Day 172 (6/21/11) - Happy 14th Jared

My little boy is growing up too fast. We headed over to Ehler's Longboards to get Jared a custom longboard skateboard. The guy makes them out of his garage in Huntington Beach and they are awesome!

Also, nothing says "Happy Birthday Jared" better than an In'n'Out burger.

Day 171 (6/20/11) - Water Polo Camp

First day of water polo camp for HBHS. Will he survive it? I'm not sure. He did not sleep last night because he was so nervous. Poor guy..he is almost 14 and should not have any issues with sleeping. Luckily the first day went well and he was proud that he didn't get yelled at by the coaches.

Day 170 (6/19/11) - Father's Day/Jared's Family Party

I would really like to blame the quality of my pictures on my camera. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it is user error or the fact that my eyes are going downhill with the rest of me. I am guessing I had the camera focused on Nick because he is the non-blurry one. That does have some meaning though because he will be leaving shortly for his mission. I also had to take a picture of my dad taking a picture. He is never in these family shots because he is always taking pictures. He is an awesome Dad and does so much for me and my family all of the time. I was really blessed in the Dad department.

Day 169 (6/18/11) - Eliza's Wedding

Today my niece Eliza was sealed in the Redlands temple to her sweetie. It was a nice ceremony and a beautiful day. Oddly enough, Matt became attached to Alex's family and we pretty much had to drag him out of the luncheon to go home.

Day 168 (6/17/11) - Modern Donna Reed?

Maelen is currently dating a guy just a bit taller than her which means she has had to retire her beloved three inch and more heels. Sacrifice. She came home from a job interview and was making something, but decided to stay in her heels because she gets to wear them so seldom. Love it.

Day 167 (6/16/11) - 8th Grade Graduation

My little boy graduated from 8th grade at Dwyer Middle School today. I can't believe he will be starting high school soon. As usual we were running late to the graduation, but luckily my parents got there early and saved us seats under a pop-up deal. It was awesome! The only thing that wasn't great was the sound system, which made it impossible to hear anything. However, when we got home, we could clearly hear Huntington High School's graduation ceremony.

Day 166 (6/14/11) - Flip Flops

Susie Price, you are my idol. I adore every crafty bit of you. Susie showed us some flip flops she made by tying water balloons on the straps. I found water balloons at the dollar store and decided Kendall needed a pair too. So cute.

Day 165 (6/14/11) - Kangaroo Paw

Kangaroo Paw. Love it. Love the name, love the color, love the texture, love everything about this plant.

Day 164 (6/13/11) - Family

After FIVE years, we finally had Matt's parents come visit us from Utah. Truth be told, they really needed Brad to do some dental work, but it was nice to have them come and stay with us.

Day 163 (6/12/11) - Oreo Truffles

Oreo truffles. Need I say more. Well ok, I'll say this....yum. We had chocolate to spare so we dipped oreos, carmels, and strawberries too.

Day 162 (6/11/11) - Yikes

Seriously? This is what Jared thinks is ok. My favorite is his bed making skills. I can't imagine sleeping in this thing. I told him I took pictures so I could show them to his fiancee when they are engaged and let him know what she is getting herself into.

Day 161 (6/10/11) - BYU Jigglers

Tonight is Emily's going away party! Wah! It's a party tradition to have Jell-o jigglers so we made BYU jigglers.

Day 160 (6/9/11) - California to go

My niece Emily is getting ready to go off to BYU. So exciting! I saw this bag on-line and decided it would be a fun bag for her to take with her. Hopefully she likes it?

Day 159 (6/8/11) - California Missions and More

See this cute girl in the pink bandana? When she was in Kindergarten, during performances she would turn sideways to avoid looking at the audience. She was so shy it was painful for her to be in anything in front of a crowd. Well that sure has changed. She now LOVES being in front of a crowd. This was the 4th grade play which we have seen before when Jared was in 4th grade. Grandma and Grandpa are always great supporters of everything the kids do so of course they were there. The last picture is Kendall and her buddies Amy, Mia and Brooke.

Day 158 (6/7/11) - Bread Fail

I was talking to our neighbor, Stan Krom, today and found out his son Marty had recently had hip replacement surgery and was staying with his parents while he recuperated. I decided to be a good neighbor and make some wheat bread to take over. I ground my wheat and loving made the loaves. Everything seemed to be going fine, however, once they were in the oven, something obviously went horribly wrong. They came out looking more like cracker loaves. Wah. Sorry Marty. Maybe next time.

Day 157 (6/6/11) - Grandma Stevenson

Today was my Grandma Stevenson's graveside service. This is a picture of some of her grandchildren singing at the service. We picked Matt up at the airport, after being in Utah for over a week for OCMCO, and headed out to Glendale. My brother, Bob, did a great job on the Eulogy. After we gathered at my parents house for lunch/dinner and to visit with my Aunt Donna and cousing Sterling and his family.

Day 156 (6/5/11) - If I can't find it, I'll make it

In planning for a bridal shower for one of my besties, I have become attached, no, obsessed with cake pedestals and tiered platters. Unfortunately, my budget limits me on what I can buy. This was a fun idea I found on-line. I bought two melamine plates at Target for about $2 a piece. Next I found a clear candlestick holder at the dollar store which I spray painted to match. I glued the whole thing together and voila! A tiered server. Not like the fancy schmancy ones I love, but this one is fun too.

Day 155 (6/4/11) - Saturday Pancakes

Somehow we got into the habit of having pancakes every Saturday. Probably because they take too much time on a school day. I get bored easily with old routines so sometimes we have to switch it up a little. Today we did heart shape. The kids like these because they get super fat and, well, darn it, they just look cute.

Day 154 (6/3/11) - She Does Windows

I was looking at the windows today feeling disgusted by how dirty they looked. Pool parties tend to do a number on your windows (see Memorial Day entry). Maelen offered to clean them for me and although it may have been some sort of master plan to get on my good side so she could take the car somewhere, I was happy to buy into it. It was such a beautiful day that she also got a little sun while doing the chore as well. So great to be able to see out the windows again.

Day 153 (6/2/11) - Reality

This is Jared's Spanish book. I received a text from Jared this morning asking me to bring his Spanish book so he can turn it in. It struck me as funny that the title is "Realidades" or realities because the reality is that 13-year-old boys are somewhat lacking in basic skills involving responsibilities or should I say responsibilidades?

Day 152 (6/1/11) - Poor Baby

Kendall had been out riding her bike and came in to tell me her fingers were hurting her. She didn't seem like it was too bad, so I didn't worry too much. After her shower, I noticed she had made a sling out of one of her baby blankets. Guess it was hurting her more than I thought. Funny thing is, looking at this picture later, she looks like she has a black eye too. I guess that's really not funny.

Day 151 (5/31/11) - Matt's Fender Bender

Matt had a little fender bender in the bank parking lot. This looks like barely any damage but ended up costing $488. Seriously? While Matt is away in Utah doing the thing he loves, I am here dealing with his car issues. Fun. I guess it's not as bad as when he was away in Europe and I was dealing with stolen laundry issues.

Day 150 (5/30/11) - Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day tradition is to have a BBQ/swimming party at our house. You never know what kind of weather you will get in May....especially this year. Luckily, this year was pretty good. The boys were playing some wild games so the girls stuck to the other end of the pool. After swim time, I got the grill going and made hamburgers and hot dogs. Jared's new thing is grilled Starburst, so everyone had to try that later. Well...not everyone.