The Keechler Elves

Herkey Creek

2011-08-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

Samantha is holding a quarter for Q!

D for Dumpster!

L for Log!

A for Amanda!

As soon as we returned from Lake Tahoe, and Grey Eagle, we headed up the hill to Herky Creek for a couple of days. We met some friends up there and had a nice time. We did an ABC scavenger hunt girls against the guys. We had a good time. It's always nice to get out of the heat. It was a beautiful weekend. We did A-Z, but here's just a few pictures. The boy's did a good job too, but their pictures are on my friends camera. We enjoyed smores, and good food. Thank you Langlois family for a great time!

Bucks Lake 2011

2011-08-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

This month has been very eventful. The first weekend we went to Yuma and second weekend we went to bucks Lake to visit Mike's dad and brother in Grey Eagle and Lake Tahoe. We spent 3 nights at Buck's Lake in a tent and boating on the lake. Mike's brother Marc came up with his family and spent the day with us. Mike's dad hasn't seen Marc and his family in over 5 years, so it was a great reunion. We had a great time at Buck's lake and saw a bald eagle swoop down to the water and catch a fish, then a minute later a off spray came and caught a fish, and another bald eagle chased the off spray trying to still his fish. They fought up in the air and ultimately the off spray got away from the bald eagle. It was cool to watch. It lasted about 20 minutes. On the way home we stopped at Marc's house n Lake Tahoe for the night, and him and his wife took us miniature golfing, after Marc cooked an awesome chicken and Ratatouille dinner. Thank you Marc and Bekah, and Ben and Julie for a fantastic vacation.

Yuma Birthday Bash!

2011-08-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

This summer has been pretty uneventful until this month. We went to Yuma for a big birthday party for Morgan and my little niece Bella, and Mike. It was at Marsha's house in Yuma, and my sister in law rented a blow up water slide. It was alot of fun. She took care of everything and I just sent a little money to help out. Thank you, Jamie! It was lot's of fun, and all the kids got along great.They always seem to get along so much better when they have 2 and 1/2 acres to play on. It was a Barbie theme and the cake was beautiful. Mike was kind of a silent Birthday guest. He was a trooper letting the girl's have their special day. But he did get a few gifts. He especially liked his remote control black widow spider that was huge. Good job picking that out Katie. (his little 5 year old niece.) Not to mention a new Xbox 360 that Mike has been wanting for over a year now. We had lots of fun! Morgan got some much needed new outfits, and cash! Thank you to all that were there.

Mom and Leon's Wedding

2011-04-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well my mom got hitched a few weeks ago. The wedding was at Dennis and Rachelle's house, and they did an awesome job on the decorating. It was a western theme and we had a lot of fun. It was great to see family and friends. The food was brought in my my awesome Uncle Marty and was delicious. It's really good to see my mom so happy again. Congratulations Mom and Leon!

Grandson #2

2011-04-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

Cortney just had my second grandson Zander Michael. He was born on Friday 03/25/2011 weighing 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 19 inches long. He has white peach fuzz hair, and is just too cute. Zedikiah is only 13 month's, so she will definitely have her hands full. They just moved in with her in laws and should have plenty of help. I enjoy being a grandma. I get to play with them, spoil them a little and give them back to Mommy for feeding and a diaper change. Love it! Cortney is a wonderful mom, and I am very proud of her. (That's my mom with Zander not me.)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

My office space! Family Room!

The new Year has started off bitter sweet. We finally got our notice to vacate the premises, and found a new house in Indio. Even though it's only a mile away from our old house, it puts us in a different ward family. I will definitely miss the La Quinta Ward, but look forward to getting to know the Santa Rosa ward better. The church building will be a bit further, but we get to go to the brand new building, so that should be nice. We'll get to pass by my brother Dennis and his family every Sunday now. We like our new house so far, but paying rent and keeping the house in order will not be fun. But the Lord has blessed us immensely, and we're grateful for that. I'm keeping my New Years Resolutions down to 3 this year, so maybe it will be easier to accomplish them. Happy New Years to you all, and please don't be a stranger. Love the Keechler's! I forgot to get a picture of the outside, but I'll add one later.

Family Christmas Party!

2010-12-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

We got together last week and had our annual family Christmas party December birthday Party at Dennis and Rachelle's house. It's the only house big enough to fit us all comfortably. The kids can play out back, and the adults can play inside. We had a lot of fun, and as usual my mom out did herself. The kids got lots of presents, and had a great time. This month was my nephew's Christopher (14) and Alex'(15) birthdays. We have to get started early to give us enough time to eat and open all the presents for the family driving up the hill to get home at a decent hour. I was worried about them traveling because the weather was rainy that day, and the clouds were thick. My mom stayed at our house after the party to help me pack the next day. We finally got our 21 day notice and have to move out by the 31st of December. Happy New Years to us! We've actually been blessed to be here this long. We've already found a new place and can move in anytime. Were hoping for a cash for keys offer and are trying to hold out for that. We are moving close by, but we will be in a new ward, but same stake, and the kids can go to the same schools if we want them too, so it shouldn't be to big of a change except for coming up with rent each month. No more date night for a while! We'll we'll have to be creative anyways and make it free date night. I'd be happy sitting in the car taking a nap without interruptions. Anyways we are very grateful for all our blessings and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Trip to Yuma!

2010-11-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

We made a quick trip to Yuma after Thanks Giving to visit Mike's family. His brother Marc and his three boys were in town and we had a nice visit. We got some pictures with Papa Don (Mike's Grandpa) with most of his grand kids, and Great Grand kids. Even a Great Great was there. Unfortunately my camera has a blur spot on it, and they came out a little blurry, but other then that they all turned out pretty good! Love you Papa Don!

Good Bye Football!

2010-11-28T22:29:00.000-08:00

Tyler played his cousin Adams team up in Yucca Valley for their last game. Uncle dude was in town and was there to cheer them both on.

Football season is over. (high school anyways) It is a bitter sweet moment. Tyler loved playing the games, but the practices were brutal. He lost a lot of weight and got in shape so that made him happy. Not to mention it helped motivate him to get good grades so that made me and Mike happy. I have to say I won't miss spending $21.00 dollars getting into the games each week. Not to mention the Pel lemonade you just can't resist to buy.

Proud Mom!

2010-11-28T22:25:00.000-08:00

I also have to share pictures of my darling son! He's been naughty!

Proud Grandma!

2010-11-28T22:19:00.000-08:00

Zedekiah with his great grand parents Chi Cha and Mah Ah

I took some darling pictures of my grandson, and just had to share them!

November Birthdays!

2010-11-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

I've been sooo busy, I've neglected my blog. I actually have a few minutes, so I thought I would add some current pictures. We had the November birthday party for Leah, Adam, Brooke, and Jacob a few weeks ago, and even though they live hundreds of miles away, Jacob and Brooke made it for the party. Leah had to stay home and hold up the fort, but she came out a few weeks earlier, and it was great to see her. Happy Birthday to all you November babies out there.

The Wild Animal Park!

2010-08-08T18:01:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the Wild Animla Park! Lots of exciting things to see, and we bought a cool Panda mug for $10.00 and refilled it about 15 times for free. I'd say we got our money's worth.

On our way home from Gray Eagle, we stopped in San Diego to drop Tyler off at Scout camp, and I had won tickets on the radio to the Wild Animal Park, so we took Alan and the girls there for the day. The weather was beautiful, a little warm actually, but it wasn't 115* so I wasn't complaining. Alan pooped in his training pants just before we got on the tram around the park. Luckily it blended in with the rest of the animlas and no one complained. He's still struggling with the whole potty training thing. He does pretyy good when it comes to #1 but if it's #2 forget it. We had a good time and didn't have to spend too much money.

Summer Vacation!

2010-08-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

We were able to get out of the Desert for a few days and spend time up at Buck's Lake with Mike's dad and step mom. We had lots of fun, and the weather was awesome. 40* at night! Mike and I were loving it, but the kids got a little cold. The days were perfect in the 80*'s and the food was yummy, and free for us. Thanks Ben and Julie!

July Birthday Bash!

2010-07-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Crazy Hair Day! I Won!

Well a new month, and a new set of Birthdays! June and July are very busy month's for our family. This month we celebrated Tammy, Chris, Jaden, Mike, and Christy. That was just immediate family. We had several more birthdays for lots of cousins too. This month we got together up in Yucca to get out of the extreme heat. It's about 15 degrees cooler up there. We had lots of fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Chis and Christy couldn't join us, but they were in our thoughts! Felicia was there to represent Chris and took home his gifts. It was great seeing you Felecia.

Cortney and Antony's Weddng!

2010-07-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate Cortney and Anthony's marriage on Friday. It was a blessing to get out of the heat. It's hard to believe it is 40* cooler just 2 hours away. Why do we live in the Desert? I'm sure I'll remember when winter is here. It was a beautiful ceremony, and the Bride was happy. That's all that matters! I was really stressing the day before the wedding. Wen ever had a chance to check out the wedding site and when we got there Cortney was very disappointed, but we continues to look around and even though it was on the a little different area then on the invitations, I believe we managed to let everyone know the new directions and the ceremony went beautifully. Despite the occasional airplane right above. The sky was a little cloudy, but the weather felt great. A few guests were freezing. It is hard to go from 110* to 65* in 2 hours time. The reception was nice and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The balloon man was a hit for the kids. Everything went pretty good. I didn't get a chance to finish the little favors, so I have 60 little canisters with dove mints if anyone has a need for them. Thanks again to all who made it , and we missed you for those who couldn't. These are just a few pictures I took with mycamerea, Rachelle was our photographer, and I'm sure ehr's turned out much better. Thank you Rachelle!

Congradulations gradates!

2010-06-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

What an exciting time Morgan graduated from kindergarten, and Cortney graduated from High school! Time sure flies when your having fun! Cortney worked really hard to finish highschool, and I'm very proud of her.

Aloha!

2010-05-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

ALOHA! Check out the Sea turtle! Our trip to Hawaii was amazing!

The PCC was allot of fun. Mike and Chris even helped out with the war dance. Gene and Christy didn't join us the time because they have already been several times. They were missed!

This was our back yard. Pretty amazing!

Monday at the dinner cruise was when we saw the whales. I wasn't fast enough to get pictures, but it was a great ending to our amazing trip!

We had a great time at Waimaya falls. So beautiful.

When we were driving back to the house, it started to sprinkle, and this awesome rainbow was from one end of the island to the other end. It was amazing! Pearl Harbor was sad but an honor to see.

Jet skiing was lots of fun! Nobody got hurt, except maybe a few ego's when they flipped the jet ski. Which happened at least once to all of us. Getting back on the jet ski was quite the challenge.

The Paradise Cove Luau was lots of fun!

Go Mike Go!

Thank you Mike for my cool water proof camera.

Mike and I went to Oahu Hawaii last week with my brother's Chris and Gene and their wives Leah and Christy. We were all celebrating our ten year anniversary's. We've been planning it for over a year, and had an awesome time. We rented a beautiful 3 bedroom house on North shore with the ocean in our back yard. It was amazing. We went snorkling, and saw several dolphins doing flips and jumps like they were performing at sea world. We were still on the boat while they were close by, and by the time we jumped into the water they had swam out further, but we did see several beautiful fish. We did go swimming at the beach a few days lated, and Mike swam within 5 feet of the dolphins until the life guard announce it was illegal to be less then 100 feet from them and had to swim back to shore. We also saw lots of Sea turtle's, and while on our dinner cruise we got to sea 2 whales swim by the boat. Whale season is over, so we got lucky to see those 2. We decided against sharks cove. The name just scared me a little. Okay alot. Something about swimming with sharks didn't appeal to me. We did swim under a water fall in waimaya falls which was awesome. By the end of the week when it was time to climb Diamond Head we were all to tired to attempt it, but drove up as high as we could to check out the views. Maybe next time we'll be in better shape for that. Mike and I went alone to Pearl Harbor. Everyone had seen it before, and said once was enough. It was incredible to see, and a little sad. After touring thruoghthe submarine Mike and I agreed that we would have never survived in the navy. Were both too big. We made it through, and got a newspaper with our picture to prove it. We went to the PCC which was lots of fun. Unfortunately the temple was closed so we just saw it from a distance and never got any pictures. We went to a few Luau's, but the food was pretty much the same at all three. We actually only stayed for one of the after dinner show's. it took us a while to get use to the time change and were in bed by 9pm up at 3am. Our neighbors complained we were too loud too early. Who new we were so wild. I guess I got too excited about the sunrise. Anyway's, we had a great time and want to give all our love to those who made it possible. Aloha and Mahalo! The Keechler's

Happy Belated Easter!

2010-04-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty good at chopping off heads with the camera don't ya think?

We had a nice Easter morning, even though Mike had to work. Then we watched an awesome conference, and had Anthony's family over for dinner. Happy belated Easter everyone!

April Birthday Bash!

2010-04-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Donovan

Happy Birthday Alan #3

Happy Birthday Nathan #13!

Jaden was the 1st kid blind folded, and he ended up busting the egg in half!

Who would of thought it would be in the 50's with winds going about the same speed as the weather, just 40 miles up the mountain. We had the April Birthday party at the park in Yucca Valley an the coldest day in weeks. but we survived, and I don't believe anyone got sick afterwards. We celebrated Nathan's 13th birthday, Alan's 3rd birthday, Donovan's 5th Birthday, and Gene (even though he didn't make it.) 34th birthday. We had a clearance pinata that broke before the older kids got to hit it, and goodie bags that couldn't holdall the candy the kids got, but we all had lots of fun, and glad to get another month out of the way. Even though we only get together once a month to celebrate every ones birthday that month, they creep up fast and there is usually 3-5 birthdays every month. That's allot of presents and goodie bags. We enjoy getting together, and have lots of fun! Happy Birthday Nathan, Alan, Donovan, and Gene!

Zedikiah's Baby Shower!

2010-03-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

A big Thank you to Joanne Weeks and her husband for opening their home for Zedikiah's baby shower. My house wouldn't have been big enough. We had a great turn out and had lots of fun. Thanks to everyone for coming to help us celebrate this sweet new life!

February Birthday Bash

2010-03-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Steve, Jay, Anthony, and Kallie!

We had lots of fun at the bowling aley for the February Birthday Party!

Welcome Baby Zedikiah

2010-02-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the family Zedikiah Roby Sanchez born February 20, 2010 at 10:33 pm weighing in at 5 lbs 8 oz. and 18 inches long. Him and mommy are doing good. He has to spend a few days in the NICU because he was a month early, and in the belly after the water bag erupted for over 24 hours. We thank you for your prayers. Were very excited for him to join our family, even if he does make me feel old. Honestly? Do I look like a grandma? At least I should have plenty of energy to chase him around. We love you Zedikiah and Cortney! Cortney did an awesome job after 40 hours of labor. Luckily only 2 of it being hard labor. She was getting discouraged each time they checked her she was only dilated to a 2for the first 37 hrs, then suddenly just after an hour of checking she was in allot of pain and dilated to an 8. Soon after out came Zedikiah, we did have to wait for the doctor for 5 minutes, which was probably the longest 5 minutes ever!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Morgan is a very heavy sleeper!

This new Year Mike was scheduled for a double shift which meant he would be working at midnight on New Years Eve. I've never spent New Years with my grandparents, so I decided to take the kids and have a sleep over and Grandma and Grandpa Webster's house. It was awesome! We played games, ate lots of food, and and everyone except for Morgan managed to stay awake until midnight. We went out front to blow our horns and yell Happy new Year. You could see the fireworks from the Marina right in front of you. It was beautiful and a very impressive display! We had a great time, and I want to thank my Grandparents and Dyana and Justin for allowing us to crash at their place. Happy new year to everyone. May this year be everything you want it to be and more! Love the Keechler's

Extended Family!

2010-01-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

Mike and Anthony's dad Jerry had the same color shirt, and looked so cute together I just ahd to post it.

As most of you know already Cortney is pregnant and will be having a little boy in March 2010. Her and her fiance' Anthony are looking forward to their life together. We really love him and his family. They are good people, and we look forward to having them in our extended family. We had them over on Christmas Eve, and had a great time. Anthony's sister Iesha just had a baby girl the day before, so they were very excited. Congratulations Iesha. They named her Melody and she is adorable. We had a great time at our house with the Sanchez family. We made ginger bread houses, ate lots of good food, told stories, and shared some of our family traditions. It's great to have friends to share things you're excited about.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

My mom was so excited to have most of her grandkids together. Their were a few that lived just too far to get here. But they were there in spirit. Merry Christmas and Happy new Year!

Sorry for the delayed posting. I've been a little crazy busy lately! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! We had our family Christmas party at Dennis and Shelly's house the Monday before Christmas! We celebrated the November and December birthdays that night too. It was allot of fun, and it was awesome to see everyone. It's crazy how even though you live just a few miles away, the days go by so fast, before you know it, it's been month's since you got together. We do try to get together once a month for birthdays, but I guess November got too busy. Believe it or not, there are no Birthdays in January in our immediate family, so we may not get together this month either. But we do keep in touch, and that's what counts.

You'll be missed Nevaeh!

2009-12-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

We got Nevaeh in April of this year from the Animal Samaritans. The kids have been begging us for years to get a dog, but with not much of a yard and barely enough money to feed our own family we denied them several times. However, after month's of discussing it, Mike and I finally decided to give in. Cortney and Mike went to pick her out at the Animal Samaritans and brought this beatiful German Shepard home. She was mixed, but no one was sure what with. She was a great Puppy, never yelped all night like I thought she would. However, she did love to chew on anything and everything. We only had her for 8 month's and she got pretty big, but I couldn't find any recent pictures of her. She hadn't been eating well for a few days, and she started to vomit and had the runs. Mike took her to the vet, and to our dismay she had something blocking her throat, and was slowly dying. They could have done surgery for $3,000.00 with no garuntee that she would make it, so sadly we had to put her asleep. We loved her alot and she will be greatly missed. It's good to know that "All dogs got o Heaven".

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2009-12-20T19:21:00.001-08:00

My Mom and I drove to LA last weekend to help celebrate my Grandpa's 84Th birthday! Doesn't he look great? All his kids were there except the two in Hawaii. I brought Alan along, and he helped Grandpa blow out his candles. We love you lots Grandpa and hope you continue to fell as good as you look. Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!

Everyone stood in line to give my Grandpa a birthday spanking until we made it to 84. I'm sure he needed an adjustment the next day. Some faces were blurred out for privacy reasons. (JK) I guess they just moved to much.

October Birthday Bash!

2009-11-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

We had allot of fun for the October Birthdays.

Amanda was baptized the same day, so allot of our extended family was in town to help us celebrate. It was great. Thank you to all those that helped us celebrate.

October Birthdays! this year two of my kids had big birthday's. Cortney turned 18. Wow I feel old. Amanda turned 8 and was baptized. As usual we had a family party with all the October Birthday's. Well almost all. Felecia turned 17. She lives in Nebraska now and was unable to attend. And Caleb turned 6.

Happy belated Halloween!

2009-11-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

Happy belated Halloween. Wow time flies when your having fun. I guess it flies by even when your not having fun. Any way's life has been crazy!!!!! But I wanted to share my darling angel, ninja, princess, and doggy with you. Hope everyone had a fun safe Halloween.

Time sure flies!

2009-11-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for your support!

This was a busy month. I now officially have an adult child. and an 8 year old who chose to be baptized. Were does time go? I wanted to thank our family and friends for showing their support at Amanda's baptism. There had to be at least a hundred people there. I think it helped that we had it dirrectly after church, and everyone was already in their sunday best. Thank you from the Keechler's!

My little sleepy head!

2009-10-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

He started off wide awake for his haircut, and even let out a few tears of fear, but once he was relaxed out he went. The stylist said he was her best client ever!!!!!! Okay out of little kids anyways. I had to hold his head still, but you don't get much calmer then that.

Still sleeping!

My darling nephews!

2009-10-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful dinner with my brother Chip and his family last night. We love it when they come to town. Our 3 younger girls are the same age as their 3 boy's and they get along great. The boy's love Alan too. Their just good kids. So handsome like their Daddy. Itdoesn't hurt that they have some of their beautiful moms features too. I promised my mom I would take lot's of pictures because she had to work and wasn't able to join us for dinner, I brought my camera, but forgot to insert the chip, so I was only able to take a few. Sorry Mom. Dana took some with her camera and promises to send copies. We love yo Unfried Family. Thanks for an awesome visit!

Missionary Service!

2009-10-11T09:58:00.001-07:00

Well we finally let the pool beat us. After spending $100's of dollars trying to keep it up we finally drained it. Mike, the thoughtful man that he is wanted the missionaries to receive extra blessings and invited them to do service for us and scrub it out. I thought they weren't aloud in the pool during their mission, but it turns out it's okay if there is no water in it. Good thing they didn't have to wear their suits. Thank you Elders!!!!!!!!

Morgan's 5th Birthday!

2009-08-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Morgan!

We didn't have allot of money after our trip to Tahoe, so we kept it cheap and just took Morgan and the family to Pump it Up! It was $21.00 for 6 of us for 1 and 1/2 hours. We had a blast.

Elvis! (AKA Paul Casey)

2009-08-30T10:07:00.001-07:00

For my moms birthday I took her to see a Paul Casey as Elvis concert. She is a big Elvis fan and we had a blast. He did a great job. At the end of the concert he was throwing out scarves to the crowd and all the ladies ran up to the stage to try and catch one. We were in the front row so I just had to stand up to get one. Their was two ladies that each caught half of one and ended up wrestling on the floor for it. It was pretty humerus. Most of the ladies were in their 50's and 60's.

August Birthdays!

2009-08-30T10:02:00.001-07:00

Each month we combine the birthdays and have one big party. Happy 5th birthday for Morgan, Happy 8th birthday for Kierra, and Happy ## birthday Mom!

Lake Tahoe!

2009-08-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

After we left Graeagle we went to Lake Tahoe to meet up with Mike's mom and brother and sister's for a tribute to Grandma Ginny. She always loved Lake Tahoe so we went up to show our respect and spread her ashes. She was greatly loved and will be missed.

We rented a boat on Tuesday and went to the lake to have some fun. Mike was a trooper and took everyone out on the boat for about 6 hours. Good thing he had a hat.

Grandpa Ben's Gama Julie

2009-08-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

To finish off our summer we got out of the heat and went to Northern California to visit Mike's dad and step mom in Graeagle. I'm notsure what the temperture was, but it was deffinately not a 122* like the desert. We loved every minute of it,and were still wondering why we live inthe desert. Hopefully we figure it out before next summer. We only got to stay a couple of days, but it was wonderful and we had a greattime. Thankyou Ben and Julie for everything! Enjoy the peace and quite until next time. Hopefully it won't take us so long next time. Love you guys!

I'm not sure what the kids had more fun doing, building the castle or demolishing it?

Who knew it could be so fun to throw bread crumbs at a bunch of ducks.

The only way Alan would get on the boat was ifhe could drive. Ben looks pretty calm considering it's his boat.

Ben and Julie have a place on the lake near where they live and we pitched a tent and hungout by the lake all day.It was so fun yet relaxing! Weall had a great time.

Nothing like popcorn and smores!

He made it once around and they had to stop the ride. What a baby! He lasted about two seconds on the boat ride too.

Who gave thatgirl a license? I thought that girl next to Alan was Morgan at first.

The girls enjoyed making their own candles for only $5.00

Amanda was the big winner of the day. She one this pink monkey and later one a gold fish, but unfortunately we had to return it due to a stroller accident. She sat it in the stroller and it fell off and out of the bag so Julie and I thought it best to return it. That fish should be thanking us saving it's life, but Amanda wasn't too happy about the idea, but after I promised to buy her a new one when we got back home she felt better. Once we got home we bought her a new gold fish and she thought it would be cool to put it in our pool. The next morning we had a fishy memorial. This time I got a Beta fish and so far so good. It's only been a week though.

July Birthday Bash!

2009-08-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday my PEEPS!

Happy Birthday Tammy, Chris, Jaden, Mike, and Christy. Each month we celebrate all the birthdays in our immediate family on one day. July got away from us and we just celebrated the July birthdays yesterday. It worked out good though because my brother Chris was able to fly out from Nebraska to celebrate with us. Unfortunately Christy couldn't get away, but my brother Gene and their little girl Brooke came to represent. It was a great party. I was worried it would be too hot for an outdoor celebration, but it's a little cooler in Yucca Valley, and we had it at a park with water features, so the kids got to get wet. We watched Adam and Kallie lay baseball afterwards. Mike was up in Big Bear helping unload all the supplies for Brother Record and spend the night to protect the young women from bears and cougars oh my! But he was able to come down for a couple hours to help celebrate since he was one of the Birthday boys! He finally caught up to me. Happy birthday to all you July Babies out there. Hope you had a great birthday!

Fun at Sea World!

2009-07-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

It was 111* in Indio, and we couldn't take it any more so we hopped in the van and headed to San Diego. It was 69* the kids asked why we didn't live there? Good question. I think it has something to do with money, but they said they would sacrifice and live in a 1 bedroom apartment. I'm not sure we could even afford that. Anyways, we did have enough to enjoy it for the day.We went to Sea World for the first time in about6 years. It was lot's of fun and we all had a great time. Even Tyler was there, but he had a friend with him and ditched us the whole time so he's not in any pictures. I would have to say the Shamu show was my favorite. We sat in the 4th row and we got soaked! I really enjoyed them all though.

The kid's loved touching the star fish, but they were scared when it came to the eel. Smart kid's.

The stroller was expensive, but it came in handy.

Happy 4Th!

2009-07-07T16:44:00.001-07:00

What a great 4th of July weekend! We drove up to Yucca Valley where the weather was actually great! We watched Adam play baseball, went swimming, had an awesome BBQ at Steve's parent's house, and for those of you that have had the privilege of eating a BBQ at their house know what I'm talking about! Were talking hot dogs, ribs, tamales, all sorts of salad's, you name it it was probably there. And topped it all off with Fireworks from the Yucca Valley High school right from the back yard. It was lots of fun! Thanks for the invite Teresa and Wendell.(I think we sort of invited ourselves though).

Dinner with my Brother and his family!

2009-07-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my brother Chip was in town with his good looking family! We had an awesome dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and dessert at Ben and Jerry's. It was a short visit, but lot's of fun. The kids really hit it off well.

Drake is only 2 days older then Samantha.

Amanda is a month older then Harrison.

Morgan is a few month's older then Quinn.

We had a great time! Thanks for dinner Bro!
We love and miss you guy's and gal already!

Scavenger Hunt!

2009-07-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

Every one's favorite, making something! We made frozen yogurt, and Mike's group made new friends!

Getting wet!

At the museum!

A police Car!

Places you shouldn't be! The girl's are at a bar! Luke is trespassing in a gated community!

Going down a slide!

Dressing in clothes of the opposite sex. This was Alan's favorite one!

Picture with balloons!

Two different statues!

Flying a kite!

Three different water features!

Something old!

Picture with a Librarian.

Mike's sister Emily and her family came into town last week and Mike thought of something fun , but cheap to keep every one entertained. A family scavenger hunt. We split up into 2 groups and took our camera's to accomplish 20 different tasks in 3 hours. We had alot of fun and came home afterwards and made a Cd and scrap book from all the pictures. Not to mention alot of fun memories that will stay with us for a long time.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Notice the 49er's apron Mike is wearing? Thanks to my aunt's Marlyn and Donna Rae I was able to finish it at 2am Friday morning..

Morgan had no idea what she got him.

Happy father's day to all those awesome dad's out there. My dad passed away in December and it always seems a little harder on holidays, but my memories are still very clear and knowing what a great dad my dad was and how much he loved me makes it easier. Also to know that families can be together forever is a great feeling. Mike has been a awesome husband and father and deserves everything his heart desires, unfortunately the bank account says otherwise. I think we did pretty good this year though with exception of the big screen TV he wanted. We love you Dad! (Mike)

We'll miss you Grandma Ginny

2009-06-21T21:42:00.001-07:00

Memory to Ginny she'll be missed!

Marsha and her mom Jane (far right), Sister Sue (middle) and sister Tracy (far left).

Marsha and the 5 young adults her and Ginny created.

The family those five kids created.

Mike's brother Marc and his family Beckah, Samuel (12 far right), Eli (9 far left) and Zeek (1).

Ginny's oldest daughter Jamie (sunglasses) and her husband Tim (in red) and their kids L.T. (in blue), Daniella (18 far right), Allie (14 yellow), Katie (3 blonde) and L.t.'s daughter Kayla (

Emily, Ginny's 2nd daughter and her husband Luke and their kids Ginny (8) and Jessie (1).

Ginny's youngest daughter Robyn and her little girl Bella (3).

Mike's step mom Virginia passed away last Monday on June 15, 2009 at the age of 55. She was a great lady and fun to be around. She'll be missed. Mike's family had a celebration of life instead of a traditional funeral, which I thought was a great idea. The family met early at mike's moms house and each child (son and daughter's) shared a memory of their life with Ginny. We laughed, we cried, and we just sat and remembered what a great lady she was. She came into Mike's life when he was only seven and because of her he is the man he is today. ( he can clean a mean toilet!) His mom Marsha shared great stories and is holding up well. She is grateful for the time she had Virginia in her life (almost 30 years). It was great to have everyone together again even if the circumstances were a bit sad. She was a tough caring woman and because of her, her children are all very wonderful independent accomplished adults. She was proud of all of them . She will be missed.

Alan's 2nd haircut!

2009-06-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

My little man is growing up so fast. I was so relieved to get my tubes tied after he was born , but seeing him grow up so fast makes me a little sad. Just a little though. I'm actually ecstatic to be done with the hole pregnancy thing and looking forward to just watching them all grow up. Speaking of growing up, I almost have a legal adult on my hand's. Cortney will be 18 this year! Where does time go?

Family photo

2009-06-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

Mike's shirt says "Born to be Big!"(and sexy) okay I added that part.
For those of you trying to read it.

I was looking at these family photo's I just took and after reading all my friend's blogs, I realized we never go anywhere. They are all from home. Well next year we'll be sure to post a bunch from Hawaii. We're saving up to go there for our 10 year anniversary. The kids are not invited, so we'll have to take them to the park or something!

May Birthday Bash!

2009-05-23T21:10:00.001-07:00

Each month we get together to celebrate the birthdays in that month. This month was Nichole and Samantha. Tyler's is actually in June, but he'll be in Oklahoma so he got lucky and got to celebrate early.

Alan and Luke found the hot spot on top of the hot tub! After Luke ate what he wanted Alan finished it off for him.

Check out the new do or lack of?

Thanks to Mike Lee and Dan Bjelde we were able to enjoy our pool again. The pool pump broke and it's been empty for month's.

Caleb wanted to express how he felt about getting his picture taken.

Thank you Grandma for sacrificing your sleep to help us celebrate! It's not a party without you!

I had to look twice to see if that was Alex or Tyler. They look a lot alike for cousins!

We celebrated Nichole (sweet 16), Samantha (9), and Tyler's (14)Birthdays this month. Tyler's is in June, but he'll be in Oklahoma so he got to celebrate early!

Girl's rule boys' druel!

Tammy was suppose to make sure the no pushing law stayed in affect, but you know what they say, "if you can't beat them join them!"

Meet Nevaeh

2009-05-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

We finally gave into the kids request for a new dog. We got her at the Thousand Palms Animal shelter. She is part German Shepard and part ? Any Guesses? We have had her for almost a month now, and the kids are still doing pretty good at keeping their part of the bargain. Mommy does nothing! I actually enjoy taking her for walks and giving her treats when she potty's outside. Hopefully she'll be completely potty trained before she gets big, but she still has quite a few accidents inside. Good thing we'll be moving soon!

Guess which one is our new dog?

My oh so talented husband!

2009-05-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

Beep! Beep!(road runner) a princess, and a monkey climbing a tree, a monkey with banana's, and Everyone knows Spider Man, and Rafael the Ninja Turtle!

Mike has been working on a new project this month. We were at a restaurant in San Diego with Dennis' family about a month ago, and there was a man making animals out of balloons. Mike was inspired and decided he wanted to learn. So he bought a bag of balloons and soon realized he definitely would need a hand pump, and googled balloon making and after watching a few example's off he went balloon making away. He is very talented, and I told him as soon as he has 20 different balloons down I'll send him to Red Robins and Birthday parties for extra cash!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day!

I had a really nice mother's day! It started off with the smell of bacon and french toast! I was still in bed. That doesn't happen every day. Mike and Samantha were busy cooking away while I was still snoring away. I got up before they got a chance to bring it to me in bed, but it smelt so good I couldn't wait any longer. They surprised me with a beautiful new purse and standing mixer. I've wanted one for year's. You can buy allot of nice things when your not paying mortgage. That's coming to an end soon. Back to mother's day. We went to church and got one of my uncle Marty's famous brownies! Believe it or not I'm not a big chocolate fan so I shared mine with Mike. Then we went up to Yucca Valley to visit with my mom. Unfortunately my sister Jenny who was suppose to cook had to take her husband to the hospital. Long story short he fell off his dirt bike the night before and was spitting out blood. He's okay after 3 days of bed rest. My mom ended up having to cook, but she seemed to enjoy it, and over all we had a great day! Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there.

Aloha!

2009-05-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Ma hallo Angie!

A beautiful Hawaiian lady!

Don't they look tropical!

This weekend was a luau for the girl scout troop. Angie Engle came and taught the girl's the Hukilau. They did pretty good and had lot's of fun! They decorated flip flops, painted stain glass, and made necklaces. We had a good lunch and lot's of fun! Thank you, Rachelle for the decorations, and Angie for sharing your talent! You were awesome!

Activity Days!

2009-04-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

I was released from Activity Days few month's ago, but Megan Caress who was given the calling just had a beautiful bay girl so I was more then happy to take over for a few weeks to give her time to recover. We thought it would be fun to have a baby shower for her. A few weeks before I had Sister Preston come and speak to the girl's about child care. She did a great job, and the girl's had fun and learned alot. Sister Caress felt at ease allowing each girl to hold her precious little Gwenyth. We made her a blanket, and decorated cute little onesies. Who knew how talented these 8-11 year old girl's could be. They did an awesome job and we had lot's of fun! A big thanks goes out to Jessica Hampton for opening up her home. I hate to clean. Actually there are 16 activity day girl's now and I was afraid they wouldn't all fit in my house. Sister Hampton's house was big and beautiful and we all fit perfectly.

Sidney Fox and Gwenyth on left Samantha K. and Gwenyth Center Megan and Gwenyth on right

Claire Jones and Gwenyth left. Jillian Fox and Gwenyth center, and Vianca Falcon and Gwenyth right.

Emily Cassel and Gwenyth left, Savanah Hampton and Gwenyth center, and Emma Jones and Gwenyth right.

Old Town San Diego!

2009-04-18T23:15:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a great meal and the best ice cream to finish off a great evening. Thanks for the suggestions Dennis and Rachelle. I probably should have put this first so it would be at the end. Oh well it's late and I'm tired. Thank goodness it's the last day of spring break! Entertaining 24/7 gets exhausting.

I don't think Samantha knows that those are some man's underwear! I always wondered how far we would have made it in the pioneer days. After walking through old town I realized probably not very far. My leg's and back were sore just after that walk.

Help Caleb he's stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The candy store. Morgan looks so sad. She must know I'm just having her pose for the picture, but she doesn't really get any.

Not the friendliest door greeter I ever saw, but under that mask I know there's someone very special! (my nephew Dylan)

I'm not sure these 2 kids can read yet, but they'll find out soon enough that the sign says Don't touch, Hot wax!

Day at the Beach!

2009-04-18T22:35:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty quite Spring break so far so we decided to take a trip to San Diego for the weekend. We havn't been tothe beach in a long time. It was in the 70's (the weatherthat is. It hasn'tbeen 30 years since we've been to the beach.) 70 degrees for most people would be perfect weather, but for us desert rats use to the low 100's it was freezing! The water was anyway's Samantha was the only one brave enough to take a full body plunge. We mostly just got our feet wet and played frizzbee. It was free and we had a good time. Although I will be washing sand out of my hair among other places for a week! For not even getting in the water, we sure collected alot os sand.

Dennis' family met us there and joined in the fun! If your wondering about Amanda's face, she got it done at the swap meet Rachelle encouraged us to go to before the beach. It was lot's of fun, but maybe getting your face painted just before the beach wasn't well thought out. But we got a few pictures before it washed away.

Morgan wasn't too sure about this cold weather!

Look out behind you Alan!

Let's go fly a kite!

2009-04-16T09:08:00.001-07:00

The kids are home for spring break and insist on being enterained every minute. To keep it affordable we went to the park to fly a kite! We probably had just as much fun as if we were at Disney land and didn't spend a dime. Kid's really can be easy to please if you just spend a litttle time with them. There's still 3 more days of spring break. Hopefully they'll continue to be easy to please.

My good looking man!

Nice Doggy!

Samantha just hanging around!

Cortney and her boyfriend Anthony playing catch.

My nephew Donovan

Fun at Build a Bear!

2009-04-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

For spring break yesterday the girl scouts went to Build a Bear in the Temecula mall. Since I had a 15 passenger van I volunteered to be a driver/chaperon for the trip. I took Samantha , Amanda, Morgan and Cortney along with 4 other little girls. I actually had room for 6 more, but it gave the girl's more leg room! There were 30 girl's that went along with about 15 adults. They earned the money buy selling girl scout cookies. Thanks to those who supported girl scouts! They all got in line and got name tags then they got to chose a stuff animal.

Amanda chose a panda bear Morgan chose a pink bear!

Samantha chose a monkey! She started off naming him George.

Then it was time for all the girl's to stuff their animals!
The lady had them sing songs and scream to keep things exciting!

Of course I didn't want to be left out either, so I made one for Alan. A puppy named Heath! He plays for Mike and Tyler's favorite team the San Diego Padres.

We didn't want Cortney to feel left out either! She named her bear Zedekiah and dressed him like a marine. That's what her boyfriend wants to be when he grows up.
Amanda's Panda turned into a dog named Buddy! Morgan was the only one that didn't change her mind about the animal or name. She started and ended with a bear named Rose! The outfit however was another story. Did I mention we were there for 3 hours?

Samantha changed her mind

and George became Coconut!

You've benn tagged!

2009-03-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

The first five people to comment get a handmade gift from me. Those who commented also have to post this on their blog and then do the same, make a gift for the first five people who make a comment.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2. It'll be done this year. Hopefully sooner than later.

3. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be sewn, stamped, baked, or it may be something totally random that I come up with on a whim. Who knows? Not you - until you receive your gift!

4. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Let's get those homemade gifts going! So, the first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are doing it also, and post the same post on their blog will receive a gift - made with my two hands! Be sure to post pictures of what you won when you receive it! Don't worry if you live far away. I will send it to you.
Woo, hoo. I am getting some fun ideas already.
OK, Ready...

Meet Jacob Daniel

2009-03-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Holding Jacob made Mike a little sad that we won't be having any more little babies of our own, butI assured him we'll be Grandparents before we know it. (hopefully not before I'm forty, but Cortney will be 18 this year. She seems to have a good head on her shoulder's though and doesn't see her self getting married until she is at leat 21, which is a smart thing I believe. I love my kid's , and I look forward to watching them grow. I don't miss being pregnant at all.

Jacob is my little nephew that was born on Thankgiving Day 2008 2 month's early weighing just over 4 pounds. I got to meet him for the first time on Wednesday 3/18/2009. He is my brother Chris' little guy. They moved to Nebraska last year. We sure miss them. Jacob is doing great. He weighs over 8 pounds now and is as cute as can be. Were so glad to finally get to meet him and look forward to many visits. (Right Chris and Leah?) We love and miss you all!

Let the games begin!!

2009-03-20T08:47:00.001-07:00

Baseball season's has arrived. Tyler is the only one interested (who is old enough anyway's, Alan love's playing baseball, they just don't have a 1 year old league yet.) The girl's are into dance and Girlscouts. I love baseball. I've been playing since I was 5. Tyler is on The NewYork Mets, (Pony league little league of course.) Until he get's older anyway's, then who know's. He is a good litlle player, but he doesn't play like he loves it like I still do. I did give him a choice to play or not and he chose to play. He took last year off, but I guess he missed it. They've already had 3 games and they're 1 and 2 (1 win 2 loses) He has a few old friends on his team and seems to like his coaches, so far so good. He does have a bit of an attitude though. He didn't really agree with a strike that was called by the umpire, and decided to speak his mind about it. The umpire wasn't to thrilled with that and gave him a yellow card (warning of dismisal) He became a little more tolerant of the bad calls after that. He's not a very big kid so when he gets up to bat everyone scoots up, I love it when he wacks it way over their heads. It's fun to watch when he can keep a good attitude. I believe that win or lose, the most importnant thing is to have fun! But who can have fun when their always losing? But hopefully he'll learn to have fun either way.

Dance Play and Pretend!

2009-03-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

Morgan started a fun little dance class last week with Sister Cassel. She's the only 4 year old. The other girl's are all 2. It's cute to watch, I call her my gentle giant. She looks so big next to them. She was a little shy at first, but now she usually shows the younger girl's what to do. She needs to work a little on her gracefulness. She really seems to like it ,and Alan loves watching the cute little girls dance around.