First day of School

Ryker and Avynlea started school on August 22. Ryker is now a third grader and my little Avynlea goes to all day school now as a big first grader. I know have three kids in all day school!

 Kefford gave all the kids fathers blessings the night before and they went to bed ready and super excited about the first day of school.

After school I met them at the bus stop and asked how everything went and they both had a great day and are in love with their new grades and really like their teachers. Both of them ended up with lots of friends from the previous year in their classes. Ryker commented on how third grade is so easy, he said it felt like they were in first grade with how easy everything was. I know that will change but I am glad he had a great day!

Rylee was feeling a little left out with everyone getting new clothes but her. So after the kids left for school I took her and Kenedy to the mall for a little shopping. We found a couple shirts for Rylee that were super cute ad some new jeans. She found a skirt that went with one of the shirts and she really wanted it. I thought it was a bit overpriced for what it was and so I told Rylee no on that skirt but that as soon as we were done I would take her to Costco because they have fun skirts that were cheaper there. She did not like that idea and started crying and saying how much she wanted that skirt. I said no way and if she did not stop crying by the time I counted to five she was getting nothing. It took right up to the last count but she did it and off we went. Sure enough at Costco we found two skirts that went with her new shirts perfectly. they were cheaper, they were fuller, prettier skirts and they came with matching leggings. Rylee was so happy and hopefully learned a little lesson about Mommy knowing best. :o)

Here she is on her first official day of Pre-school wearing one of her new outfits.

I tired to get her to be more sassy with her poses but this poor girl is so camera shy,

I have no idea where she got her camera posing skills from. ;o)

And finally on August 30th Kenedy started middles school. She is now a sixth grader and very excited to be doing different things.

I had a crazy morning this morning so let me get this all written down so that it can be remembered. Kefford woke Kenedy up at 6:20ish and in doing so Ryker woke up. Ryker decided to go around and wake everyone up which was not appreciated. He is such a stinker! It was crazy but Kenedy managed to get showered and dressed and ready in time to leave and her and I were out the door by 7:20. I think school starts at 7:40. So we drove to school, parked and I walked in with her. I was planning on just dropping her off but other Moms were telling me they were going in with their kids. I asked Kenedy what she wanted me to do and after thinking about it she said to go in with her, so in we went. I didn't think she needed to go to her locker first so I walked her to her homeroom said goodbye and turned to look at all the bedlam that was going on around me. Kids and parents everywhere! It was a zoo, seriously! Right about when I was getting ready to head out Kenedy came out of her classroom and said she had to put her backpack in her locker. What?! Her locker is in a different building so we fast footed it to her locker and got her binder out and put the backpack in the locker. Apparently kids are not allowed to carry around the backpacks during school. Nobody told me this before hand so we were feeling really rushed and I personally was starting to feel overwhelmed with all the craziness going on. Got that done and I finally left the school. I got in my car and started driving away when I passed a police car parked by the side of the road. I am a kind person so I waved as I drove by. Then I saw him pull out, turn his lights on and yep I got pulled over. I was going 35 in a 20 mph school zone. Under normal circumstances I know the speed limit and I do follow I was just frazzled and overwhelmed with all that had happened already that morning and I neglected to pay attention. Of course I did not have my licence or the proof of insurance on the car. So I gave him my name and birthdate and he went to check my record. When he came back as soon as he opened his mouth I started to cry, so emotional,  he told me that he was not going to site me for anything that I just needed to be more careful. He was so nice and I am sure he understood my morning because I told him I was dropping of my sixth grader. This was my first time being pulled over since Kenedy was a baby and once he saw that I had a clean record he must have been willing to give me a second chance. I am still ticket free thank goodness!

So yeah my morning was all over the place. Hopefully we start getting used to this schedule and things will get better.

I have to say though it is nice to have 3 out of 4 kids in all day school! :o)

Zoo Boise 2011

The kids have been wanting to go to the Zoo for a long time. When they found out Kefford and I went for our anniversary there was a lot of no ways and no fairs going on. So I texted my good friend Candice to see if she and her kids wanted to join us and planned a date for the Zoo.

We arrived about half an hour before Candice and her kids were due to arrive so we found a spot by the rose gardens and ate our picnic lunch. Then the kids ran around and let out some energy while we waited. Finally our friends came and it was off to the Zoo.

Lindsey, Rylee, Ryker, Avynlea, Kenedy and Katherine

We paid a little bit extra with our admission so that we could go into the butterfly exhibit. When Avynlea went to the Zoo on a field trip with her class she was so disappointed that they did not get to go see the butterflies. So for Avynleas sake I let the kids go. It was really hot and super crowded inside the exhibit but the kids enjoyed the butterflies. Rylee got a little sad because Ryker and Kenedy had butterflies land on them and she could not get any on her. But she got over it pretty quick and was able to get up close to some.

Kenedys natural hair accessory!

The kids thought it was pretty cute when it was pointed out by Avynlea that she and Rylee were both wearing butterfly shirts.

A good time was had by all!

Happy 13!

July 11 was mine and Keffords 13 year anniversary! I cannot believe how fast the past 13 years have gone by! So much craziness and so much fun!

So on Monday I was hanging out with the kids when Kefford called to wish me Happy Anniversary. Such a sweetie. It was about 12:30-1:00 and after we hung up I knew we were probably going to go out to eat which was just fine with me. I love eating out, my favorite! But about 15 minutes later I heard the garage door open and when I went to investigate I saw Kefford pulling up with his sister Mikell and her little girl Brooke. What the what? Kefford took off from work early and brought Mikell to stay with the kids while he took me out for a day of fun and togetherness. First up was the zoo. Kefford and I have never been to the Boise Zoo together without a bunch of kids in tow. It was so fun to walk around and look at the animals without worrying where the kids were or what they were doing. Nobody complained about walking around too much, nobody complained about being too hot, nobody ran off with us having to hunt them down..it was great. When we first got their we decided to get a slushy and I got a hotdog with the works because I was hungry since I hadn't eaten lunch yet.

That is it for the picture taking that day but it's all good. After we left the zoo we walked over to the rose garden and walked through that for a while. Then we plotted about what to do next. We talked about going to a movie but their wasn't any movies playing we really wanted to see so we just drove into downtown Boise without a plan. Kefford needed to go drop off the title papers for my brothers scooter that we sold for him so we did that and then went and saw his cousin Coby who works downtown. After visiting with him for a couple of minutes we went to Zions bank to say hi to our friend Justin Woodward only to find out he switched locations. We needed to get back to our metered car so we decided against hunting him down.

We got in our car and headed to some sports and recreation stores to look fro items we needed for our upcoming trip to California. After that we decided we were hungry and after another debate decided to go to Chuck-A-Rama for dinner. It has been a long time since we have been to this buffet so we went and actually enjoyed it. We came home stuffed and that was that. I so much enjoyed this rare day alone with my husband and really appreciate the time off work he took for us.

Here are some reasons why I am glad Kefford made me marry him:

1. We are best friends. When we were first married I really could not honestly say that. I think I relied on him being my bestie a lot more then he did me. He had a super close relationship with his cousin and they were best friends. But as time went on Kefford and I grew more and more together and our relationship really changed. I know that I mean as much to him as he does to me and we are truly best friends.
2. He spoils me. Kefford is always doing little things to surprise me or let me know he loves me. From super grand trips to Australia to bringing me home a cupcake because I love them he is always so thoughtful of me. I have times where I am quick to complain in my head about him or start to feel neglectful but then just as quick I remember how much he does for me and I just love him all the more.
3. He knows how hard it is for me being away from my family and is generous in letting me have what little time I can have with them. I know it is not easy for him when I take a week by myself and go to California to see my family but he never complains. Just tells me to have fun.
4. He is such a great Dad. I am always amazed and humbled by his patience with our kids. I often think how much better he would be a being a stay at home Dad then me being a stay at home Mom. I love watching him interact with the kids and I know they know their Dad loves them so much.
5. He honors his Priesthood and fulfills his callings to the fullest. When he was given the call to be a member of the Bishopric I thought how lucky the Ward will be to have him in this calling. He has such a great Spirit and really goes out of his way to magnify his calling. He really cares about the people in our Ward and I am so grateful for the Spirit he brings into our home.
6. This man makes me laugh all the time. He is so funny and I love his humor.
7. He is a dang hard worker and does well providing for our family. My Dad was the best example for me in how hard he worked to provide for our family. Kefford definitely had a hard act to follow but follows it he does and just as hard!
8. He has so much patience with me and my crazy girl hormones. I cannot believe that he has not walked out on me and given up with the way my mood gets. But he is still around and that says a lot. (on a side note, I am really not that bad I am just trying to show that even though I get moody he is willing to still love me)
9. He is sooooo goodlooking! I love the way he looks!
10. He has expanded my horizons and got me to enjoy things I never thought possible. Hello Football!!
11. Is tolerant of my love of books and doesn't complain every time I bring a new one home. Although to be fair I am not entirely sure he is aware when I do bring a new book home. Ha!
12. I love that Kefford is a saver and unwilling to go into debt. If it were up to me I know we would be up to our eyeballs in debt and credit cards.  am not good with money at all. but Kefford is good with it and helps me to be able to keep a budget and save for things we need. I am so proud of him and what he does for our family...truly.
13. and last but not least I love Kefford for how he loves me. Amazing!!

Eagle Island and Lightening

I don't really have much to say about all of these pictures. Sometimes I just feel like nothing needs to be said.

We spent some time at Eagle Island this summer which we love. It is our own little beach away from our California beach and we will take whatever we can get at this point. We went on this trip with our friends the Warners and the Blackburns. I was able to take pictures of all the kids except Kenedy, that water baby spent most of her time out in the water playing.

Oh how I love Rylee and her goofy goggles!

There was a lightening storm in Meridian one night and while the rest of us were in bed sleeping Kefford took the opportunity to get some pictures of the lightening. I was super impressed with how well they turned out!

Swimming Lessons!

After taking last summer off of swim lessons for whatever lazy reasons at the time I signed all four kids up for two sessions this summer. One of my good friends on the ward has a daughter living in Nampa who taught swim lessons out of her backyard. I have not been impressed with the previous places we have tried so I decided to give this one a shot. Good thing I did because we all loved it so much. I saw such an improvement with my kids and was so impressed with how well they were doing in the water. I would totally recommend the Tuft Family Swimmers for anyone who is looking for good swimming lessons totally top notch.

I decided to get pictures of my kiddos jumping off the diving board. They all did really well on their own except for Rylee, she needed a little nudging. But they all did it and no fatalities to report..:o)

Memorial Day weekend in McCall

The monday before Memorial Day weekend I realized that it was almost Memorial Day Weekend. So I called up Kefford at work to find out if he had Monday off and once he confirmed that he did I told him we should see if the Cabin in McCall was available for use. So Kefford called up his family and upon finding out it was not going to be in use that weekend requested it for us. So Friday I picked the kids up a little bit early from school and off we went. On a side note Avynlea and Rylee both fell asleep about 10:30ish and I was contemplating whether I should wake her up and send her to school or not. She would only have been in school for about an hour before I would pull all the kids out of school and so I decided to have her stay home.Once she woke up I told her she was just going to stay home and she was fine with that but she really wanted to go to school to give her teacher a hug goodbye. I didn't let her do that but I thought it was sweet of her.

McCall was pretty rainy that weekend but we did find a nice bit of sunshine on Saturday to go hiking.

Ryker showed off how much fun it was to climb the little hills

My cute kiddos. Kefford brought up Rykers BB Gun and let him carry it around on our hike. It made me a little nervous because he was not the most careful while carrying the gun. But luckily nobody got hurt.

Rylee found a little frog that she picked up to show everyone. Once everyone was done looking I told her she needed to put it back down so that it could go back to living in the dirt. Avynlea then said that she could take care of it because her hands were already dirty. Avynlea is such a smart and silly girl!

Dirty Hands!

Kefford helped Rylee take a couple of shots with the gun.

She did pretty good with it.

Then Kefford had Rylee point out the pile of Elk Droppings. Gross but luckily her hand did not touch any of it.