Cj is Twenty and One!

Happy Birthday to my oldest daughter.....

she's 21 already!

boy, times fly when you're having fun!!!

twenty-one...

the new....

our house...

On Saturday Candice and Tyler brought over there new 4 month old pugle....

which is a pug and a beagle mix.

it was fun for Sadie and Zaylee to run around and play together.

we all just sat around and laughed at their cuteness.

I texted Cj to bring her back over today so that Spencer could met Zaylee,

she is a really cute pup with a lot of energy just like 4 month old little baby pup are.

So today,

Sadie being 4 years old (and being sush the older and wiser/lazier dog) is over Zaylee.... 

she just looks at her like "why are running around you crazy dog?"

but,

 I laugh cuz I remember when Sadie was a crazy baby dog...

I guess Zaylee is our new grand-dog!!!

Tyler's house...

the new kid in town...

Candice has a new friend.... his name is Tyler....

for the past 6 weeks they have been connected at the hip ; )...

he's a sweet kid... even our little dog likes him!
Saturday night we had a little smore party....

it was fun!


Sunday after dinner we played the new "clue" game
(per Lynzie)


When Candice is happy....  her parents are happy!

She has her Master's....

Guess who's a Master Esthetician?

THIS GIRL!!!

She took her state boards Monday and Tuesday

and passed with flying colors!

We are so proud of her!

Happy Twentieth...

 She spent her birthday

 in the place of her birth...

Charlottesville, Virginia

Happy Birthday Cj.

The season of the Siamese twins....

 During the next 6 months of their lives....

Candice and Caitlyn are in a phase or season of life where they are required to wear black scrubs everyday!

What are the chances of that???

Caitlyn is working in a dental office, training as a dental assistant,

and

Cj is going to school to be a Master Aesthetician..

which has been a fun little adventure for us as her family,

we've offered to be her guinea pigs for such things as facials, waxing, pedicures,

next up is chemical peels, botox and fillers....

(you don't have to twist my arm twice!)

it's a fun season to have siamese twins.
and we love them.

finally...

Candice is coming...... Candice is coming!!!

we've been waiting all day,

the excitement is better than Christmas for me,

we've been cleaning and getting everything ready for her,
I even sprinkled powder in her newly washed sheets,
so when she climbs into bed tonight, it will be just that much better for her to finally be home.

and

 we picked this bouquet of fresh flowers from our garden just for her! 

welcome home Candice Jean...

welcome home.

count 'em baby....

3 more days till Candice comes....

AND

4 more days till Caitlyn graduates!!!

.30 more days.....

.let the countdown begin...

97 days until Candice comes..... and 98 days until Caitlyn graduates!!!

she's not excited or anything.....

Happy 19th Birthday!!!

We love YOU and miss YOU and we will see YOU soon!!!

Happy Birthday baby girl!

Our Graduate Graduates...

Out of over 850 students graduating in the class of 2011....

there were 9 from our ward....

after i had a meltdown that morning in the bathroom while she was doing her hair,

I pleaded with her not to graduate, and she said "Mom it's a little too late"..........

so, then i started to plead with her not to go to college, and too just stay with us!!!

but, that girl has this crazy dream of leaving home, living on her own like an adult, and going to better herself with more knowledge and new friends!

whatever!

she graduated successfully!

my favorite parts of the evening;

hearing her name and watching her walk crossed the stage..

(and feeling the same butterflies that she did)

then they ask the parents to stand to be acknowledge in helping there graduates get to where they were.... I thought that was so sweet.

then they asked the grandparents to stand.....that's when I lost it, as i turned and watched Peggy stand, she was there when Cj was born and at ever other milestone in her life.

then,

they ask the great-grandparents to stand! WOW!!!

it was nice to have grandma and the great there!

oh, and it's so nice when little sisters boyfriends come for support too!!!

.

over the moon

guess who got accepted to the college that she wanted!?!

.

'the gink'

It's birthday week for this one....

~Candice J~

I can't believe she'll be turning 18 years old this Saturday.

my head believes it, but my heart can't,

it's too much to take in,

I've been thinking a lot about her and her 18 years of life since last week,

we've been laughing at some of the funny things we remember about her when she was little.

I have mixed emotions,

it's so fulfilling to watch your daughter grow up and yet,

you just want to keep them tiny forever.

she was the cutest little "gink"

somehow Kurt deemed her that a very young age,

it was just her...she was so "ginky" and cute!

cutest picture ever...

(cousin Lauren, Caitlyn, and Cj)

I have so much to blog about,

so many thoughts to write down

and back blogs to publish,

but

I'm in a small rut right now,

and, I'm afraid I won't do it justice.

I'm trying to climb out...

I had a neat experience on Sunday that is helping

and I want to blog about that later too.

but in the meantime,

I'm going to take a little morning nap

cuz

it was one of those nights last night and I was awake until 4.am.

happy napping.

Welcome Home....

It's so nice to have Cj home again...

now that she's back with us, i feel complete,

she's had a fun adventure being a foreign ex-change student for the past 5 months,

she's been telling us stories, and we've been laughing at her adventures...

blog ya later!

our foreign ex-change student

I'm not goin' to lie,

I have a pit in my stomach,

.

.

I just bought an airplane ticket for Candice,

she's flyin' on a jet plane in exactly 10 days,

she's going to be a foreign exchange student,

in Vernal.........Utah!

(yes, because it will be foreign to her!)

She has the opportunity to go to school for the last quarter

with her cousins and live with my sweet sister and totally get spoiled by all my family!

I'm excited for her, I really am, and I've felt good about our decision to let her go,

I'm excited for the opportunities that she'll have there, that she can't experience here....

but, now that it's really here, and the ticket is bought, it's reality!

I'm going to miss her so much, and it will make me homesick but happy at the same time!

It's just so weird to me that she's growing up.....

and sad... sad that she's not my little "gink" anymore,

with her squeaky voice and blond curly hair,

now she's old enough to adventure out and about in the big world

and

I don't know if I'm ready for that!!!!

sigh...

Shhhh......it's a surprise!!!

We had a fun surprise birthday party for Candice and Caitlyn this weekend....

It's always fun when you can pull off a surprise, which we did!

but I can't believe

I have a sweet 16 & sassy 17 year old daughters....

We spent the day at the Fun Zone Park, and by the day, I mean 10 hours of birthday fun!

Happy Birthday Candice and Caitlyn!

C.j. turns 17....

We surprised Candice with decorating her car this morning before school...

the freeked out father...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANDICE JEAN!!!

our week in review....

It's been a fast, busy week, they always seem to be.... huh!

and of course, Kurt is gone on a "dove hunting business trip",

and yes, I have about 20 doves in my freezer....and nope, it doesn't even freak me out!

So, my busy week starts last Saturday when Candice was playing around with the football and of course, broke her little finger, but, at least, it was a really cute boy who threw her the ball!

she didn't even cry, (at least not that day!) for 2 days we just thought it was jammed,

but it was a little more black & blue and swollen, and she just kept ice on it.

Then on Monday I took her into my chiropractor for x-rays, and yep broken, which he makes a comment "Oh, it should be fine, it's just a good thing your not a professional flute player"-----Oh, small problem, she is and wants to be!

So then I call an orthopedic doctor and we were able to get it set and casted.

Candice was fine until she realized it was broken and then the reality of her marching band season flashed before her eyes,

Because of her flute playing she only will wear this cast for 2 weeks and then a splint, if they leave it on too long her finger will be too stiff and won't bend,

a whole new problem we don't want...

so, she's doing pretty good until she has a reaction to her pain killers!

more drama, and then she gets so overcome by exhaustion, and her body is trying to heal itself and just can't keep up, she gets so sick, poor Candice, not her best week! which is so understandable with the schedule that she keeps, she wakes up at 4:45 am and is constantly running and I really mean running non-stop, until 10 or 11 pm.

Teenagers these days have so much more pressure than I did when I was that age, it's amazing to watch her mature into a young women, but not so amazing to watch her run ragged!

I am grateful for this 3 day weekend, she will be able to catch up on herself and rest.

....

In other news, Caitlyn, Spencer and Lynzie are doing good, just adjusting to school,

it's been so nice that I am off from work for a few more weeks, I have really enjoyed the down time, but, not having a paycheck is kind-of tough, I've been so spoiled with always having money,

I'm not use to not having any!

....

We are loving our little Sadie, it's been so fun to watch each person in the family interact with her and to watch them love her, and I want to say that she is potty-trained but I know the minute I do,

I will jinx it.....so, just knock on wood!

she's been a really good addition to our family, (just what I hoped and prayed for) and then, I think "why didn't we get her sooner"?

and then I realize, it wouldn't have worked sooner, there is always a time and place and season for such things.

....

I am loving this weekend, I took a long nap today,

and am just sitting with Kurt watching B.Y.U. play OU.....Caitlyn enjoyed the BYU football fireside last night! and just knowing that Monday we all have it off, no school schedules, and no lunches to make, we are playing to go swimming for the last time before all the pools close for the season,

ohhh, closing of the pools :(

Happy Labor Day!