Easter

Our Easter celebrations were kicked off on Friday night by going to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D. The week before the boys started asking to go see that movie and George told them the only movie we would be seeing in the future was the Hannah Montana movie. We didn't tell them we were going to the movie, we kept it a surprise. When we went in to pay for our tickets Trevan was not so happy! He was moping around until he finally asked if he really had to see the Hannah Montana movie! Monsters vs Aliens was actually a pretty fun movie. I wasn't really expecting to like it but I did. The kids loved it, well the boys did, Kennedy couldn't keep the glasses on her little face so she gave up on them. Saturday we finally were able to get the trampoline set up. We have it anchored down with 7 50lb sand bags and George still wants to get a few more. Later that evening after playing at the park and on the trampoline we finally were ready to color the eggs. The kit I bought wasn't the best. Not all the colors dissolved very well. But do kids really care? Not mine!

This is how they really feel! ha ha. If you were to ask these crazy kids what their favorite thing to do on Easter is they would not answer with the egg hunt, or the basket hunt, or even the new clothes. What they would tell you is that the best part it the EGG WARS! If you don't know what an egg war is that just means you have not had the privilege of spending an Easter dinner with the Jacklin family! (my, Linda's, family) Trevan won the first round and I won the second. George tried to cheat but I still beat him.

Sunday afternoon, getting ready to hunt down the candy filled eggs. We gave Kennedy a head start because she was content to just look at the eggs and not really pick them up. After she picked up one she thought she was done!

Both Trevan and Kennedy finding the hardly hidden eggs. The boys were actually pretty funny with Kennedy. They would tell her where the eggs were and then pick them up for her. They really are not stingy boys when it comes to candy.

George did hide some eggs that were a little harder to find. I had to take pictures of where they were and then show the boys the picture so they could go find them. They had a really good time, and so did we.

The past few months Trevan has really been asking alot about Jesus and how and why he died, and that he lives again. It really made an impact on him. He knows the true meaning of Easter and why it is and important for us. We have stressed the fact that Easter isn't about candy and eggs, and we don't even mention the Easter bunny in our house. As we were driving home from church yesterday we were talking about our primary, (George and I are Trevan's teachers) Mason started telling us about sharing time and the lesson that was taught, he said he had one little tear leak from his eye. So nice to know when the spirit whispers truth that he was in tune to hear and feel it.

Wedding

On March 7th one of my favorite nieces got married! She looked so beautiful. I really can't believe she is old enough to be married. Kierstan and Justin had dated for about 2 years. They both looked so happy. As my brother Wade walked his daughter down the isle I watched Justin's face, I just wish I could have gotten a picture of him watching her.

These are Kierstan's sisters, Brittan, Lauran, and Jillian. I think the little girl in front is one of Justin's nieces.

The first kiss as husband and wife. So sweet.

My brother Wade and Kierstan during the daddy daughter dance. I can't remember what song was playing though.

George and Kennedy during the daddy daughter dance. Kennedy was so excited to dance. All night long she kept asking when it was time to dance. Even during the ceremony she was ready to boogie! By the end of the night she could barley stand but she didn't want to leave the dance floor.

They had a "Money Dance" where you pay to dance with the bride or groom. This is Mason taking his turn with Kierstan.

Here is Trevan having his dance with Kierstan. Trevan was so funny all day that day. He knew we were going to a wedding but he started to get stressed out the closer the time came. He was confused and kept asking who HE was going to marry! I kept telling him Kierstan was getting married but he still didn't get it. I guess he thought he was the one getting married that day. Then during the ceremony he asked me if Kierstan and Justin were going to have babies. I said yes, then he was trying to see the babies! I told him it would be a few years before that would happen! He was so cute about the whole thing.

Once again the "Money Dance" as I said before you pay to dance with the bride or groom, and most people pay 1 dollar, but Jeff, the goofball jokester, paid 5 dollars to dance with Justin! SO FUNNY, and so much like Jeff. Justin was a good sport about it too. His face was as red as could be but he was laughing just the same. Their video guy also was getting this dance! I can't wait to see how it turned out. Congratulations Kierstan and Justin!

We had a fun trip to Utah. I love staying with my sister Laura. Our boys are so close in age that they have a great time together. We hardly ever see them, but we sure do hear them! This time Grayson even slept in the same bedroom with Mason and Trevan! George's parents were able to make it up also. This was the first time in almost 5 years since the kids have seen them. George's dad, George has been growing a beard for a few months, so when Kennedy saw him the first time she called him Santa Claus! I guess he gets that alot. It was hard to leave to come back home but we will be back this summer! The kids are already counting down the days until they can see their cousins again.

Pre-School

On Monday Feb.2 2009, Trevan and Kennedy began a new adventure in their lives. They started Pre-School! They both loved their first day there. When I picked them up the teacher had nothing but positive to say. She said Trevan is a very good helper and that he is polite to everyone. (This sounds good to me, after seeing him in primary for the last 2 years I wondered how he would do in school) Actually another little thing, when my parents came to visit us last when he was 3 1/2 my mom asked me if he had ADHD. Yes he was a very hyper toddler, not so much anymore.

Miss. Carol said Kennedy is such a little pistol! She was bouncing around the room. She also said that Kennedy has so much to say all the time! Her exact words were "She is just so darn cute I don't want to tell her to shh!" They will be going 3 days a week for 3 hours a day. I'm not sure what I will do with myself for 9 free hours a week! Haven't experienced loneliness like this in almost 8 years!

1st Semester Award

A couple of weeks ago Mason's school had their awards ceremony. Mason was awarded the "Most Improved Academic Achievement" award. His teacher said he really deserved an award but that he couldn't give him the academic semester award because he wasn't here in the beginning of the school year. We are very proud of Mason. At his previous school he was in a multi-age program where the teacher let them study at their own pace. She also didn't give spelling tests, or any other kinds of tests. So, when we got here and Mason had to take his first test ever, I had to explain to him what a test was! Funny but true. Anyways, since being here he has scored 100% on every single spelling test and vocabulary test. In the Math area his test scores are in the 90% - 100% weekly. This little boy has been blessed with good genes! He is very competitive in school. He reminds me alot of his Uncle Mike. In this area that is a good thing!

Look at the excitement on his face. After the ceremony I asked him what he thought of his award, and in true Mason fashion he was sad and upset. He thought he was getting something better than a piece of paper! He said he should have gotten a big bucket of candy, or something cool like that! What a goof ball he is.

Photo Tag

This is a Photo Tag. What you do is go to your fourth photo folder and get the fourth picture.

This is a picture of Trevan and his friend Diego. We were at one of Mason's basketball games last year in Germany. Diego's big brother Noah played on the same team as Mason. It was always a great time for these two little buddies, Trevan and Diego. They were always finding things to play with. This is my favorite picture of the two of them. Don't they make the cutest "cone heads"?

Top 100

I saw this in a friends blog and thought that I would do it...to kill some time.

I tag anyone else who wants to share...Just paste this list into your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done, and unbold any I have done that you have NOT...

I have done everything that is in big, bold letters .

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (every Friday night I am the star drummer)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Burger Bar rocks the salmonilla)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch-hiked (didn't we all try to run away at some point during childhood?)
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (not a real cruise, but I think the feiry to Alaska counts)
33. Seen Niagara falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I have been to my great grandma's house!)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I am really good at jibberish)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (Rock Lake in the Uintahs, many, many rocks to climb over to get there)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing (on a boat full of men, my mom caught the biggest fish!)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (stood under it so as not to get spit upon)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (my sister made me drink it, told me it was chocolate milk)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (plenty of home movies from childhood!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies for my sister =)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (they won't let me anymore, cancer)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (I have had sushi, YUCK, it had some egg crap on it)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (a nose counts right?)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (not personally, but was tortured by it as a child)
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury (one of my life dreams)
91. Met someone famous
92. Flown in an airplane
93. Joined a book club
94. Lost a loved one
95. Had a baby
96. Seen the Alamo in person
97. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
98. Been involved in a law suit
99. Owned a cell phone
100. Been stung by a bee

A first for Kennedy

I have been wanting to cut Kennedy's hair for a while now but patiently waited for George to be ready. I really don't know why since he doesn't have anything to do with her hair! Oh, wait, he does brush it after washing it, does that count? Well here it is before I took some scissors to it. It was getting pretty long, but very wispy.

Here we are during the hair cut. Yes I did it my self. I thought "How hard can it be?" It wasn't really that hard and she did a pretty good job at watching the TV to keep as still as a 3 year old can be.

The after cut and blow dry. I love it! She likes it too. She was a little leery about cutting her long hair, as she said. But she looks so cute, and more grown up. She has always been so good at getting her hair done. Her bangs still have a little bit of growing yet to do to get it all the same length but at least now it is more uniform.

The back view. She was running her hands through it and really enjoying it. It looks thicker now, maybe because it isn't all different lengths. Notice the vacuum, George was anxious to clean up the hair mess. He says he likes it and at this point what more can he say? Kennedy sure is growing up. No longer our little baby, but now our pretty little princess.