kelly and her boys

clayton has only 12 weeks left! i can hardly wait! we will get to talk/video chat with him on christmas day. then it won’t be too long before we’re welcoming him home. yippee!

5 more days till halloween! my favorite holiday is almost here!

i know i’ve been absent from this blog for a while. can’t really say why, because i just don’t know. i have been mostly keeping up on my other blog: kellysfavoritebooks.blogspot.com
that’s the site i’m trying to earn some money on. i’m not succeeding, yet. i really need to come up with some ways to get traffic to the site. i’ll keep working on it.

this has been a busy and fun month. hunter was involved in san clemete stake’s production of “the music man” and it consumed a large chunk of his time. the performances, however, were so much fun! i never took any pictures. darn. silly me, what was i thinking? but, we had a great time. hunter and his friend spencer, ran the lighting for the show. they had a lot of fun together and did an amazing job. it was nice to have hunter be a part of such a worthwhile activity. thank you san clemente stake, for giving hunter this opportunity!

also this month hunter and doug passed the test for their amateur radio operator license. they have the basic level-technician. doug got a small hand-held ham radio last saturday and they are still working on figuring it out. and yes, they are having fun learning. i still don’t understand the point of it, but i’m sure i’ll get it eventually.

on september 20th, hunter and i visited the san juan capistrano mission. he needed to go there to fill a requiremnet for a merit badge. we were very silly that day. neither one of us was very excited about being there, but we had fun anyway. hunter wanted to climb on everything. literally. everything. i had to reign him in several times. i told him i didn’t pay $18 to get kicked out of the mission. here are a few pictures of our visit.

as soon as we walked in we were greeted by this dead rat. he seemed to be saying, “welcome to the mission. don’t drink the water!”

there were two large fish ponds that you could sit next to and see the fish up close and personal. we tried ernie’s way of catching fish by yelling, “heeerrrre fishy fishy fishy!” it worked really well. they flocked right over to us. too bad we didn’t have a boat for them to flop in to.

were the spanish folk really short, or did they just like ducking through doorways?

i said this to hunter so many times and here i am on a wall. is this the wall they meant we shouldn’t climb or is it the one behind the sign? hmmm…

’nuff said.

oooo…he touched the butt! uh, i mean bell. after we took this picture, THEN we noticed the sign that said not to climb up there. oops!

we had fun even though we were both resistant to being there. and the best part is that he got the merit badge! yippee! now we just need to get an eagle project done and we are forever done with scouts! yippee x 10!!!!!!!!

that’s the update for now. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

i just spent some time reading over my facebook page for the day. so many thoughts ran through my head as i read. some people posted about children and family achievements, some about political agendas, some about favorite restaurants, some said where they were at the time of posting (i still don’t undertstand why people need to post their whereabouts), some were posts from companies and/or famous people, or tv shows. with so much to read and learn about others, why do i feel like i didn’t use my time wisely?

i clicked “like” on a few posts. i was saddened by 2 posts. i almost commented on one post, but decided against it.

after the passing of my friend’s daughter just over a month ago, i have a new perspective on life. what exactly are the most important things we should be doing with our time? reading posts of where all 300 or 1000 of our “friends” are currently? posting about what we are eating for lunch? one friend’s post made me want to shout out to the world about how eating healthier will change our fight against cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc. there is so much to know and learn. why do we fight it? why do we stick to what we know and not want to change? is that cookie, that large slab of steak, or that diet soda so addicting that we choose not to let it go? if we could get rid of 90% of our physical ailments just by eliminating the crap food from our lives, why would we not do it? sounds easy to me. i’m not struggling with cancer. i’ve had gestational diabetes. i’ve been (and still am slightly) overweight. i tried. i changed. what i was doing before was leading me down a dangerous path. i changed paths. i feel better. i look better. i don’t plan on dying of cancer, diabetes, or any of those big, awful things.

i plan to be an old lady who can run, walk, remember, and not have 20 doctor appointments a month and cabinets full of medications to take. i don’t plan on taking ANY! i’m not buying into the idea that we “get old” and things fall apart. that’s only happening because we don’t take the time to take care of ourselves.

my healthy road is, unfortunately, a lonely road at present. i’ve been traveling it for a few years now. it would be nice to have someone-anyone-join me. i’ve been made fun of, accused of “torturing” myself, and even encouraged when i make a “wrong” choice. (wrong in my eyes, not everyone else’s.) why do we feel the need to let each other down? why can’t we be happy or excited for another person’s achievement without feeling badly about ourselves? when you say “i’m so happy for you” do you really mean it?

i find the need to “brag” about ourselves to be a very curious need. why do we all crave attention? why do children always say, “look at me!” it seems to be in our very nature from the beginning. facebook, or any social website, seems to give us that outlet, a place to say, “look at me.”

still, i find myself scrolling through my facebook page every day. today i ask myself why. why? we lived just fine without it a few years ago. we lived without cell phones and pocket computers not so long ago. why are we so addicted to these things now? what has changed that makes us feel the need to “stay connected” on an hourly, or daily basis? what happened to getting together with the neighbors and hanging out in the street at night? what happened to just visiting with a friend without having to do it over lunch at a restaurant? why don’t we just spend the days together doing stuff? silly stuff. or going for a walk just to go for a walk, not because we “need the exercise” or because we didn’t get our workout in that day?

are we really enjoying our lives? or are we doing what we think the world expects of us? are we happy, or just think we are happy? what exactly are the most important things?

every day i wish i could be spending time with my family. every day i think about my boys who are far away. every day i wish i could be with them, talk to them, or just sit with them. is that what is the most important? being together with our family? is there more? i am so content when my family is home together. i just feel like there is nothing in the world better than that. no sunset, no majestic mountain, no book, no movie, no thing at all in the world better than that. it is the time when i am the happiest. it is the time when i am most content. is that what is the most important? well, to me it is.

now, if i weren’t sitting alone at home right now typing these thoughts, i might be happier. i do enjoy my quiet time. but i always miss my family. daily, hourly, every minute. i am truly happy when they succeed. i don’t reflect on myself and think, “why couldn’t i do that?” i am truly happy. i love my family. my husband, my son and his beautiful wife, my missionary son, and my youngest son. i am so blessed. they make me happy.

i will begin to rethink my place in this world, my need for social networking, my plan for helping others to be healthy, and whatever else i’ve just spilled my guts about here in this blog. does any of it make sense to you? does anyone read my blog? i think i’m done now. these are just my thoughts for today.

have a great day. i do really mean it!

i’ve been away from this blog for a while, so i thought it was about time to catch up.

i just realized yesterday that i didn’t have nick and emily’s wedding pictures on my computer in iphoto. now they are there, so now i can share them with you!

there are soooo many. here are the highlights:

this beautiful cake was created by my sweet friend, davlyn. it was exactly what emily wanted! isn’t it beautiful? you can see more of davlyn’s amazing creations at www.flourandflowerdesigns.com

the beautiful flowers were done by davlyn’s sister, lara, who is the other half of the company. notice the centerpiece below. davlyn and lara are so much fun to work with and make such beautiful creations. thank you, my friends. you helped make the day so beautiful!

i also have wonderful friends who helped make desserts for our dessert bar. the food looked so amazing and tasted so yummy! thank you to all my friends who helped. you are the best!

the next day they went to the pier at huntington beach and did some relaxed, no stress photos-no stress about getting to the reception on time. here are some of my favorites:

and if this isn’t enough, you can visit http://video.maxblak.com/nickandemily/

you’ll get to see the most beautiful video ever! ok, maybe i’m exaggerating a little, but to me it is so amazing. i just watched it, again, for about the one zillionth time and i cried again! i so thought i was over it. but, do we ever get over these precious moments? the video was created by yet another good friend, wayne smith. he is so talented. thank you, wayne! i still love it a year later!

i can’t forget to mention my awesomely talented and amazing brother the photographer. he took all the pictures. he’s just the best! you can find more of his work at http://kiproof.com/

well, i might be 11 months late in posting, but at least it’s here! enjoy!

if you are going to buy from amazon, click thru my other blog www.kellysfavoritebooks.blogspot.com and i’ll earn a portion of anything you purchase. you can click on any amazon link on my blog. it will automatically keep track of anything you purchase on the site during that session. you don’t have to purchase the item from the link you clicked.
thanks for giving it a try! we are really struggling here and this is one way we can get some cash flow going. thank you, merry christmas, and happy shopping!

may 14th was the big day. it was a beautiful one, too. when i get pictures i’ll post some. we enjoyed a wonderful morning at the san diego temple, came home for lunch, and then went to the reception at the christensen’s. lots of friends were very helpful in making it all come together so beautifully. it will always be a great memory!

nick and emily have been married for a month and they are doing well. they will be finishing up at byu in april next year, and then off to graduate school, wherever that is. we’ll have to wait and see.

it is very fun to have a daughter! sometimes it’s hard to believe that it’s true. i love it, though!

i’m way behind on this here blog. clayton left march 3rd for the missionary training center in provo. he has been a missionary for 3 months now. he served in monticello, arkansas for the first 2 transfers. he was transferred this week but we don’t know where, yet. he’s loving it! i’ll post pictures later.

saturday night nick took his beautiful girlfriend, emily to a romantic, rustic restaurant to ask her the big question. amidst a foot and a half of snow, he got down on one knee and proposed. she said yes! we are all so excited! here is a picture of the happy couple.

and one with the whole family…

and one of me and my GIRLS!

after 25 years of just me and the boys, i finally get some girls to share my life with. and, i LOVE these two! i am one lucky gal.

congratulations nick and emily! i am soooo excited for the big day! love you!

(hmmm…now i might need to change my blog title)

2010. what does the year have in store for us? glad it won’t be anything like the movie!

for us, clayton will be heading off to the arkansas, little rock mission for two years. he reports on march 3rd. that’s a big change coming very soon. then, sometime during the summer, hunter will be getting a driving permit and probably a license by the end of the year. nick will be completing two of the three semesters of school he has left before graduate school. what else this year has in store for us is yet to be seen and experienced.

now to catch up on the end of 2009:

thanksgiving was fun. we went to utah and spent the holiday with grandma, margie, bruce, denise, kelly, whitney, keaton, tracie, and we met emily-nick’s girlfriend.

there are a few more pictures but these were the best. at least i remembered to take a few this time.

HUNTER’S Birthday:

Hunter turend 15 in november. he got an ipod. on the back we had engraved “i can’t believe you stole my ipod” in spanish. he loves it.

and once again, he had his favorite 2 layer white cake with white frosting.

it was a fun birthday.

CHRISTMAS Tree Decorating:

we got our tree about a week before christmas. i didn’t take pictures until we were done, but i got the boys to stand for a few shots. it was tough, but they survived.

we tried to get a skinny tree so that we could see the tv from the sofa. last year the tree was way too large. it was better this year, especially since we only had it up for about 2 weeks. i thought about getting a fake tree, but i don’t want to be stuck with a tree that’s too large or too small. i’m not so good at judging those things. besides, our tree selled so wonderful this year. it was tough for me to take it down.

CHRISTMAS Eve Dinner:

we went to claim jumper in mission viejo. kenneth and corrin came with us. we had a 5:15 reservation but we still waited about 45 minutes for our table. it was worth it though. dinner was great! kenneth and corrin both ordered their own “motherlode” sandwich. it sure lived up to its name. these sandwiches were HUGE!

there’s enough meat on here for about 6 normal sandwiches and there were two of these on each of their plates. wow!

yes, they took some home.

i took pictures of everyone’s food, but no one else’s were that exciting.

see what i mean? i also never got a picture of my own food. no big deal. mine was a veggie sandwich. it was yummy but not exciting to look at.

claim jumper was a good chioce. thanks kenneth and nick for suggesting it!

CHRISTMAS

this was such a nice day. doug got up first, as usual, and showered, as usual. then we made french toast and woke the boys. it was about 8-8:15 by then. we had breakfast together and then waited for kenneth and corrin to arrive. while we waited we played tri-bond. that’s a tough game but we had fun. kenneth and corrin arrived at 9:30 and we went right in to the living room to open presents. we started with hunter and worked our way around the room one gift at a time. everyone enjoyed their presents. my best one was from clayton; he gave me a t-shirt with rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock on it.

nick got a stereo for his car, clayton got a camera, and hunter got a wii. he’s only waited 3 years for it. after we opened gifts we did the usual: playing with or using what we got. doug, nick, and clayton worked on installing nick’s stereo. they had some trouble but kip and michelle came over and kip helped solve their problem. yay!

we had lunch around 1 or 1:30 and then just played and hung out. kip, michelle, nana, and pops came over around 5:00 and we exchanged gifts again, visited for a while, and then they took off. it was such a nice day. next year will be very different with clayton gone and nick away at school. this was my last year as “just us” i think. i’m glad it was so enjoyable and memorable.