Tayvia's Baptism

I got these text messages from Brit and reading through them I seem pretty calm and ok with speaking at my sweet nieces baptism. But I was really shaking my head and saying "noooooo, why meeeee??" I do not enjoy public speaking and I especially did not want to public speak in front of Kefford's family, it is just too intimidating. But I said yes and I had to do it and I found a really great talk idea using a Rainbow and the colors of the Rainbow to illustrate the different aspects of Baptism. I made a Rainbow out of poster board and had the pictures and sayings that I was going to use cut out and ready to go with tape already on them. I knew I was going to be nervous and didn't want to have to fumble with the tape. Turned out that was a smart preparation decision. I was so scared as I was up there talking my hands were shaking uncontrollably, I don't know if they have ever shook that bad, I was shaking like a wet chihuahua sitting in the shade it was so bad. I really thought I was going to knock down my display and in hindsight I should have had one of my girls up there helping by putting the pictures on the display for me. 

I got through it and I didn't die but it was difficult. I got nothing but compliments after and I was just glad to be done. Tayvia looked beautiful in her Baptism dress and I am glad we could be there to watch her become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ

Ryker was not at the Baptism because he went with his friends and the Verona Ward to Pine Top for their annual Mens camping trip. I am so glad that he is still included in this campout and I know he loves going and being with his friends whom he doesn't see very often.

Social Butterfly Rylee

Kefford's Dad was set apart as a Temple Sealer which I think is pretty neat and I have been hoping for years that it would happen. Grandpa Farrell was a Temple Sealer and he sealed Kefford and I and I think it's could that my kids Grandpa can now seal them to their eternal companions. On a Thursday night Kefford and I met Bob and Alison, Whitney and Dustin, Kylie and Andrew and Kelsey and Brit at the Temple so we could do dealings. It was nice having Bob do the Sealing's, he did a great job and was made for the calling.

While we were gone my kids were watching Kinsley and Lainey and Rylee snapped a couple of pictures of herself with her little cousin Kinsley, such cuties.

Rylee has been hanging out with her group of friends a lot and it has thrown me for a loop. I have never known Rylee to be so social and have been really surprised with all the socialness she has been doing. I was especially taken back when she went with her friends to the Village to do some shopping. This is not the Rylee I know! I am glad she is steping out of her comfort zone and getting out more however I was not surprised when after such a heavy friends weekend that she needed the next week to decompress and have some time alone at home.

Rylee, Ella and Baylee

Why do we always do this?

Avynlea has been having flairups with her eczema and I took a picture of her arm so I could send it to my Dr friend Sue. Sue dropped off some eucrisa to use on her arm and it has really help a lot. Rylee wanted me to take a picture of the scratches she injured on her stomach from one of her sisters. Names will be withheld to protect the injuring oldest sister.

Often times in church we have to separate Avynlea and Rylee from each other because they tend to get loud with their shenanigans. I thought it was amusing to see Rylee playing a game of Dots with herself as the opponent because she had to sit by herself. Avynlea was harassing her while I was trying to take a picture thus the reason for the looks.

We watched some of "Saturdays Warriors" Sunday night and I had to take a picture of this scene so I could send it to heather. We started doing this years and years ago with each other and still do it to this day. 

Kefford and I were ordering a custom made entry table and were trying to pick a stain that would go with the wood we had in our house. We had decided on a darker color mixed with grey and then when I got home I sent her pictures of the wood around the area we would have it in so she could make sure it would work. 

For Relief Society this Sunday we had a red letter day! We met in the gym and had a lesson on mental health while we were fed cinnamon rolls and fruit. I have to admit that the mental health lesson didn't do it for me, it just skimmed the surface when I think they should/could have gone into a deeper dive. The best part was the treats and I would be ok with that happening every week.

Two: ThreeO Cheer Competition

I love that Kara used this cool picture of Avynlea in her Pyramid to invite others to come support our girls at their competition on Instagram.

Meridian High hosted the Two: ThreeO Cheer competition this year and so us cheer Moms had to put in a lot of work. We had 32 teams sign up to come and compete and to put it in perspective for us at the TVCI Competition there were 12 teams. We did concessions and had Vendors come in, we had Dutch Bros bring in their truck and I asked my friend Michelle if she wanted to bring their Kettle Korn truck which she did. It was such a busy and long day, I have never been to a cheer competition that lasted this long. It started at 8, obviously we were there much earlier doing setup, and it Awards were done close to 5, again we stayed later cleaning up and taking stuff down. It was such a busy day but I was happy to be there to support my cheerleader and I was so grateful my Cheer Mom Besties were there to spend the day with and make it more fun. 

Carrie, Amy, Diana and I worked the first shift in the concessions and it wasn't too busy, I think it was too early for people to really be thinking about food and a lot of people walked in with Dutch Bro's so that was good business.

Carrie, Elizabeth, Amy and Diana

Cheer Mom Besties

Towards the end of the competition I was thinking that I didn't take too many pictures and that was ok. I took a couple during Avynlea's performance but not too many. So I was thinking this was going to be a short post picture wise but then the end of the Competition came and I took lots of pictures at that point and then Avynlea airdropped me some pictures she took and then I got pictures Kara took and posted on Instagram so this short low on picture post is now a long high on picture post. :)

J/V only had one routine in the Competition which was in the Show category and they did awesome! Last time they had some falls but this time every stunt stayed up and these girls looked so good, I was pretty proud and they were so much fun to watch!

Avynlea did an amazing job but after the performance was really down on herself. She has been working for the past 9 months on getting her round off back hand spring and really wanted to throw it in competition. She has been practicing and working on it and has it but does not have the mental confidence and just can't do it without one of her coaches standing by her. She decided that she wasn't going to do it at the last competition and made the goal to throw it in this one. The week before she had a really bad week with her tumbling and kept messing it up. She got way too into her head and just couldn't get it. She has been praying for it and Kefford gave her a blessing the night before Comp that she would be able to do it but in the end she was just too scared and decided during their warm up not to do it. So even though she did everything perfect in her routine she was really upset with herself that she couldn't do the Back Hand Spring. I could see her sitting up in the stands after her routine crying with sweet Natalie's arm around her giving her comfort. When she finally came over to where us Mom's were sitting I put my arm around her and just gave her encouragement. She has made a new goal to have it for Tryouts and I know she can do it. She has it, she has done it so many times she just has to believe in her self and break the wall down of being scared.

We took another picture of us Mom's and this time we had Dreya's Mom, Griselda, with us. I love that our kids are such good friends and that us Mom's are also becoming such good friends!

These are the pictures Avynlea sent me. When Avynlea made the team they were given a list of cheer items we had to buy and then a very short list of additional items they had the option to get if they wanted to. Avynlea wanted the Backpack, sports bra and a hoodie off the optional list. One of the other items was a baseball tee which some girls got but Avynlea did not. About a month ago Avynlea was given a baseball tee which we did not pay for or order. I thought it was a mistake and that is belonged to someone else but it has Avynlea's name on it and her graduation year. So weird. Hailey got one also that she didn't order. I don't know where the mistake happened but the girls are happy for it and love wearing it. Dreya has one also which I believe she did order and pay for and so the three girls like wearing them together. 

I did all three of their braids that morning and thought I did a pretty good job. In addition to their braids I also did two other girls braids, Alexa's and Alyssa's. I like braiding and I like that I could help out so many of the girls.

Kara's pictures taken off of Instagram

During awards J/V won first place in their category, it wasn't a surprise because once again they were the only J/V team competing. I don't know what happened to all of the other teams, it's a little frustrating because while it is fun to win first it would have been nice to see some competition and where they stacked up. They had definitely improved from their first showing so in the competition against themselves they were winners!

Avynlea, Hannah, Hailey and Dreya

Co-Captains Avynlea and Emma D (Pam)

Avynlea, Hailey and Dreya

Avynlea's stunt group

Hailey, Maddie, Emma D and Avynlea

Saturday Tumbling Besties!

Natalie, Dreya, Landon, Hailey, Avynlea and Paige

Me and my cheerleader

I sure do love her!!

SweetHearts

Saturday night Ryker went on his Sweethearts date with Lucy. Since it was girl ask guy she came to pick him up and I knew she was short because Ryker had told us but I was super surprised by how short she really was. She looked like his little sister, it was pretty funny. I got a text that morning while I was at the cheer competition from Ryker that we forgot to get her a corsage. Oh No! I can't believe we forgot! I told Ryker to call Albertsons to see if he could get one ordered and he was able to and Kefford went and picked it up for him. Kefford was shocked by the price, about $25, which was my reaction the first time I had to buy one, shocked, welcome to my world buddy! I was just glad that Ryker remembered that he needed to get one and that he had enough time to get one. The could have been bad. When she came and picked him up I started to get the corsage out so Ryker could put it on her but she said they were going to do that when they took pictures. No worries, I put it back in its container, took a picture of the two of them and sent them on their way.

Ryker sent me the pictures from their little photo shoot and I was happy to get them.

Because of their height difference they had Ryker sit on the hearth for their pictures while she stood next to him. I find it hilarious that he is still taller then her even when sitting down and she is in heels!

Brandon, Ryker, Erik, Tanner, 

Kate, Lucy, Jordan, Shandel

Happy 20th Birthday Kenedy!

Kenedy is 20! Kenedy wasn't up when I left to go sub a dance class but Avynlea left her a Happy Birthday sign and I made blueberry muffins for her for breakfast. I forgot to take a picture before I left of the muffins and the set up and when I got back of course the muffins were gone along with Kenedy who had to work that morning. Welcome to adulthood, working even on your birthday! I took a picture of the setup anyway because it was cute and it is easy to imagine the muffins are there.

After Kenedy got done with working in the child center at the YMCA we met up at Costa Vida so I could treat her to a Birthday lunch. I had a lot of fun being with just her and I am so glad she was home this year on her Birthday so that we could celebrate with her. More fun for us maybe not so much for her ;)

While waiting for everyone to get home for dinner Kenedy took her sisters and made the rounds to as many Dutch Bro's as she could to get her free drinks. They came home with four drinks one for each of them and one for me. Dutch Bro's gives you a free drink on your birthday but you only get one at each place. Lucky for those like Kenedy  there are a million Dutch Bro's in the area because each one will give you a free birthday drink. She can't drink all of them so it is fun to share them with family.

After dinner she took Ryker and they hit up another one so she could get one for him. What a great sister!

For dinner Kenedy requested her favorite dinner which is Chicken Bruschetta Pasta and I made rolls to go with it. She loved it and was super happy when there were leftovers because I said all of the leftovers were for her!

After dinner Kenedy got to open her Birthday gifts. She asked for scrunchie hair scarves and I found the mother load on Amazon, I love Amazon! 

She also got money from her Grandma Bonnie and Grandma Alison, a small drink blender, different treats, sunglasses...

Avynlea found her a Gilligan's Island cookie jar that plays the theme song when you open the lid. She found it at a thrift store and even had a dance ready for when Kenedy opened the lid. It was pretty cute. Gifts and a show what more could a new 20 year old want or need!?

Kenedy also got a new pair of Vans that she has been wanting. Too cute!

Las but certainly not least Kefford got her a picker upper for the days when she is feeling just too lazy or too old to bend over. Hahaha

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl! We love you!!

5 things I love about Kenedy

1. Kenedy has some big life decisions on her plate to be making and I love that she is thoughtful about them and really trying to listen to the Spirit so she can know what Heavenly Father wants her to do. She really wants to make the best decisions for her life and she is going about it the right way.  I think one of Kenedy's spiritual gifts is her ability to feel the Spirit and know when Heavenly Father is talking to her. I know she will be able to use that gift to help her throughout her life.
2. Kenedy made a New Years goal to attend the Temple every day that it was open in January. This took a lot of planning but she was able to accomplish it and I know her life will only be better because of that service. She has a testimony of attending the Temple and though she has stopped going every day she still makes time for it at least once a week. I love that she loves going to the Temple and that she is instilling righteous habits while she is young that will only serve to help her as she continues to grow.
3. I love how much fun Kenedy is. She is a super social person and I admire that quality in her because I am not. She is really funny and I love being with her because she makes me laugh. She will play games with me and that makes me happy. I love that she loves to play CodeNames and SkipBo because it is fun to play together.
4. I love that Kenedy wants to include me in so much of her life. When she is away at school she calls and texts to let me know how she is doing and it is so fun to chat with her. I love that she comes and talks to me about decisions she has to make or troubles she is having and genuinely wants my advise. We have good long talks and I love that she is one of my best friends!
5. She is really generous with her things. I love that she is always willing to let me, Avynlea and sometimes Rylee borrow her clothes or accessories. It is fun to have her home for a while because it expands all of our closets. She dresses really cute and has really good taste so borrowing things from her closet is fun. 

Sweethearts Invite

Ryker got asked to Sweethearts! A box of cereal was left on our doorstep with a note and he had to look inside the box to find the name of the askee. It was Lucy, a friend of his from school!

A couple of days later Ryker still hadn't responded and I think the poor girl was freaking out. Their friend Chandell had to text Ryker to remind him he had to answer her. Ryker was having a hard time coming up with a creative response so we created a creative panel to get the job done LOL

Matthew, Bre, McKinnlie (Bre's little sister), Kenedy, Jesse (Kenedy's boyfriend who was in town for the weekend) and I all helped Ryker figure out his response. Kenedy bought a box of PopCorn to leave on her doorstep and we came up with a saying...

"This may seem CORNY 

but let's have a real

POPPING good

time at Sweetheart's"

Cute and effective

Ryker wanted me to take him to deliver it that night but when I found out she lived in Kuna I told him it was going to have to wait until Monday. Kefford and I were going to Kuna Monday evening to look at a Console we want to have built for our entry way and I wasn't going to make an extra trip out there. I had him text Chandell to let her know to tell Lucy our plans and we called it good.

On Monday evening after we looked at and ordered our entry way console Kefford and I drove to Lucy's house. She lives off the busy road and it was not going to work to try to be sneaky and doorbell ditch the response so Kefford walked it up to the door and hand delivered it to her Mom. Mission accomplished

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day I made my family Oreo Truffles and left them for them n the counter along with love notes on reasons why I loved them and candy from their Grandma Bonnie and Grandma Alison. This year I also found bigger tubs of Cotten Candy at War-Mart and I bought one of those for each of them as well. They love Cotten Candy and I was pretty excited when I saw the bigger versions for them.  Rylee wanted to make pink pancakes for everyone for breakfast which was super sweet and she also made everyone a Valentine Card. This year Kefford and I decided to forego the gift exchange and dinner out that we would normally do on this holiday of love and instead get us both something for the house. We have a list of things we want to buy for our house and one of the items is a entryway console. We think that will be a better gift for us and it will last a lot longer then dinner out.  We don't have it yet but are on the hunt for the perfect entryway addition!