is. WOW!!! Here are also pictures of Great Grandma & Grandpa Kirby's, & Grandma Aland's headstones.

Getting Caught Up

2009-07-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

A lot has been happening so keep up as I try to catch up with everything.

First my kids are awesome. The year end awards assembly came and both Madi & Emmy got awards.

Madi made Presidential Fitness - which means she had to do so many push ups, sit ups, 1/4 mile run, shuttle run, and sit & reach for her age group. She was so excited.

Emmy got the Presidential Honors Award for having all 4's & 5's out of 5 on her year end CRT tests, and Honor Roll for the whole year. Dang that kid is smart......

Also, Madi just turned 8. WOW! What happened to my little girl???? She had a fun birthday. She got Chrissa - An American Girl Doll, clothes, a stuffed gorilla named Gorilly, and is excited for her baptism.

And Jesi - now that we are all done with school for the year, Jesi keeps asking me when she gets to start Kindergarten. She can't wait until the day. She is already planning what she is going to do and learn. She is so funny.

Now we have a fun & busy summer to go through. I'll try to keep up as things happen.......:)

Baby Birds

2009-06-27T09:23:00.001-07:00

So we've lived in this house for 11 years and this is the first year that we have had any kind of bird nests in our trees. And we don't have just one, we have two...YEAH!!

The other day we were out in the back yard and there was cotton all over under the Aspen tree. I asked Kelly what was going on. He looked over under the tree and had no idea. We had cotton and other stuff everywhere. The next day it was all gone for I just figured the wonderful storms we have been having lately blew it all away. Then a few days later I was over at the tree for who knows why and looked up. There above where all the cotton was all over the ground is a dove nest. The kids were so excited to see this. They have been watching it everyday for the babies. But nothing yet.

Mama Dove and her nest...

But for better news, the Maple tree in the front yard does have a Robin's next with 3 babies. You can see them from the front porch, so we sit out there and watch the little heads pop up looking around. It is so cute. The kids are so excited to be able to watch the progress of the birds.

The baby Robin's in their nest. I never realized how ugly baby birds really are....

Happy Birthday Jesi!!

2009-06-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Wow! Today is Jesi's 5th Birthday. What happened to my baby girl? Her request today was to have mom stay home with her and spend the day doing girl things. So I took the day off and we spent it being girls. She woke up this morning and opened her first present. It was American Girl Doll Gwen. She has wanted this for a long time so I finally gave in and got her one. She hasn't put it down since she opened her.

Jesi & Gwen

We then went to take her pictures. They turned out so cute. Then we went shopping and got her a couple of outfits at Old Navy. After our wonderful shopping excursion, we went out to lunch at Applebee's (her choice) with Daddy. We had so much fun.

More Picts...

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

Graduation 2009

2009-05-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Jesi is finally a Preschool Graduate!!! Yeah! She was so excited to graduate and get ready to start Kindergarten... Here are some picts from the fun day.

Jesi & Sage

Jesi & Miss Nicole

Jesi & Dad reading a story

Ground Squirrels!!

2009-05-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

On our way home from my Grandma's funeral, we had to stop at a rest stop so the girls could use the restroom. When we were walking up to the building, all these ground squirrel's started to follow us. Kelly had some popcorn in the car and thought it would be fun to see how close they would get. They got really close. Close enough, they were taking popcorn off of Kelly's shoe. It was so cool. The girls loved it. Needless to say, this was a nice way to end a not very pleasant trip to Idaho...

Jesi trying to feed the squirrels.

Goodbye Grandma!!! You will be missed....

2009-05-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Loving Memory Betty Lou Kirby 2/18/1925 - 5/2/2009

Betty Lou Molen Kirby passed away on May 2, 2009 at the age of 84 surrounded by her family at The Gables Assisted Living Center in Shelley, Idaho where she had resided for the past 4 months.

She was born February 18 1925 in Idaho Falls, Id to Donald Francis Molen and Margaret Marie Fisher. She attended school in Salmon and Idaho Falls, where she graduated from high school in 1944. Her junior year she met her lifelong sweetheart Donald Edward Kirby. They were married December 4, 1943 in Idaho Falls. The marriage was later solemnized in the Idaho Falls Temple. They just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.She loved to spend time reading, crocheting and taking care of her violets and roses. She had crocheted an afghan for each of her 18 grandchildren by the time each of them graduated from high school. Betty worked for the Idaho 1st National Bank as operations supervisor for 15 years and retired to spend time with family and grand children. Betty and Don enjoyed spending the winter months in Yuma, Arizona with many of their dear friends. She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where she served as Relief Society President, Primary teacher, Librarian and was a Visiting Teacher for as long as she could. She and Don served a mission at the Idaho Falls Temple Visitor Center for 18 months. They also worked together as ordinance workers in the Idaho Falls Temple for nine and a half years.

She is survived by her loving husband and five children, Lynda Chapple of Shelley, Kitty (Darrell) Beard of Pocatello, Don (Traci) Kirby Jr. of Firth, Margy (Dell) Blackburn of Blackfoot, BJ (Robert) Hess of Shelley; 18 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and sister.

Betty’s family would like to express their appreciation to the staff at the Gables for the love and care she received there.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 am on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at the Shelley 5th Ward Chapel, 513 South Park Avenue in Shelley with Bishop Vern Bowden conducting. The family will receive friends Tuesday, May 5 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 West Oak Street in Shelley, and also from 10-10:40 at the church before the service on Wednesday. Burial will be in the Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery.

Following the Leader!!!

2009-04-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

So Kelly decided it was time to mow the lawn. Jesi decided that she wanted to be with her dad while he was mowing. This is what I found when I went outside. She followed him for the whole entire yard. It was hilarious......

Our Trip to Idaho!

2009-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

So this last week we decided to go spend some time in Idaho with my family. This was lots of fun. We went up to my brothers house to see the new baby cows that had been born this spring. So, Dave & Kelly loaded up Emily, Madison, Jessica, Tyler, Tanner, & Allie and went to see the calves. Little did they know that when they got to the barn there would be a momma cow delivering her calf. The kids all thought this was so cool. I personally have seen enough animals give birth to say I'm glad I missed this one.
On Saturday we got to spend the day with Reese while Dave & Chelle had to work. The weather was beautiful so we decided to go outside for a little while. Reese loved the grass. She kept picking it up one strand at a time. It was so funny.

Reese & Madi enjoying the sunshine and the grass.

After the fun excitement on the farm, we decided to have a family dinner at mom's to celebrate Easter and Allie & Shelby's birthdays. Mom had lots of eggs to hide around the yard. The kids loved this. Especially Reese who somehow got a hold of a package of chocolate bunnies. I think she had more fun with the box than anything else.

Reese enjoying her box of chocolates. Emmy & Madi finding eggs.

Shelby, Madi & Allie with the sidewalk chalk.

Happy Birthday Baby Savannah

2009-04-10T15:36:00.001-07:00

My dear friend Emily had a baby taken away from her way to soon. She was premature and didn't have the strength to live. But she is in all of our hearts. I just wanted to add this to our blog since my kids ask me all the time why Savannah had to die. So this is for her. And thank you Emily for the poem that I am borrowing to put on here. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

Daddy Please don't look so sad, Momma please don't cry
Cause I am in the arms of Jesus and He sings me lullabies
Please, try not to question God, don't think he is unkind.
Don't think He sent me to you, and then He changed His mind.
You see, I am a Special child, and I'm needed up above.
I'm the Special gift you gave Him, the product of your love.
I'll always be there with you, and watch the sky at night.
Find the brightest star that's gleaming,That's my halo's brilliant light.
You'll see me in the morning frost, that mists your window pane.
That's me in the summer showers, I'll be dancing in the rain.
When you feel a little breeze, from a gentle wind that blows.
That's me, I'll be there, planting a kiss on your nose.
When you see a child playing, and your heart feels a little tug,
That's me, I'll be there Giving your heart a hug.
So daddy, please don't look so sad, momma don't you cry.
I'm in the arms of Jesus, and He sings me lullabies.

Its that time of year yet again!!!!

2009-04-08T20:49:00.001-07:00

SOFTBALL has started in the wonderful valley of the West yet again. This year Madi has decided she wanted to play so we signed her up too. She is doing so good. She is still kind of shy with the ball but getting better....

Emily has decided to pitch this year. She is awesome. She can really throw that ball. And since its fast pitch, thats not an easy thing to do. She is also a slugger. The first game of the season, she hit the ball over the infields heads twice. She has really improved since last year.

Here are some fun picts of the first few games.....

Madi playing 2nd base

Madi hitting the ball - Look at that form.....

We also decided that since the weather was nice for a few hours we would take the girls out to see the "Great Salt Lake". That was fun. They loved the fact that the water was so shallow for such a long time. And they loved the sailboats.

I think they really do like each other, just don't tell anyone.