The Torbit Times

December activities

2012-01-14T18:18:00.001-08:00

We are back in business with the blog. I have actually downloaded December's photos and even figured out how to get them here, now let's just hope I can keep things going. December was of course full of all the wonderful festivities of the Christmas season. This is just some of the beginning of the month happenings.

The lights are one of my favorite things and so I like lots of them on my house. Jordan says were are a bit overboard but I like it. This was this year's display. I would love to do the roofline but Ken is not willing to risk life and limb to get a ladder that will reach that high. For now I have to be content for the lights around the perimeter of the lawn. My "JOY" was made by Ken.

This is the finished product on the tree. We were a bit lazy with the tree this year. I didn't even get the star on top. We started out alright getting it early, but then it sat outside, then in the stand and finally we got the ornaments and lights on it. At that point I just wanted the decorating done and the boxes put away. I think it's still pretty and we'll try again next year.

Every year the kids get a new ornament that is usually representative of something they were interested in that year. Paige's ornament was "Edward and Bella" of the Twilight saga. We'll see what she thinks of that 20 yrs from now.

Lexi is hanging one of our ornaments from our Disney adventure early in the year but her personal ornament was Rapunzel from Tangled. One of her favorite's.

Taylor looks wonderful but I had to catch him while I could. He was in the midst of car repairs and came in to wash his hands. His ornament was Spiderman. He loves Marvel and DC comics and this was perfect.

Jordan got a nod towards his love of Star Wars with a Hans Solo/Boba Fett ornament.

Taylor turned 20. Taylor has left behind the teen years but not necessarily moved into adult mode. He stills loves to skateboard, play xbox, hangout and tease his sisters. I think the proper saying is "boys may get older but they never grow up!!"

Last year that Taylor can use just his hands and feet to show how old he is.

One of our favorite traditions is to attend a local Christian church's "Journey to Bethlehem". This is a live nativity that you walk through as if you were part of the travelers making their way to Bethlehem when Jesus was born. We have been doing this for several years and it is a great way to focus on what the Christmas season is all about. Unfortunately Ken was gone the weekend the program was on but we went with good friends and enjoyed a wonderful time. They had to make some adjustments since we have had a burn ban in effect and they usually have pit fires in the ground along the path. They moved the program to the front of their property and had contained fires in metal fire pits above ground. They fires are usually a necessity for warmth, both for the travelers and the actors.

Both of the girls had their band Winter concerts. I love to hear the kids perform and it's always a great experience for them to perform for a large audience. Paige got to play the bells, bass drum and Timpani for their different numbers.

Getting the Christmas tree. We have always had a live tree and make the annual stop at Home Depot to pick it out. It's funny to look back on our pictures because some years we are bundled up and freezing and other years we are in shorts and t-shirts. The fun of winter in Texas, you never know exactly what you will get. This year Lexi took the camera so you can tell I was actually there. We really liked the shape of our tree, it was taller and not quite so full at the base.

I'm still here

2011-12-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

This won't be the most exciting post but we are still here. After battling a computer virus and problems we broke down and got a new computer. Only problem is there is a BIG learning curve for me and I feel like I have taken many steps back. Frustrating. The other problem is my pictures are still on the other computer. So hopefully we will get everything together and we'll be back in business soon. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year and we'll be back after the holidays.

Sept

2011-11-27T06:22:00.000-08:00

We have had some major computer probs the past month, so it compounded my delinquency in posting. I figured I will give highlights from the past couple of months.

Paige turned 15. I can't even believe that she already that old!!! Time goes way too fast and she is such a beautiful young woman!!! She is raring to get her learner's permit and drive. (I am definitely not ready for that!!) She had to go to school so she is decked out in her birthday regalia to let everyone know it was her special day. We also had the band bash that evening so her birthday got sandwiched between the activities. Seems like that is the way life is going lately, craziness.

No, Paige did not get a car for her birthday. Ken had a rental from a trip and the girls decided they wanted to enjoy the photo op. Just the thought is scary!!!

WE GOT RAIN!!! It's weird that this is so exciting but we have been in severe draught conditions with no rain for months. We finally got a real rain storm! It didn't make a significant dent in the need but the kids had a good time running around in it for a while.

We went to a Astros game. A friend had 4 tickets they weren't going to use so we went. We didn't think it would be very good since the Astros had a terrible season with something like 100+ losses. We played the Colorado Rockies and WON!! We said we brought them good luck, Hah!! but it was a good time.

Maria turns another year older. The end of Sept is my birthday and despite my age I wanted the 2011 American Girl doll. No matter how I get I love dolls. I usually don't indulge but this one was from Hawaii. My family thinks I'm a bit loony but she is beautiful and I love it!!

Denae and Joel's wedding

2011-10-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

The beginning of Sept we flew to California for a quick weekend to be there for my niece Denae and her fiance, Joel's wedding. They were sealed in the Los Angeles temple. We left Wed evening and got there in time to enjoy a bit of the the bridal shower, Thurs was a family dinner with both families, which is a lot of people and then they were married on Fri. It was a beautiful day and we are so glad we were able to be together to support them and their families. The beginning of forever for Denae and Joel.

Paige and Lexi waiting outside for the bride and groom to come out

The handsome guys, Ken, Taylor and Jordan

I even got everyone together for a family shot

The beautiful new bride and groom

Denae wanted a peacock feather theme for her reception. The cake was a topsy turvy with the feathers and orchids.

This was my sister's backyard where the reception was held. It was very nice when the sun went down. Very warm before that. There was yummy taco bar, great music and of course wonderful family and friends to share the joy with. Heather did a beautiful job planning all the details to make it great.

For dessert Denae had a candy bar. There were chinese take out containers that the guests could fill with their choice of goodies. The hard part was keeping the kids from continually grazing so the other guest could enjoy also.

The girls and I at the reception. This was Paige's turn at the guest book

Before the open house the next day we had cousin pool time at Galante's. The kids filled up the water weinie and it took them all to hold it up. It was a quick but fun weekend

Paige in Marching band

2011-10-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

Paige has been involved in the jr. high band for the past 3 yrs. playing percussion. With the start of high school comes marching band, YEAH!!! This is not just learn some music and play in the stands. The schools each have a 1/2 time show that is very intricate with movement of the band members in different formations with each music movement

As a percussionist Paige had many instruments to choose from but she is partial to the xylophone. She is actually playing the vibraphone for this marching band season. She had a special percussion camp the last of July and summer marching started Aug 1st. This is 6-8 hrs/day with a break midday. She may not have to march but she still had to stand in the 100+ degree heat and play. The commitment of these students is incredible. Going from jr high to high school has been a huge leap and it is amazing to watch the show these students put on. Paige was overwhelmed and never thought she could memorize all that music to begin with but now she plays it with no problem.

This is the kids outside practicing. Paige is on the far right by the black box. The kids are not locked in, they practice in a student parking lot that is striped off like a football field so they know where to go for their part. I'm on the outside so I don't distract Paige (that's her version of it)

Getting set for the 1st game. The kids didn't have to wear their marching uniforms because it was still 100+ and the band directors didn't want to add heat exhaustion into the mix of everything. Paige is front and center right below the drum major's stand. She plays the 1st notes that start out the show.

This is a partial overview of the band. Paige is on the silver vibraphone to the left of the drum major's stand. It's cooled off to the 80's so the kids where their uniform now.

This is Paige after an all day band competition. After their performance the band boosters fed the kids and then it was more fun with a football game. It made for a very long and tiring day, for kids and parents alike

It has been really fun to see how much Paige is enjoying band. She has gone from being tentative and unsure to very confident about what she is doing. She has made lots of friends and hasn't even complained about the long practice hours and heat. I look forward to the next 6 years-that's with both Paige and Lexi through high school

1st day of school

2011-10-03T05:28:00.001-07:00

August 22, 2011 was the 1st day of school. Lexi in 7th grade and Paige starting high school in 9th. We do our traditional pictures out front. Both girls were excited with their new clothes, ready for a new exciting year. Paige had already been busy with marching band so she knew quite a few kids already. Lexi had gotten her schedule and gotten to check out the classes. Great things are to come!!

Lexi

Paige

Our morning carpool

25 year anniversary

2011-09-23T09:19:00.001-07:00

As of Aug 16th Ken and I have been married 25 years. Since this is a big milestone for anniversaries we wanted to do something special. When we were married I did not know where we were going for our honeymoon. Ken planned it and told me what type of clothes to pack and it was awesome. (I like good surprises). So we decided on a repeat. Ken planned a celebration, told me what kind of clothes to pack and we headed out. I'll admit I did try and figure out where we were headed. My hints were it was for 5 days (thought cruise) and 75 degrees. (threw out cruise idea and thought mountains). We left in the wee hours on Aug 13th and headed to the airport. Finally when we checked in I got a further hint. First 3 letters of destination-New. Aha!! New York. I was very excited, since we had gone in December and it was freezing. I looked forward to seeing the city in warmer weather. 75 degrees seemed a bit cool though...

Gate showing our destination, or so I thought.

Ken cashed in some frequent flier miles and upgraded us to 1st class. Very nice and very relaxing! They even fed us a real meal!!

When we got to New York we got a cab and headed out. I'm thinking we're headed to New Jersey and we'll go to the city by bus. This is where we ended up. Now I'm confused. Ken says we're doing a ferry cruise around Staten Island. Still believing the story at this point. We get to the terminal and all I see is signage for Carnival cruises. Finally, DUH!!! We're going on a cruise!! But why did we fly to New York? Still didn't know where we were headed.

It wasn't until we got to the cabin and I saw the itinerary that I found out we were on a 5 day cruise to St. John New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. So I was partially good on my guessing. Ken had picked somewhere neither of us had been and that was cooler weather. After Houston's 100+ heat we were ready for a break!!! We were a day at sea, then St. John, then Halifax, another day at sea and then back to New York.

Heading out of New York with Lady Liberty leading the way.

It was a wonderful, relaxing and cooler trip. It was so nice to just let someone else take care of the basics. I don't think I've hung out that much in a long time. We were checking out the shore excursions and while there were a few that looked interesting we decided to go with the Big Pink bus, where their motto is "Hop on, Hop off" For one fee you can ride the bus around different routes in the city and get off when you want and catch the next bus when you want to continue on your way. We got to see things at our leisure and the tour guides told us about the city as we went along. We did this in both St. John and Halifax.

Ken and I in front of one of the natural wonders of St. John. In the Bay of Fundy as the tides go in and out the falls reverse direction. We went back in the afternoon to see the phenomenon. Mother Nature is pretty interesting. Notice I even got to wear a jacket-in August. Unbelieveable.

This was some street art Ken decided to be a part of. A couple of people walked by and had to look twice. Goofy guy!!

As we came into Halifax, after being delayed by thick fog, the sun came out and there was this charming lighthouse. It's a necessity in this area.

Ken and I on our anniversary while we were waiting for a show to start.

Coming back into port in New York in the early morning. It was a great trip and unfortunately reality hit immediately after touch down in Houston. It's been 25 wonderful years with my best friend and looking forward to many, many more. He can plan the trip anytime!!

Jordan's toys

2011-09-23T09:06:00.001-07:00

"The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys" This is so true and Jordan loves toys. Jordan also loves Halloween, so just a month and a half ago he started plotting part of his contribution to the decorations for this year. He purchased a skeleton online and began making it into a corpse. He is very imaginative in his material usage and it will be interesting to see what it looks like when he is done. I'll post a finished product later. In his search for skin material he checked out the dollar store and found a vuvuzela (the obnoxious horn blown at many sporting events) and added that to his toy collection. We have mandated outdoor usage only. Sorry neighbors.

This toy was not purchased at the dollar store. Jordan did extensive "research" and decided for his computer to go for the iMac. So now he is enjoying playing with this toy also. The hard part is realizing that some toys come with a big price tags and mommy and daddy aren't buying the toys anymore. Isn't it fun being an adult?!!!

July 2011

2011-09-07T05:41:00.001-07:00

Since I am so far behind on blogging I was lazy and put most of our July activities in one post so lots of pics.
The end of July Ken's family had a family reunion in southwestern Colorado where Ken's dad was raised. Because of the timing Lexi was our only child able to go with us. She thought it was great to be the only child for a week. On the way home she told us it was kind of boring being the only child. Easy way to learn the grass isn't always greener. Anyway, we drove to Colorado which was about 16 hrs from our home. It was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the cooler weather and mountains. You don't think about what you miss until you're in the midst of it. We got to meet quite a bit of Ken's family who we (Lexi & I) had never met. His dad's brothers, cousins and families. Lexi was one of the few "younger" ones. There was time to ourselves as well as activities as a group.

Ken, Lexi and I just before taking off back to Texas.

One of the group activities was going to see Summitville. This was a mining town that Ken's grandpa worked at. It is no longer operating but amazingly many of the old structures are still standing. Ken's dad spent several years here as a kid and is a great storyteller of his experiences and tour guide. This is Ken, his sisters and dad. One of the events of the weekend was Ken's dad was celebrating his 80th birthday.

We stayed in this cute little cabin while in Colorado. It had a kitchenette even.

One day Ken, Lexi and I went hiking. At first Lexi wasn't too excited about the whole idea, wanting to know what the purpose of walking up a mountain was, but gradually got into the whole experience. It was beautiful along the way and we had a goal to make it above 9,000 feet elevation. This was at the highest point we went.

On July 21st Ken celebrated his 46th birthday. Luckily Paige only put enough candles to spell out the numbers, we would have needed a fire extinguisher if there were actually 46 candles.

We spent a day down at Galveston with good friends. It was nice and relaxing and the kids all had a good time. Jordan got to make good use of his skim board. Taylor was in California so he missed out.

The girls and some of their friends just hanging out.

Jordan on the skim board

Lexi decided that she wanted to cut her hair off after seeing a girl in the airport with a haircut she liked. She had been growing it out and had been aiming for the middle /bottom of her back. The stylist was a bit hestitant to just go for it, but Lexi assured her she wouldn't cry when she was done.

Before

After-I think it's a great cut and looks really cute on her. You can see-no tears

One of the things we worked on this summer was teaching Lexi to sew. I had taught Paige a couple of years ago and even bought material with Lexi last year but hadn't sat down and followed through. So this was the year. She did a great job, made herself a pair of pj shorts-of a modest length, of course. She is anxious to try something else soon.

The finished product.

The beginning of July the girls and I headed to California. We had planned on being there with my sisters to go through some of my mother's things. A big job became huge when the plan changed to my youngest sister and her husband and 3 children moving in with my dad while my brother in law attends nursing school. They had to take their full house and add it to my parents already full house and make it a place where everyone could still function. There was LOTS of packing, rearranging, and purging and we did a huge garage sale at the end to sell much of the excess. My sister and her husband had already done a ton, but there was still lots to do so we got busy. It was not only the sheer amount of things to go through but also the emotions tied to my mom's things. One of the positive results is it makes you reevaluate the "stuff" we keep and if we need to do our own purging of the extra.

Sara and I going through papers. I thought the paper would never end.

We did take some time off for fun-the girls and I as well as my sister's family went to a concert in the park. It is free and offered a couple times a month with different musical themes. That night was a tribute to patriotic music and to those who have served our country.

One of the things we went through was my mom's Madame Alexander doll collection. Each granddaughter got one, this is the girls with their dolls. My mother loved dolls and we hope the girls will enjoy their doll and it's association with grandma.

All the cousins enjoying the hot tub at my sister's in-laws. They're so kind to welcome our family, not only my sister but us all. They didn't know what kind of package deal they were getting 11 years ago when my sister got married but that's what family is all about.

As part of the garage sale we had, the kids decided to sell fresh orange juice. They all pitched in and did a great job. No help from the adults and they ended up making over $50.00. And that was even with lots of sampling.

This is the prep crew in charge of cutting, juicing and straining the pulp-Lexi, Tori and Emily (not pictured).

This is part of the selling crew-Mackenzie, Abby, Cori and Paige. It was a job they rotated in and out of. They were all good salespeople.

We even got in a awesome day at the beach while we were in California. I know it's kind of known for the beaches but many times the beach is foggy and cold, no matter what the time of year. This was a perfect day. Sunny, breezy and lots of friends. The girls even got to boogie board.

Paige and Lexi being goofy, they didn't want me taking pictures, they wanted to play!!

Paige being buried and made into a sea turtle by cousin Emily, Lexi and friend Paige

The girls were having a great time catching sand crabs. They were on the hunt for the pregnant ones that had their egg sacks just under their hind legs. I thought it was gross, but whatever. A great lesson in marine biology.

This is the 4th of July in Houston. We had a great day swimming with friends, bbqing, and just visiting. The fireworks were put on hold because of the fire ban. Houston hasn't had any significant rain since March and there was too much of a risk. We did have sparklers so that was the best we could do for the pyro Taylor. Although he had the job of the official lighter.

Hard to see but that's Taylor on the right with the kids lined up for their sparkler. As soon as it was out it went in the bucket of water to prevent any accidental burning.

The fireworks that weren't. Taylor goes to Louisiana with a fellow pyro Mike and they get the "good" fireworks. You can see they were all ready for a awesome show. Since fireworks of any kind were banned throughout the area they are all patiently waiting to be lit.

One of our main entertainments and a must have in the Houston summer is swimming. We are lucky good friends have a pool down the street and are so generous to let us swim. The kids have made frequent use of it and it's nice to not have to travel too far.

Lexi getting some "help" in from Taylor

Paige and friend Andrea showing off their shade style

Lexi with friends Andrea and Quincy

I got all four to pose for a picture. Not an easy feat, but I love it.

Jordan and Taylor showing off their flip form

Paige's Girl Scout Silver award

2011-07-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Paige has been in Girl Scouts since 2004. She joined with a friend as a Brownie and has been active in two different troops with great leaders. She has been able to camp, learn new skills by working on badges, be a program aide for younger girl scouts, and serve others. Paige has worked these past two years on completing the requirements for her Silver award which is the 2nd highest award for girls in Girl Scouts.

Her troop participated together in a Take Action project of writing the script and filming a video for younger kids on bullying, internet safety, individuality, and being a friend. Each girl was then responsible to do a project accumulating 50 hrs. of service. Paige chose to work with a local in house treatment facility for abused and troubled youth 11-18. She did whatever was needed and was often complimented on her willingness to help and for doing a good job. I went with her each time as youth cannot volunteer without a adult if they are under 18. Paige helped with organizing donated clothes, cleaning out a storage facility, filing, preparing for a "prom" held for the residents and even made fleece blankets for the resident's store where they can buy things through their good behavior. It was awesome to watch as she learned from this experience.

This was a storage area of old residents things and donated clothing Before

There was many hours of sorting, organizing and throwing away

The closet After. The items were easily accessible to the residents and counselors

The 9 fleece blankets Paige made for the residents.

At the end of it all the troop had a bridging ceremony since they were moving from Cadettes to Senior Girl Scouts and they received their awards.

Paige and the girls in her troop

Paige and her leader receiving her awards

There was a actual bridge where the troop meets, which was perfect for the bridging part of the ceremony

Paige with her display board showing some of the things she did to accomplish her Silver Award

Paige and her leader Martha MacRae-she is awesome. She and her family have just moved to London for her husband's job and the troop is going to stay together through Skype

Paige and her Silver award. Awesome job Paige, now onto Gold

2011 Barker's Ridge Swim team

2011-07-03T07:04:00.000-07:00

Paige swam on the community swim team again this year. Lexi decided she did not want to. They started their practices in April after school-We actually had cool weather until then so the pool was a bit frigid. Paige did well and even made it to the Meet of Champs in freestyle and breaststroke. She is the fastest 13-14 girls in breaststroke on our team.

The goofy girls-Paige and Quincy waiting to swim

Paige waiting for the starting signal

Paige ready to go

A close up -fresh out of the water. The night meets were nice because we didn't have the blistering sun the whole time. The kids were more lively since they were fully awake.

Several of the 13-14 girls waiting for their time to swim at the Meet of Champs. There's a lot of down time at swim meets so the kids learn to bring things to entertain themselves. At this age is usually the ipod.

Paige after the awards ceremony.

End of school year 2010-2011

2011-07-03T06:45:00.001-07:00

To finish up some May happenings. The end of the school year is always crazy and it seems like there is something happening every night. This year was no exception even though I'm down to two in school.

Paige was given a special award for her accomplishments in Principles of Human Science, it's a expanded Home Ec. type class. They not only cover cooking and sewing but also things such as budgeting, self-esteem, bullying, interior design. Paige loved the class and did very well.

The end of the year Band concerts. Lexi plays the bassoon and just started last August. It's amazing how much they learn and progress in just a short time. She has done really well and also got an award for her accomplishments.

Paige on stage ready to go, she enjoys the xylophone and marimba the most in percussion and will play those in high school. It's hard to believe this was her last jr. high performance.

This year Paige participated in Volleyball and track. She enjoyed the challenges each presented and did well in both. She received her certificate at the athletic banquet where all the athletes are recognized for their participation.

This is Paige all dolled up for the 8th grade dance. She is a beautiful young woman and has so many exciting things to look forward to. The theme for the dance was Hollywood Nights. The kids had a great time and I enjoyed helping with the planning and being part of this fun night.

I had to throw this picture in. This is our carpool. I do the jr. high run and pick these kids up and take them with the girls. This was the last day of school and while they were excited to be done they weren't quite awake at the time.

YW girl's camp 2011

2011-06-13T08:11:00.001-07:00

I'm going to do a big skip and maybe catch up with some other events later. This past week was our Young Women's girls camp. Earlier in the year I was called to be our ward camp director. There were things we did ahead of time to prepare for camp and pass off our requirements for certification. It was finally time to actually head to camp. The 2011 theme for camp was We Believe-the 13th Article of Faith. The shirts had the theme on the front and the whole article of faith on the back. This was almost all the girls from our ward. Two girls and one leader headed up on Mon for a special day of water activities for their age group. There were a total of 19 girls and 3 leaders that headed to camp this year. Several for their 1st time. We were ready to go. The camp was Camp Ta-Ku-La, it is about 2 1/2 hrs. northeast of Houston in the piney woods.

With all the stuff we brought we had to borrow the Boy Scout trailer. Good thing we had it because we would have needed a extra car just for "stuff" It was my 1st time to haul a trailer and I think I did pretty good. Just don't ask me to back it up.

Two of the big attractions at camp were the zipline and rock wall. I tried both and they were great!!!

I made it to the top of the "easy" side of the rock wall and got to sign my name . I tried the medium wall but only made it about 3/4 of the way up. Thank goodness for a harness.

The courtyard of our cabins. I was with the 2nd year girls and we had so many (36) that we couldn't all fit in one cabin. Unfortunately we had to divide them up but the girls did great and made many new friends. Our cabins were the 1st two on the right, Paige's was the last one in that row. The were basic with wood bunkbeds. It was nice that the bathrooms and showers were inside the cabin. The best part was they were air-conditioned. That may seem luxurious but when it was 100+ during the day and not a lot cooler at night it was a blessing to have!

Paige working on her craft-cross stitching. The girls each made a cross stitch that said "We believe" and then were able to put it in a frame they decorated. It was great to see the girls be excited to do the stitchery.

On the last day of camp the older girls organized water games for everyone. This was a relay to empty one bucket and fill another by way of large sponge. The full bucket was then dumped on the camp leaders. The girls had fun getting the leaders soaking.

Paige all set to go on the zipline. Ken did video on his camera but it would not upload here.

This was the outside of Lexi's cabin. This camp was originally a logging community. This building and a church on the property were originaly from the early 1900's. This was used for the 1st years. It was nicknamed the orphanage because there were bunks lining both sides and girls everywhere. I didn't get into it when there weren't girls in it so didn't get a pic but it was a sight to behold. The leaders then had cots down the middle of the area. It was a mass on humanity.

Lexi with two of the other 1st years from our ward. Their leaders gave them the little crowns to remind them they are daughters of a King and are blessed to receive all that He has to give them. A great reminder of our potential here on earth.

Lexi suited up for her go around on the zipline. This was definitely the girl's favorite thing to do, they just didn't like the wait. This guy was great sport to keep all the girls moving along.

Lexi heading down the waterslide. Behind the fence were the 3 pools. Two were shallow and set up for water volleyball and basketball. The other was deeper and had a diving board.

This is all the 2nd year girls. It was quite a feat to get this picture. It was like herding cats to get them all in one place. They were a awesome group of young women and the other leaders were great also.

My girls and I. It was a great experience to be there with them both, whether they liked it or not. The hairstyle they're both sporting is courtesy of moi. I would spend a couple hours each day with someone wanting their hair done. I love to do it and am always happy for the chance to play with someone's hair. I started this when I was the girl's age and was the camp hairbraider.

Ken was asked to come to camp as priesthood leadership. It was great to have him up there with us. We are enjoying the fine cuisine of the camp. This was actually one of the better meals. Chicken strips and mashed potatoes. That was the one drawback that the food was very "institutional" and we'll leave it at that. I appreciate that Ken was willing to come and hang in the heat with us.

This is all the girls, leaders and our bishop from our ward at Girl's camp. On Friday night the bishops are invited up and they come, eat dinner with the girls, participate in some activities and share some counsel with the girls. We are grateful for a bishop that is so supportive of the youth and always willing to do what he can to help them.

I haven't been to girl's camp since I was their age and it was a great week. What a great blessing to have girls and leaders that put so much time and effort into a great program that we can all benefit and grow from.

Ragnar Relay-SoCal 2011

2011-05-22T06:07:00.001-07:00

In December of 2010 as we were in Calif celebrating Christmas with our family we were talking and the subject of running was brought up. My sister Heather that is just younger than me has been participating in 1/2 marathons and has run the Ragnar relay 2x's. She was getting a team together and she, my other two sisters, Amy and Sara, John, Amy's husband, nephew Chase and others were all going to run the Ragnar in Southern California in April 2011. They asked if I wanted to do it also. I used to run but it has been many years since I have done this. I do walk and work out regularly but running is whole different thing. I naively agreed and began my training. I started with short distances and built up from there. April quickly approached and my goal was to do the relay and live to tell the tale. About a week before the race someone else on the team dropped out and so Taylor decided to take their place. Oh, the advantage of youth.

The Ragnar relay is a 12 man relay that covers about 200 miles. There are two vehicles for the team with 6 team members in each. Each team member runs 3 different legs of the race. You start with #1, proceed through each one and then start all over doing this 3 times. The lengths of run and difficulty vary so there is places for everyone from the novice runner to the experienced. There is continuous running, so you catch sleep just in between your legs. There is usually about 4-5 hrs for a regular team between each vehicle's turn. Pretty crazy but lots of fun.

Taylor and I flew to Calif. and met up with everyone and we were ready to go. The race began by my sister's in Corona so we went there the 1st night to get the supplies all ready. We had two suburbans and each needed food and water. This is during the process. We also checked our race legs and how this would all work out.

Our start time was 6:30 a.m. The teams started at different times to accomodate for their estimated running times. The race started in Huntington Beach and it was pretty chilly that morning. Our team name was the whole Fam Damily as indicated on the car. Our vehicle had myself, my 3 sisters and two brothers-in-law John and Chris.

As each runner runs, the support van follows and goes to the designated exchange place. Then the next runner waits and prepares for their turn. This continues throughout the 200 miles. This is the motto of the race. You see the sleep portion is with question.

There is day light approaching and the race is ready to begin. My sister Heather was the 1st runner. From 6:30 p.m. to 6:45 a.m. the runners are required to wear reflective vests, and headlamp and red butt lamp. So Heather had to start all geared up.

After all of us in our vehicle ran our 1st leg, we were right by Heather's house. We went and crashed for a bit, and cleaned up since that would be the last time before the end of the race. It was porta potties from there on out. This was the four sisters at the 1st main exchange between vehicles.

This was the 2nd vehicle for our team. It was my nephew's friend, my nephew Chase, Taylor, and 3 others from the area. The ladies were friends of a friend and wanted to participate in the race but didn't have a team. The guys were good about taking care of the driving and navigating. They had the harder, more strenuous parts of the race but did great. Again, youth is a great asset.

My last leg of the race ended at the beach. It was beautiful California weather and wonderful to run in. I was just so happy that I was able to complete my part without any real issues.

The four sisters at the end of our last rotation. We weren't as fresh as the 1st picture.

This race goes through all sorts of areas, urban, stream beds, residential etc. These are some of the scenery along the way. It was Chamber of Commerce weather for Ca.

Anaheim

Encinitas
San Diego Harbor

This is Taylor coming in from his last leg. Each runner had to wear a slap bracelet and that is what is used for the hand off.

Taylor and I at the Finish line. The race ended in Coronado Island by San Diege. Everyone got a t-shirt and medal

Our whole team. This was the only time we were all together.

The 4 sisters-we did it!!! And we want to do it again. We'll see.

Jordan turns 22

2011-05-22T05:57:00.001-07:00

My boy turned 22 this year. Unbelievable. It was probably pretty uneventful to him since he had to work all day. (the reality of being an adult). He did get a cupcake at work (thanks Holly) and then we had our celebration in the evening.

Each year the kids get to choose where to go for dinner. It used to be McDonald's and the playland was sufficient but unfortunately their taste for better food improves with age. Jordan chose El Rancho this year. They recently changed their location so we had to go and see their new place. Same great food.

Jordan with his presents

In the midst of opening.

Making a wish. Happy Birthday Jordan, we can't believe the past 22 years have flown by. We are so grateful for having you in our family and blessing you are.

Texas bluebonnets

2011-05-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

The Texas state flower is the bluebonnet, they bloom March through mid April and are beautiful when you see a whole meadow full. This spring because of the draught conditions there were not the plentiful blossoms as we have had in years past.
We go the 1st weekend of April each year to take pictures in the bluebonnets and this year we thought we were going to have to miss. We drove to all the usual spots and found a small clump here and there but no meadows. Just before we gave up we came across this one. It's by no means the usual spendor but we went for it.

The girls in the bluebonnets

The boys

All 4 of my kids.

We always go with our friends the Boyers and then we can take turns with the camera. Afterwards we share a picnic dinner. We have found this great city park in a small town along the way.

Spring break camping

2011-05-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Spring break we take a few days and head out of town to camp. There aren't a lot of times that are fun to camp in Texas but this is one of them. It was awesome weather and there were great friends and we had a great time.

The kids made themselves capes out of pillowcases. Lexi decorating hers

Our traditional 1st night meal-milkjug dinner. Ham, sausage, cabbage, corn, potatoes, carrots all steamed and yummy. A little dijon mustard and it's all good.

All the kids on the playground. It was quite a feat getting everyone there without anyone falling

One form of entertainment this year was the marshmallow guns. We all had a good time with them. They are a blow gun design, just don't inhale. The racoons loved cleaning up at night any leftovers. Beware-marshmallows can hurt!

The adults even got involved. Thanks Harolds for bringing the fun.

Jordan loading up the ammo for the big boy fun. The little kids were dying to get in on the action.

Here they are with the launching slingshot.

And these are the catchers. At least trying to, many times the balloon broke before ever getting to the ground.

All of us in front of our tent. Taylor didn't get to stay the whole time, he had to work but we were glad for the time we had to spend together.

To celebrate St. Patrick's day Taylor had green temporary hair dye. Michael was the willing victim here.

The big crowd pleaser S'mores

Warming up the tortillas for fajitas

The girls had dish duty for breakfast dishes.

There was entertainment for all ages. crafts for the little ones

and the big ones

games for the teenagers

and even an egg hunt

Most of the kiddos before heading home. It was a great couple of days and we look forward to next year.

HLSR

2011-05-08T15:00:00.001-07:00

One thing we looked forward to each spring is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. For 2 weeks it is all things rodeo in Houston. There are great performers, awesome food, and lots of fun to be had. We almost missed it with our other trip but went the last week. We got 1/2 price ride tickets but we were surprised by how much the rides cost. The girls did ride a few and then we all went on the skyride. We enjoy getting above the crowds and being able to look out and see everywhere.

With all the yummy food Ken and the girls chose the foot long corn dogs.

I went for this new concoction. It's sausage on a stick with potatoes spiral cut and wrapped around the sausage and the whole thing fried. Love it. We didn't take pics but we also enjoyed fried oreos. No, we don't count calories, we can't count that high.

All of us in front of the old Astrodome. It always makes me sad to see it just sitting there unused. We have many great memories of going to Astros games there and the rodeo used to be there before the new venues were built.

I don't know if you can tell who performed that night but we went and saw KISS. It was wild to see all the people dressed up. We did not get tickets ahead of time so we had standing room only which got old quick. We stayed for the 1st couple of songs and then the girls and I and some friends went back out to the displays. It was enough to say we saw them. The funny thing was as we were leaving the stadium to head to the car we were stopped by the security because a car was coming through. Ends up it was the van holding the band members and they drove about 6 ft. in front of us. They look just as scary close up as they do far away. Gene Simmons can still rock it though.

Lexi turns 12

2011-05-01T09:39:00.001-07:00

The beginning of March our Lexi girl turned 12. This is a age of great change and it's hard to believe our baby is already there. She was very excited for this day, Paige and I had gone to the jr. high to decorate her locker. She got the birthday girl banner to wear at school.

This was actually while we were at Disney. Our rite of passage at 12 for the girls is to get to shave their legs. Most dread this but Lexi was so excited as you can tell by her face.

The night of her birthday Lexi chose General Tso's chicken for dinner. She got the red plate to eat off of.

Lexi with her birthday loot and showing how old she is. This has been a great way to keep track of what birthday the pictures are from.

Another part of turning 12 is being able to attend the temple and participate in baptisms as proxy for those who have died. The 1st time she went both Ken and I were able to be there as well as Jordan. What a great spirit.

As a mom this was a special time to be with my girls. Twice a year there is a general broadcast for the women throughout the church. In March it is for the young women and their mothers & leaders. In Sept. it is for the women 18+. I got to go with both girls and we had a fun dinner before with the other young women from our area.

The Disney Dream

2011-03-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

After 5 days of walking, rides, and being entertained we were ready for some relaxation. So we headed East to Port Canaveral to get on the Disney Dream for our 3 day cruise. This is Disney's newest ship and is done up like only Disney can do. (Warning: TONS of pics, just to give you a bit of how beautiful it was).

Almost there!!!!

The Dream with the two red engine stacks.

Hard to see, but Mickey and friends are cleaning the outside of the ship

Our welcome sign

Ready to embark

One of the 1st orders of business is to go to your lifeboat station and know what the emergency procedures are. Not the most calming thing but a necessity. I'd rather know what to do than be clueless in the case of an emergency. Paige and I lined up

On one of the stacks was a huge movie screen. There were movies showing pretty much continuously. Inside the stack was the teen club Vibe for those 14-17. This was where Paige hung out with her cousin. There was also a club for the 11-14 crowd as well as The Oceaneer club for the 3-10 yr olds. Fun for the kids and parents. The tube to the right of the stack is part of the Aquaduck. This is the "watercoaster" that went around the perimeter of the ship deck.

Our stateroom. Since we had so many people and no cell phone use we used the dry erase boards to leave notes for our whereabouts. The kids loved the freedom to explore.

The inside of our stateroom. Our cute towel dog from the housekeeper. This room slept 5

A view from the veranda

All the beds made up. The couch flipped down, the top bunk came out of the ceiling and the other was a murphy bed.

The bathrooms were nice and one of the only with two rooms. One with sink and toilet, the other with sink and shower.

Our veranda. We had 5 staterooms all lined up so we opened up the dividers and had one long veranda

Nemo and friends were the motif for this ship and there were beautiful mosaics in the buffet area.

This was a water play area for the little ones. There were also 3 other pools. One 3 ft, one 3-5 ft. and an adult pool.

Looking down at the atrium. The carpet was beautiful.

Looking up was this beautiful light fixture.

the balconies overlooking the atrium. The "Disney" element was very subtle in the decorating. I loved the Art Deco feeling.

Each night there were productions. The theater was gorgeous. These were Broadway caliber productions.

There were also entertainment on the deck. They would cover the pools and that would become the stage.

Each night we dined in a different restaurant. The 1st night was Artist's palette. The details were artist motifs. This was the "guys" table that night. We had the same wait staff each night they moved with us to each restaurant. The waiters wore shirts that were similar to coloring books, white with black drawings. The 1st night was American style food.

A centerpiece.

This sketch board became

this. And it was interactive with us. It asked the kids questions and responded to them.

the 2nd night was the Enchanted Garden. The colors were soft and very serene. The wait staff wore pastel shirts to go with the decor.

Overlooking the dining room

Our table. It was a pirate theme that night and that's why I was wearing the bandana.

The 3rd night was the Royal Palace, a tribute to all the princesses. The wait staff wore military uniforms. It was French food which was probably my least favorite of the three. I loved all the details.

Our head server Edward and asst. server Adi. The girls were serving them.

Mickey and friends did a good-bye song the last night.

The girls wanted their hair braided and we had plans to get it done when we got to the Bahamas. While checking out the ship we saw that they did it there so we got the girls signed up and they got their cornrows.

The girls before

And after

All nine granddaughters and their braids.

As we came into Nassau

setting out into Nassau. The boys and Ken as well as a brother in law went diving. Myself, the girls and the rest of us checked out some of the shops and then headed to the beach.

The gorgeous Bahamian beach

We had a great day in Nassau and looked forward to our second excursion-Disney's island Castaway Cay. We were suppose to spend the day there and even had a excursion to feed the sting rays set up. Our plans were thwarted by the weather. There were bad crosswinds and the captain was not able to get into port at Castaway Cay. This was disappointing to all of us to say the least. We spent the day at sea and did enjoy the many activities on the ship. This means we need to take another Disney cruise to try again.

It was up early and a quick breakfast the day of departure. It's hard to believe that our wonderful vacation had come to a end.

vacation of a lifetime

2011-03-29T10:13:00.001-07:00

The end of Feb/beginning of March our family and the rest of my family took a family vacation. 23 of us went to Disney World for 5 days. We then took a 3 day cruise on the Disney Dream. This was an incredible vacation and we made memories that we will always cherish. My parents would have been married 50 years this July and had planned a family trip to celebrate. After my mom passed away my dad still wanted to do a family trip and so this is what we did. There was something for everyone and we had a great time. Only problem is now we want to go back and do it again, but this time grandpa won't be paying. Oh well, time to start saving.

Since we live in this part of the country we drove to Orlando. It's about a 16 hr drive from Houston. Everyone else flew in. This is our entrance into our adventure.

Our home base for the next 5 days. It is a Disney property. There are tent camping areas as well as RV spots. They have cabins that we stayed in that sleep 6. Worked out great for us to all be in the same place. We were able to use the transportation between parks and got pretty good at the bus schedule.

Us in front of our cabin.

With the package we had it included the meal plan for eating in the parks, which was a great deal. One of our favorite places we ate was the Sci-Fi restaurant. It's like a old drive-in theater. There are 55 chevys for the seats and you watch movie clips while you eat. Good food also.

Two of my sisters, nephew, and brother in law ran the Princess 1/2 marathon. We all did a full marathon each day with all the walking we did. They did a great job and have their medals to prove it.

Goofy guys ready to go on Toy Story Mania.

For breakfast one morning we went to the Polynesian Resort at the Ohana. Ohana means family and we were quite the family. The cast members were always surprised that we were all one family. Here's the kids with the main Mouse himself.

Ken and the boys in Epcot at Oh, Canada.

Taylor checking out the Mexican hat in Epcot

The girls and I got to go to the Princess dinner at Akershus in Epcot. The princesses came to the table and the girls got autographs and pics with each one. They loved it but it was crazy trying to eat and do everything anytime a new princess came by.

During our trip we celebrated 5 birthdays. Lexi's #12 was one of them.

The kids with a dinosaur in Animal Kingdom. They were so excited for this photo op.

The last day we checked out Downtown Disney. Mr. Potato Head greated us at the toy store.

This was an awesome vacation and we loved it!!!

On the homefront

2011-03-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

I've been chastised for not being up to date on my blog so I thought I would share some random pictures of our family.

Jordan got Rock Band for XBOX recently. The guys were having fun jammin out together.

Lexi spent some time entertaining Reagan with bubbles.

Paige has started track at school and for her 1st meet had to run the 2400. She persevered and finished but is looking for something a bit shorter in length.

Valentine's was a family affair. We went to Olive Garden. Hadn't been in awhile and it was a nice evening.

Ken & I at Olive Garden

Holiday happenings

2011-01-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

I decided to do a quick recap of december and all the activities of the month. It was a wonderful holiday season. The best part was spending Christmas with family. We enjoyed the opportunity to together and enjoy the festivites.

I'm sorry the picture is so dark but it's all I have from Lexi's 1st band concert. The 1st of many, I'm sure. She plays the bassoon.

One of our favorite things to do is attend a live nativity/reenactment of the Savior's birth at a local Christian church. You actually walk through the different areas as if you are part of the people journeying to Bethlehem at the time of the Savior's birth. Jordan and Paige in the area where they made crafts.

Lexi got to pet the miniature donkey

Those representing Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

Taylor turned 19. This a tradition we have to take a picture with the kids holding up the number of fingers/toes to show how old they are. This along with the gifts they receive. Taylor is almost out of appendages to use.

Paige at her band concert. She is in the honor band this year playing percussion.

This is the snow scene at my parent's house. We have had this up throughout the years but the past several it was not taken out because it had outgrown the available space. this past year my parents added on to their family room and this bay window area was built especially with the snow scene in mind. It was fun to have it out and remember the past years.

Our family on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is time for a big party with extended family and friends. There are many traditions we have had through the years and we all look forward to them. Christmas Day is just family and the chaos. This year was a switch to having the festivities in the new family room. It is more accomodating for the amount of people and allowing everyone to be together without sitting on each other.

1st part of the Christmas Eve program. All the kids that have not graduated from high school get to the do Rudolph. This is with the antlers and red noses. Taylor and Jordan were glad they are finally old enough to be a spectator

Another activity is the dice game. We take two dice and put them in pie pans. Everyone sits in a circle and we have a pile of inexpensive wrapped presents in the middle of the circle. We pass the pie pans around, each person rolling the dice. There are several pie pans going around. When you get a double you get to take a present. You can't open it and you have to keep it in front of you. When the presents are gone the timer starts and you can steal from each other. When the timer goes off you get to open the presents. Then the bartering begins. There is candy, gum, $1.00 spot stuff. Don't know how it got started but everyone loves it. It can get kind of wild when the stealing starts.

To wrap up the evening is the nativity reenactment. The kids all get parts and the story of Christ's birth is read from the bible. At appropriate times the characters come in. We also sing the Christmas carols along with the story. It is a time to reflect on the purpose of the season. We are running out of baby Jesus'

This year the kids added another element to the evening. They formed the cousin's choir. All week before Christmas there were rehearsals. There were speaking parts as well as solos. Despite the bickering the kids pulled this together without adult help. It was a beautiful program they dedicated to grandma. She loved to have the kids sing to her when she was in the hospital bed. It was a great way to end the evening.

Christmas morning-the kids with their stockings. We are pretty orchestrated in our celebration. No reckless out of control hoopla here. It's funny because the older cousins get the younger one fully indoctrinated quickly and they know what is suppose to be happening. I guess that is one more indication that my mother trained us all well.

After the stockings we go and check out what Santa brought. The Torbit kids got a couple of games for WII and some accessories. We were very blessed this year but the most gratifying was being together. There were tears shed as we missed my mom, but knew she was with us in spirit.

One of the things my mom picked out for the grandkids before she passed away were these robes and pajama pants. These are 8 of the 9 granddaughters. My 20 year old niece was okay with not having matching jammies, but we got a shot with Papa and the girls.

When we returned to Houston the girls were messing around one day and made their own Lady Gaga inspired outfits out of packing wrap. Pretty good designs.

The celebration we were all waiting for-New Year's Eve fireworks. Here's the ammo (and that wasn't even everything)

Taylor-one of the pyro's. that is a grin of pure excitement. Hard to do for Taylor but he was loving it!!!

Some of the spectators

Welcome 2011

New York, New York

2011-01-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

WARNING-lot's of vacation pictures included

The beginning of December Ken's boss scheduled a trip to New York City. Ken has talked about taking me but the timing was never right and finally all the stars aligned and I got to go with him. I have never been to New York and we had a great time. The two most prominent things that stand out are the endless walking and the cold but it was a blast.

The city was all decked out for the holidays and many beautiful things to see. This was in Rockafeller plaza. These gigantic ornaments were on a reflecting pond and the lighted trees around them. I know I look like a spaz, I had to wear glasses because of a eye infection and obviously the name of the game was warmth. The high was low 30's there. We even broke down and bought the handwarmer packets you put in your gloves. I was looking for a body wrap style.

It was Santa's turn on the Coca Cola sign in Times square

The giant light tree on the side of the Macy's building

All the lighted trees. Couldn't tell you where this was exactly.

We stayed in Secaucus, NJ (doesn't that make you just want to add the jersey twang)? The first night we had a rental car because we needed to take the copilot to Newark to fly home. Since we had the transportation I wanted to see Carlo's Bake shop-you TLC watchers know this is the place Cake Boss is filmed. The next morning we turned in the car and depended on public transportation. We would take the bus in from the hotel through the Lincoln tunnel and from there either walk or ride the subway (1st time). We got pretty good at figuring out the schedule and how to go from one line to the other. I put lots of miles on my feet in three days, but we saw many of the tourist sites.

Times Square

St Patrick's cathedral-gorgeous architecture inside and out.

Swarokovski crystal covered snowflake in Rockafeller plaza. The skating rink was lots smaller than I thought it would be.

One of my favorites-we went and saw the Rockettes in the Christmas spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. Unbelievable!!! Loved the performers as well as the beautiful Art Deco architecture and interiors

This was a picture to show the masses of humanity on the streets. It was interesting to see how many people come to New York. I guess the holidays really add to the numbers. After seeing this I can't imagine what New Year's is like.

Riding the subway

The great Lady Liberty. Don't let the sun fool you. It was so cold out there, especially with the breeze coming off the water. Unfortunately we were the last boat out of the day and were not able to go to Ellis Island also. We said it's a reason for a return trip.

We went all over the financial district. Checked out the New York Stock Exchange. It was interesting the building for the treasury did not have any markings/signs on the outside of the building

work going on at Ground Zero. There isn't a place to really see anything but we peeked through the chainlink fence.

Had to check out Grand Central Station.

The Manhattan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints temple. We went on Sat. morning. A refuge in the chaos.

We didn't go shopping really but had to see Macy's

Ken and I at the top of the Empire State building. We got to see 4 wedding proposals that night. I guess not the most original idea but a spectacular view.

Our tribute to the season, we even tried chestnuts roasted over a open fire. Don't know what the fuss is about. Kind of bland and very mealy.

We had a great time, I also enjoyed a carousel ride in Central Park and pastrami sandwich at Carnegie Deli. I told Ken I want to go back when the weather is a bit more temperate.

Decking the Halls

2010-12-10T19:47:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend we got busy with the Christmas decorations. It was pleasant outside so I got everyone going outside and got the lights up. It's much nicer to have help than to do it by myself.

Lexi doing the lights around the yard

Paige was checking the lights before they went outside and changing burned out bulbs. It's always frustrating to get a strand started and then find out they don't light.

Ken hanging the garage garland

We have two pictures of picking out our Christmas tree to show that we were all there. It's funny to look back on years of getting the tree. We are either in shorts and t-shirts or bundled up freezing. No happy medium. We still do the live tree, and Lexi told us it's one of her favorite parts of Christmas. We got lucky this year and found a good tree the 1st one we saw. It's a cute chubby tree.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-10T19:18:00.001-08:00

Our original plan was to go camping for Thanksgiving so we could enjoy some cooler weather and get away from Houston for a few days. Well Ken's work schedule 1st changed things up and we made plans to camp at a campground not too far so Ken could come and go. Then the lovely Houston weather threw a wrench in the whole works. It was forecasted to have rain on Tues and Wed before Thanksgiving and then a cold front was to come through. The main reason to go camping was to have fun and camping in the rain and cold is not fun so change of plans. We still got together for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, just in the comfort of our home. The frustrating part was after cancelling, the rain never materialized. The cold front hit Thurs. early evening. Oh well, it was a great day. We missed Taylor who worked all day as well as Curnutts and Ortons who were freezing in Utah.

Ken carving the bird before heading off to pick up his boss from the Cowboy's game in Dallas

Beautiful centerpiece sent by Ortons.

What a scrumptious feast!!! Thanks so much to everyone for making it great.

The proper way to each your olives is one on each finger and Michael is a pro.

The "big" girls.

The "adult" table. Paige snuck in

After eating Jordan wanted to try out the pool since he hadn't been swimming in two years. He talked Alex into going in with him. When the time came to jump in she backed out but Jordan "helped" her follow through. Right after this the front blew through. It's amazing to feel the temperature drop from a balmy mid 70's to a dry 50 within 10 mins. Gotta love the Houston weather. You can see the front coming in the picture

To ward off the cold we had a bonfire. And what's a bonfire without roasted marshmallows and smores. Lexi working on making hers a nice charcoal burnt one.

Trying to hand out the smore goodies to everyone without freezing.

Her legacy

2010-11-26T18:42:00.001-08:00

On Nov 7, 2010 my mom Kenlyn Christenot passed away quietly. In Sept. when she had a major stroke we knew from everything her body had suffered that her time left on earth would not be long but it's amazing what was able to take place in the 7 weeks that remained of her life. She was home with her family and friends and was able to continue to show so many how much they meant to her. My mom was always thinking of others, and now so many were able to serve her. Friends from many eras of her life came to visit and called. She had sisters from the Relief Society sit and visit with her. Each of her children and grandchildren were able to visit, sing to her, make her cards and let her know how much she meant to us. Even in her limited physical capacity her spirit and testimony touched each one of us. The most important things in my mom's life were God, her family and friends. I am so grateful for the example she is in my life and my family's and am thankful to know that our family is forever.

The four girls

All 15 of the grandkids and my dad

Welcome home Jordan

2010-11-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

For the past two years Jordan has been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the California Riverside mission. We have been very blessed as a family by his service and are so proud of the work he did to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. On Nov 2nd he returned home and we are so happy to have him back again. It has been wonderful to see how much he has learned and talk to him about his experiences. I know the blessings of serving a mission will continue with him throughout his life.

There are no pictures of the eagerly anticipated arrival, due to a communication glitch. In Sept we received a letter telling us that Jordan would arrive at Bush airport at 7:36 p.m. on Nov 2nd, This information was given to the bishop and stake president and was what we all anticipated. We talked about, planned and eagerly awaited his arrival. Just before 6:00 p.m. we received a call from Jordan wanting to know where we were. We were at home just getting ready to eat before heading to the airport. He said he was waiting at the airport for us. Apparently the mission office had changed his flight and he had landed at 5:00 p.m. The changes in the itinerary had never been passed along us. We had never completely communicated the exact info we each had and so the change was never discussed. Needless to say we were very disappointed to have our plans dashed and Jordan was peeved to be left at the airport waiting. We were still very excited to have him finally home and being together as a family.

In the Stake president's office after Jordan was released as a full-time missionary

Jordan in front of his sign we made. See we were all ready to go.

Jordan with his "shrine" We had a map and countdown to show us where he was and the amount of time he had been serving.

We had a post Halloween get together to welcome him home. Halloween is Jordan's favorite holiday so we didn't want him to miss entirely.

The girls and Jordan with their signs they had planned on holding up at the airport.

Halloween pt. 2

2010-11-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

On Halloween the girls carved their pumpkins with our good friends. They decided not to do the traditional jack o lantern but the "pumpkin master" patterns. The cleaning out of the pumpkin innards is always the most dreaded part but the girls did a great job. Especially without dad or brothers to finish it up.

Lexi with her "Garfield"

Paige did the ghost

All the pumpkins. the kids did a great job!!!

The whole group with their pumpkins.

Halloween

2010-11-21T14:00:00.001-08:00

In past years we have always had lots of discussion and planning on what our halloween costumes would be. This year was different for several reasons: With Halloween being on Sunday the girls were not going trick-or-treating, also they are getting too old to trick-or-treat and I have just been worn out emotionally and physically to worry about costumes. I know it's not all about me, so we tries to compromise and find something we were all happy about. Paige is a candy fiend and so she like the candy corn Queen idea. We were at the fabric store and Lexi was playing with the idea of Marilyn Monroe, which I was trying to dissuade her from. And then she came up with Madonna. So this is what we ended up with. I think both girls were happy, and it was doable for me. They had the trunk or treat party at church as well as a school dance they got to dress up for.

Lexi as Madonna, she did a great job of channeling the 80's look. Notice she even has the mole. One big difference is Lexi's undergarments are not on display. We weren't trying to copy everything.

Paige as the Candy corn Queen. I said it should be a new spot in the Candyland game.

The girls together at the trunk or treat party.

Paige and her BFF Quincy-I have pictures of these two at Halloween for the past 12 years. So fun to see them as such great friends.

Lexi with her friends, Olivia and Morgan

school spirit

2010-11-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

This fall the girls have been involved in activities on their campus. It was easiest to put them together in the same post. The 1st two pics show Paige in two of her extracurricular activities. I posted earlier about her playing volleyball. The team did okay for the season and she learned a lot. There was a pep rally for the fall sports teams so she was doing double duty with the band and volleyball.

Paige at the xylophone

She also played cymbals. With percussion she gets to move around to the different instruments. I keep encouraging her to try drumline next year in high school. I think the drums are a fun part of marching band.

As a 6th grader Lexi is limited in the extracurricular activities but she and two friends got involved in the dress up days for red ribbon week. They were going as "triplets" on the twinsies day. They got together and decorated their shirts. It's always been very interesting with these three and their height. They even had tall, taller and tallest on their shirt sleeves. Olivia, the tallest is the youngest of the three.

Sorry I forgot to flip the picture before downloading.

The back with their name and year

Heading into school together.

Taylor ordained a elder

2010-10-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

Soon after Taylor graduated from high school he met with the bishop and stake president and was worthy to be advanced in the priesthood from Aaronic to Melchizedek. He was actually gone to Philmont scout ranch to begin with and then it took several weeks to get everyone at church at the same time. Finally Ken was able to ordain him the end of Sept.

Lexi and her bassoon

2010-10-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

With starting jr. high Lexi has started playing the bassoon in the school band. It took quite a while to do the theory and learn the parts of her instrument. Finally she was able to put it all together and actually play notes. She has been very excited to learn to play and is always willing to show us what she has learned each day.

Paige's birthday

2010-10-31T17:14:00.001-07:00

On Sept 16th Paige turned 14. Unbelievable that she is already that old. She is a beautiful young lady and is so excited to finally be 14. Since I was in Calif. it was up to Ken, Taylor and Lexi to make it a special day. Taylor and Lexi decorated her locker at school. Last year they wouldn't let her wear the birthday girl crown so we went for the birthday banner this year. For dinner she chose the restaurant to eat at. Then there was cake and ice cream. They did a great job and she had a great day. Happy Birthday Paige!!

My Mom

2010-10-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

On Sept. 14th I got a call that I anticipated yet dreaded. My sister called and said my mom had had a stroke and I needed to come to Calif. This was not entirely surprising as her health has been declining in the past year and more so in the past 6 mos. She is relatively young-70, but has diabetes and hypertension. In March after some testing by a neurologist it was determined that she had already had two major strokes and had damage usually found in a woman much older than her. But this was worse than previous strokes. This stroke was in a major artery and had caused paralysis on the left side of the body. She can still speak and recognize people but is now confined to a hospital bed. She could not swallow at first but is now able to take liquid nourishment. After further MRIs, second opinions from neurologists at Cedars Sinai at UCLA, the doctors have determined that there is not anything else that can be done. As a family we have determined it is most important to make her comfortable and spend as much time as possible with her while we can. She is at home now under Hospice care.

I have been very blessed to have a great mom and am so thankful for our relationship. We have had our difference of opinions over trivial things but I have always known she has only wanted the best for me and was willing to support me in anyway she could. She is a incredible woman, always thinking of others, serving, and leading. She has been a great example in my life and I have always felt if I was 1/2 as good as her I am doing pretty good. One of the hardest part of all this is watching how my mother's body is not longer able to support her. She is able to participate in conversations and loves the visits from friends but can no longer do things for herself, fortunately she is free from any pain. I think that it is an opportunity for us to learn what true Christianity is, to be willing to serve unselfishly and love unconditionally.

I am grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ, to know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of each one of us and knows what we need and can handle. I am grateful to know that we are working to be able to return to His presence and know my mom will be blessed for the many things she has done here on this earth. I know her time left on earth is short but her example and testimony will live on through each of us. Her faith in God and love of family will be a legacy we will always remember. I'm sure a glorious reunion with loved ones awaits her. I love you mom!!

Astros game

2010-10-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

On 9/11 we had the opportunity to go to the Houston Astros game thanks to a generous guy in our ward that works for the Astros. Ken was out of town so I took Taylor, Paige and Lexi and headed out. Since there were many friends from the ward it was nice to enjoy the game and great company. I don't have any pictures of Taylor since he was out and about cruising the stadium. Too bad the Astros lost, but it was a fun night.

The girls and I after the game

Paige with several of her good friends

Lexi and her best buddy Morgan

the volleyball team

2010-09-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

At the end of last year Paige decided she wanted to try out for the volleyball team at school. She had had minimal volleyball playing experience so we signed her up for a volleyball camp right after school was out. She had a great time and so at the beginning of this school year she tried out. She made the team and has been working hard. She is in a athletics pe class and then has two hours of practice after school. She has enjoyed it and we'll see if she stays with it.

I took this picture the day the teams were announced and she found out she had made it.

I took pictures at her 1st game (actually a scrimmage). It is horrible to get a good shot in the gyms with a point and shoot camera and a uncooperative subject but I did my best. She came up with this new "hairstyle" for volleyball. It is intended to distract the other team and keep them from concentrating. I don't know that it is very effective, Paige's team was beat pretty good.

Ready for the serve

Up in front

After the 1st game. She was coerced into posing for this picture

1st day of school

2010-09-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the end of the 1st 6 weeks of the school year and I am just posting about the 1st day. Tells you that life's been crazy. Big changes this year with school. I went from kids in 3 different schools to one school. It's been a long time since we dealt with just one school. The girls are in 8th and 6th grade at the jr. high. I can't believe my baby is in jr. high. The girls are doing great and have enjoyed school so far this year. They are both in all pre-AP classes so they are busy with keeping up with the workload. Paige is still doing percussion in the band and Lexi is also in the band playing the bassoon. Paige has made the volleyball team (more in a later post). Lexi joined the pep squad but is rethinking that commitment. The girls are on their way to a successful school year.

Paige before heading out

Lexi-she ditched the backpack this year since she has a locker now.

I snapped a picture as the girls got out of the car. Had to be quick in the car line. I can't get in front of the school anymore so this is the best I could do.

Lexi heading into the school. She admitted to having butterflies. A rarity for this go getter.

Anniversary

2010-09-13T13:38:00.001-07:00

Ken was gone on our anniversary-Aug 16th. The day he got home was crazy with the girls orientation at school and he had a trip to Austin. Well I guess he made some quick arrangements and he told me to pack a suitcase and we were going out of town for a few days. This is the nice part of 1. Having older kids, and 2. Having a husband who is a pilot. He took his passenger to Austin and then he and I continued on to Fredericksburg, TX. It's about a 4 hr drive from Houston or 1 1/2 by plane. At the airport there is a hotel right on the property called the hangar hotel. It is decorated from the 1940's era, complete with big band music over the speaker system. It was very nice and quiet away from the craziness of regular life. Fredericksburg was settled by German settlers in 1846. Ironic history-a group of mormon settlers that came to Texas in 1847 following the exodus from Nauvoo are credited with keeping the Germans from starving to death. The Germans were not familiar with the land and what crops were appropriate so the mormon settlers showed them how and what to plant and helped to build up the area. It is a very nice tourist town. Lots of little shops and yummy food. There is German fare as well as many others. Don't wait too late though, things close up pretty early. We spent a couple of days browsing the shops. We went to a museum that was all about the pacific conflict of WWII. Probably one of the best I've seen. It was a great getaway and fun way to celebrate 24 yrs. together.

This is actually a cell tower. It has the German decorations to blend with the park around it

The lobby of the Hangar Hotel

Us outside.

In the plane ready to head home.

Braces

2010-09-13T13:26:00.001-07:00

Just after returning home from California, the girls had a consult with the orthodontist about braces. Paige has finally gotten her permanent teeth in and so it was time to get started on braces. There was a cancellation in an appointment the day before she left to go to girl's camp. Paige was very excited to get started so she went for it. I figured when she was in pain then someone else could listen to her complain. She figured out what color bands she wanted and was all set to go.

In front of the orthodontist office ready to get started

A very attractive position to be in. Since Paige has only had cleanings and x-rays on her teeth she is not familiar with the many torture devices dentists/orthodontists can come up with. This was just the beginning.

Brackets and wire in place and now for the pink and green alternating bands Paige chose.

All done and still smiling. It was a few hours later that the soreness kicked in. She was pumped up with ibuprofen and from all reports did okay at camp. I just sent the medicine and soon she was back to regular eating. Little does she realize that soreness reoccurs whenever the wire is changed. Oh well, she'll learn.

Honesty is the best policy

2010-09-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

One day I took Lexi and a friend to Walmart to pick up some things before heading out of town. I needed to do a return and so I sent the girls to get the needed items while I took care of the return. As I was walking towards customer service the girls came running up to me very excited and told me they had found a $100.00 dollar bill. They showed it to me and I decided to take it to customer service and let them know it had been found. When I got there, there was a couple of customers ahead of me. A man did his return and was digging in his pocket and then was very upset as he said he had lost a $100.00 dollar bill. Being that it was pretty early in the morning and not a lot of customers I figured it had to be the owner of the one the girls had found. I told him they had found it and he was very grateful to have it returned. He left and I did my return and he had come back up to the desk with a bouquet of roses. He paid for them and then gave them to me for the girls along with some change. While the girls were disappointed not to have gotten the original money they thought the flowers and change was pretty nice.

Girl's camp 2010

2010-09-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

The 2nd week the guys were gone was when Paige went to girl's camp for church. The thought of camping in Texas in August is not something I would attempt but the girls have a great time. They go to a local Girl Scout camp which has cabins. There is a air conditioned lodge and some classrooms but for the most part it's you and the heat. And during the week the temperatures were around 105. Luckily there is a lake and swimming pool and during that week there was quite a bit swamping of the canoes. Thurs the 11 yr old girls were invited to come for the day to participate in different activities and see a glimpse of what camp is like. Lexi was very excited because she would be going up for the day.

Paige and Lexi at camp

The girls in the lodge before skits/singing

Paige and her BFF with their matching bandanas and t-shirts.

cabin mates.

2010-09-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

With the boys off to Philmont for awhile it was just girl time. We kept ourselves busy with many activities.

The girls with a mani/pedi time

Paige made some sleep shorts to get ready for girl's camp

Lexi had her big Girl Scout party at ITZ, a indoor amusement park venue. Kind of like Chuck E. Cheese but for older kids.

Lexi and I rode on the bumper cars.

Lexi and I repainted she and Paige's room

In preparation for jr. high, Lexi got several inches cut off her hair.

Before the cut.

Beginning of Philmont trek 2010

2010-09-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe this time had finally arrived. This trip has been 3 years in the planning and preparation. The day after we returned from Ca. it was final shakedown for our Boy Scout crew's Philmont trek. The boys & leaders all had their packs, to check and double check equipment and make sure everything was ready to roll for the next day. They would be leaving to head to New Mexico for the next two weeks on a 11 day trek in the mountains of Philmont. Some were prepared, some not quite as much as they could have, but all were excited. There were 3 leaders and 9 boys. And all were ready for the adventure.

The boys checked the weight of their pack

They checked the equipment list one last time. Some made a quick trip to the sporting goods store for the forgotten item

Packs lined up ready to go.

Probably the most essential piece of equipment, a good pair of hiking boots. I don't even want to think about how much $$ is lined up there. If your feet aren't properly taken care of it can make or break the experience.

The crew all ready to go. we were missing two of the boys, they would meet up with the others in Dallas.

Our 80's reunion

2010-08-29T17:43:00.001-07:00

A few years ago when we were in California visiting family and friends we were sitting around talking about the things we did when we were in high school. Someone made the comment of how good it would be to get together with friends from high school. I know high schools have their reunions, but this was different. There were quite a few LDS kids when we were in high school and we all ran around together. We went to two different high schools and were friends with some younger and some older than us. We did early morning seminary and they did the classes by our year in school so we got to know many of the kids in the stake, not just our ward. Well fast forward and several people that still live in the same town we grew up in got together and got a 80's reunion together. We had it the last weekend in July and it was so fun to get together. there were some people that came that I haven't seen in 20+ yrs. Most had not changed that much. A couple were shockers, but despite the extra wrinkles and wider waistbands we looked pretty much the same. We had great food, music, and loved visiting and catching up on what our lives were doing. There are some great pics I saw on Facebook but I don't know how to hijack those so these are just a few that I actually snapped. Not the greatest but a great memory.

These were "the guys". My good friend and I were in another ward and we used to hang out with these guys and head to the stake dances, skating at the skating rink, hanging at the beach or someone's house. There were 3 VW bugs between the them that we would put as many people in as possible, this was before seatbelt laws. So many great memories, so many stories we could tell on each other. We keep them under cover since our kids are too eager to learn of our past deeds.

this was everyone that came on Fri night for the reunion. these are the actual graduates. Interestingly there are many couples in there.

Ken doing his part in "YMCA"

Ken and I with good friends from high school and BYU days. Their oldest son is just 1 month younger than Jordan and comes home from his mission in just 3 weeks. Amazing how far we've come.

Me and my sisters and mom. We're just missing one that falls in the lineup between my two sisters. We missed you Amy!!

Ken and his mom and brother Lemuel

California

2010-08-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is a long post, but I need to move the vacation along to try and get caught up here. Sorry for the many pics, but they tell the story better than my writing. The girls and I headed to California with my parents and two nieces. We were there a week, then Taylor flew from Houston to Utah and drove to Ca. with my other niece coming home from BYU-Idaho. Then the end of the month Ken flew to Ca. when we had a 80's reunion. We enjoyed the beautiful cool weather and had a good time. At the end we all flew home together.

The girls had spa times, when they fixed each other's hair and did pedis for each other. Lexi and Tori

A moment of calmness after a rousing game of tags with cousins and friends. Lexi is the ringleader. She loved it.

The community center just redid their playground and the girls had to check it out. Paige was not cooperative with having her picture taken. Obviously the ring was not a big challenge for her.

Lexi, Tori and Mackenzie in the spider web.

The local public library has a wonderful kids section. We spent some quiet time there.

The girls making crafts on the back porch and yes it was cool enough for a sweatshirt.

Grandma and Papa celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary

The kids at the children't museum. They had touch tank that the kids enjoyed. They got to hold starfish and sea urchins. My parents are only about 15 miles from the beach.

Everyone loved the tiki hut restaurant where they took turns being the customer or the cooks. No one wanted to be the waiter until they found out they got the money.

Swimming with cousins

Even though we never saw the sun the kids had a good time at the beach. A friend let them borrow the wetsuits which made the frigid water a bit more tolerable. Not warm enough for me to get in though. I am a wimp anymore to subject myself to that.

Everyone jumping the waves

The girls having a fight with a piece of seaweed

We even went to the beach for dinner one night. a fun tradition we do every year. You better have a jacket because when the sun goes down it's cold!!! And not just to us Texans.

My parents and I. We were laughing because we were so cold we were shivering.

The cousins at the beach

We went to the beach with friends during our reunion. This was a friend's daughter from AZ that we hooked up with in April and Lexi and she were fast friends.

Paige burying herself in the sand

Taylor doing a little skimboarding

We actually got a family shot. A rarity.

Hiking the "Y"

2010-08-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

I lived in Provo from 9/84-12/90 part of the time as a single student at BYU and part as a married student/wife/mother. I have been all over the area, skiing, hiking, picnicing but I never hiked to Y mountain while I lived in Provo. Suzanne suggested we do that while we were there and I was ready!!! Better late than never, right. It would be she and I and six of our children. Including Jared, who we carried. Everyone had a backpack and water and we headed out. The kids were troopers, the little ones never complaining. I can't say the same for my girls. Lexi told us she is a "city girl" not used to this hiking thing. The bigger problem is she lives in the flatlands and mountains are a rare phenomenon. The highest altitude in Houston is the overpasses.

Y mountain from the bottom

The beginning of the area. This is at the entrance to the parking lot.

A map of the trail awaiting us. We hike to the top of the "Y", a longer hike than to the bottom. We were going for the whole experience.

Ready to hit the trail

Suzanne and her kids ready to get started.

We made it!!! We relaxed for a bit and had a snack before heading back down.

I had to have a picture to prove I had done it also.

A view of BYU campus and Provo from the top. Spectacular. That's Utah lake in the background. I miss the mountains and all the beauty of them. I love our home and friends in Houston but there will always be a special place in my heart for Provo. Lots of great memories here.

The Orton's home

2010-08-22T13:37:00.001-07:00

I'm going to start with a disclaimer, I didn't not tell the Orton's I was taking these pictures to begin with. I told them afterwards and that I was going to show friends in Houston. I know there are friends that read our blog and so figured this was the easiest way to do so. I am so grateful for the Orton's hospitality and letting us stay with them for a few days. They had just moved into their house the week before and were waiting on new furniture for several bedrooms and the game room. I realized I did not get any pictures of their 3 car garage which was awesome.
So on with the tour.

After walking in the front door there is the music room on the left and this hall to the right. It leads to the laundry room, and three bedrooms. Upstairs is the master, Emily and Jared's rooms. The stairs go down to the basement.

This is immediately off the entry. Love the moulding detail. Suzanne is very excited to have the grand piano.

Just past the music room/dining room is the kitchen/great room. Very open floor plan and lots of light.

This is standing at the top of the stairs where you can see the openess of the area.

In the corner was the fireplace and TV. The french doors lead out to a huge wood deck. They also have a huge back yard.

In the basement the gameroom runs the whole length of the house. The previous owner had put in the surround sound and screen so the boys were loving that. It made for a great indoor soccer area. At the end where I was standing taking the picture is where the bedrooms downstairs are. There is also tons of storage.

Downstairs bathroom.

Josh and Tanner's room

Andrew's room

The Orton family

Thanks Ortons for such a great time and hospitality.

Utah

2010-08-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

After spending a few days in Idaho we headed south to Utah. The girls and I stayed with our good friends the Ortons that moved from Houston to Utah. Their oldest son was away at scout camp but we enjoyed a great visit with the rest of the family. They have always been great friends and we enjoyed visiting and doing some fun things in the dry, desert air. This is a great change from the heat and humidity summer is in Houston.

The girls and I in front of the Oquirrah Mountain temple. It is really beautiful. It is the same design as Rexburg, but has a sandstone look to it. The Ortons live right in between the Jordan River temple and Oquirrah Mt. They also can see the Draper temple from their bedroom. Great views no matter where you look.

We went into Salt Lake one day and went around temple square. We also toured the beehive house, which was Brigham Young's house as the governor of the territory of Utah and president of the church. This is the kids by the fountains in front of the church office building.

We had a picnic dinner up the Little Cottonwood canyon. It was so beautiful. We were right next to the stream and the kids were easily distracted to throw rocks and climb by the banks. The girls didn't believe it was cold until they had to test for themselves and were surprised that the water is cold in July. Welcome to the mountains.

The kids hanging out on the fence.

The girls and I with the stream behind us.

Idaho

2010-08-15T17:35:00.001-07:00

On our way to and from Montana we stopped in Idaho to see my sister who is in the process of moving to Utah from Texas. She and her kids are staying with her inlaws while she is househunting. Not a fun process and taking longer than wanted but thank goodness for family. The cousins all had a fun time playing in the fields and the dirt pile.

On the way up the girls all got to go to the oldest girl cousins's apt at BYU-Idaho and have a sleepover. Denae was a great sport to have them all and I'm sure it's a experience they won't forget. Thanks roommates for being tolerate to the intrusion

The Rexburg Idaho temple

On the way back from Mt. we stayed a couple of days in Idaho so my dad could hit the fishing holes. We took the kids up to a park in Rexburg where there was a splash pad, carousel and even shaved ice. Fun afternoon but very windy. Notice the kids shivering in the picture.

Grandma and the grandkids cooling off with shaved ice

riding the carousel

Aunt Amy took the girls out on the 4 wheeler around the fields. they loved it. I was even brave and took a turn.

Montana

2010-08-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

The beginning of July the girls and I headed West. We flew to SLC where we joined up with my parents and two nieces Tori and Mackenzie to go to a family reunion in Montana. We stopped in Idaho Falls to see one of my sisters on the way coming and going so the cousins all got to spend some time together. The family reunion was held in Virginia City, MT. It is a small town SW of Bozeman. It was a mining town in the mid 1800's. Now it is a tourist stop with many fun shops and activities. On our way we stopped in W. Yellowstone. We didn't go all the way around the park but to Old Faithful and back. We only saw one buffalo the whole time. Very unusual.

Grandma and the girls at the community center in W. Yellowstone. this was a decorated buffalo statue the girls thought was cool. It was beautiful and sunny. Dry heat-something we love coming from hot and humid. We had a picnic lunch here at the center.

Old Faithful from a distance-the best way to watch it. We just missed the eruption and so just got to see the aftermath.

The girls and I

The girls at the entrance sign for Virginia city. This was a booming town as gold was mined in the mid 1800's. My father's family had a gold processing mill up the mountain in Alder gulch. It is now on the state historical registry. Our reunion was held mainly in the community gym where we renewed friendships, learned more about our family history and had yummy meals. We have many family members that live in Mt. so they have work parties periodically and go to the mill to do preservation work. The Bureau of Land Management has put a fence around the remains of the mill to protect it from roaming cattle. It's amazing to think that our ancestors hauled equipment up the mountain with teams of oxen to operate this mill. What a great legacy to have. Now it's up to us to keep it going.

The girls and I in front of one of the remaining walls at the mill. As we wandered around we could see where the vault for storing the gold had been. there are still some wood from where Chilean rollers were for processing the gold. There is still areas where you can see where the equipment used to be. It's exciting to have that heritage and see what was done there.

This is three generations. My grandmother who is 95, my father, myself and my girls. Shortly after the reunion my grandmother had a stroke. she is still alive and doing okay, but she has always been so proud of her posterity. She knows when all the grand and great grand kids birthdays are. There are 19 grandkids and 35+- greats.

Our branch of the family tree represented. It's more like a twig with just us, but we had a wonderful time.

All the Christenot cousins that were at the reunion. These are mostly 3rd cousins.

EFY-Especially for Youth

2010-08-15T15:26:00.001-07:00

This year Taylor had the opportunity to attend EFY-Especially for Youth, a conference put on by the church for youth 14-18 to strengthen their testimony of the gospel, socialize with other youth with the same values and learn ways to stand for what is right in today's world. It is done with classes, games, dances and other activities. The conferences are held all over the United States and the closest one to us in in San Antonio at Trinity college. Taylor went with two other boys from our area and they had a great time.

this was waiting outside for registration to open. Just chillin' out.

Each participant is given their name badge and housing info. The theme for the year is the same no matter where they attend. Courage to Stand Strong is needed to face the challenges of today's teenager.

Taylor with all his "stuff"

Taylor, Greg and Chris with their conference t-shirts.

Taylor at his dorm room. The counselor had left notes for each person to welcome to the conference.

3rd of July

2010-08-15T15:03:00.001-07:00

It's been a very eventful summer so I am trying to go back and put in many of the activities we had this summer. Of course, since it's been so long since I did a blog entry I have the pictures in backwards, but please bear with me, I'll get back into the swing of things.

Since the 4th of July was on Sunday we did our big celebration on Sat. the 3rd. Our neighbors, the Boyers had a pool party, lots of great company and food as well as the swimming to cool off. Then Taylor got to his favorite part, the fireworks. He and fellow pyromaniac Mike went to LA for their fireworks fix and got the goods for a awesome show. We had over 80 people lining the sidewalk by our house and I think I can safely say it was a awesome show!!!! Blowing up fireworks is always a great way to celebrate our country's birthday!!!

Taylor and Mike enjoying the show

The two pyromaniacs before the show began. They are armed and ready!!!

The spectators

Taylor thrilled with the fun he was anticipating

Ken, helping lay out the fireworks so make the show move along. No long delays and boring stuff here.

Earlier in the afternoon at the pool party. Lexi with a squirt gun.

Paige and friends enjoying the BBQ.

Great friends sharing time together

Loving the yummy food everyone brought.

swim team

2010-07-03T08:59:00.001-07:00

Both girls swam on a neighborhood swim team as they have done for the past 5 yrs. It was a tough year as they were both the youngest in their age category, but they did well. The hardest part as parents were the Sat. am meets. It was hot and we are not allowed a quick jump in the pool to cool off.

Paige in the breaststroke event.

Lexi ready for her event.

At the end of the season each swimmer gets a trophy and award. Lexi with hers.

Paige and hers.

The girls and their awesome coaches, Coach Matt and Coach Jessi. They are both great and very patient with the kids. They do put together killer workouts though.

Visit from family

2010-07-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

With all the graduation festivities was visits from family far and wide. Ken's mom came the week before graduation. Maria's parents and sisters came the weekend of graduation and stayed afterwards for a few days. We enjoyed just hanging out and visiting as well as seeing different things around Houston.

We went to Brazos Bend park because our cousin wanted to see "real" alligators. This is about as real as it gets.

Hanging out at home.

The Curnutt clan with grandma and Papa

Lovin on cousin Benjamin

The "kids" at play at the children't museum

Papa and Paige racing their Lego cars. Papa's had some structural problems.

On the ferry to Bolivar. We hadn't been since before Ike and the little ones thought it was cool to drive on the boat and get out and check out the water

Grandma and Papa on the ferry

Dinner at the original mexican restaurant after a full day at Galveston. Yummy!!!

The great Lego creation from Sara, Paige and Anthony. This was very tricked out!!!

Thanks so much for coming and visiting. We love to have visitors, and it doesn't even have to be a special event.

Taylor's high school graduation

2010-06-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Taylor with his graduation cake. The balloons behind him give the appearance of him wearing the mortar board.

Taylor's graduation was the very last graduation of the school district. Sunday, June 5th at 7:00 p.m. -yes, a horrible time. Since we had all afternoon to wait we did our graduation dinner then with family and friends. We appreciate everyone that was able to be there and support Taylor in this special time in his life.

I know it's hard to read because of the brightness of the lights but it says Welcome to 2010 Mayde Creek Commencement.

The 2010 senior class of Mayde Creek High School

Taylor lined up to receive his diploma. Notice the big grin, he was ready!!!

Our family tradition is when you come out of commencement you are attacked by family members with silly string. I think Taylor got it good!!!! The lighting is so bad because it was dark. It was about 9:00 p.m. by the time we were done.

Everyone there to congratulate Taylor. thanks for being there. It was nasty and muggy out after getting a brief rain shower. I had gotten the lei for Taylor with green and white orchids. It was beautiful.

Taylor with just a few remnants of the silly string

The Torbit family-one, so proud of Taylor. Way to go and remember this is really the beginning not just the end.

Our proud senior.

Mission update

2010-06-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

From Nov 2009-beginning of April 2010 Jordan was serving his mission in the Hemet area. I had posted pictures with his 1st companion-Elder Dunn. He had a new comp-Elder Dalton transferred in mid-January. this was the longest he had ever served in one area. He really loved the people and was able to teach many about the gospel.

This is his mission zone attending the Redlands temple. Jordan is in the front, second from the left.

Jordan and his companion Elder Dalton with a young lady they taught and were able to baptize. She overcame a lot of opposition and was strong in her testimony.

The beginning of April Jordan was transferred to Beaumont, CA. We laugh that it's the "other" Beaumont, on the other end of I-10. He has enjoyed this area and his companion is elder Clement. He celebrated his 21st birthday there. This is a tradition of ours that you put all your birthday gifts on the couch and hold up the fingers for how old you are. It's a trick that helps me out with sorting pictures. Since Jordan has actually exceeded the necessary digits for this year we're doing the next best thing. Looks like he is set for breakfast for awhile.

Someone was kind enough to get him a toy-just what he needed. He is a Lego maniac, so he got some kind of spaceship kit.

You have to know Jordan to really understand why this picture is so funny. This is the little bags for when you're walking your dog and need to pick up their mess. They're called a "poopy pouch". Either you get it or you don't but I can't explain.

5th grade party

2010-06-21T09:58:00.001-07:00

The last day of school was party time for the 5th graders. they got things going at the school with a water balloon fight between two classes that had won a contest on campus. The kids thought it was great to get each other and they were relatively in control. Notice the grey ominous clouds in the background, the threat of rain was putting a damper on the pool party for later in the day.

Lexi with her water balloons ready for retaliation.

The kids made sure their balloons were used wisely, causing as much soaking as possible

We did have a cloudburst right as school was letting out, but it cleared up and was perfect for the 5th grade pool party. It was the 1st time we had done one with this school and I would say it was a great success. Much easier that trying to entertain them in the school gym. There was plenty of food, music and water, which is a must outside in Houston. Congratulations Class of 2017, good luck in Jr. high.

Lexi and her buddies. Unfortunately the sun was so bright and I snapped the picture before everyone opened their eyes.

Everyone having fun to "Party on the USA"

I actually got a picture with Lexi at the background one of the mom's had painted. I have loved being part of my kid's "school life" and enjoyed volunteering in whatever way I can.

Last day of school

2010-06-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Every morning I would drop the girls off across from the front of the school so I got one last picture of the three of them together. We figured out that they will never go to the same school together again.

Lexi before leaving for the last day of 5th grade

Paige before heading to the end of 7th grade

I actually got Taylor to cooperate for this one. It was the last day he had to be on campus as a senior. He exempted all his finals so he was done a week before everyone else. It's been years since I have a picture of him in front of his school. Adios high school.

Awards time

2010-06-11T12:42:00.001-07:00

The end of the school year is award and banquet time. With the three kids and their activities it seemed like there was something at least once a week. It's nice to see them recognized for the hard work they put into their school and music.

Paige at the Spring jr. high band concert. She got an award for her solo in percussion for the UIL competition. The band director also awarded her a merit award for her overall contribution to the band.

Paige played tennis for the 1st time this year and she and her partner made the finals. They ended up with 3rd place, not to bad for beginners.

Paige was inducted into the National Jr. Honor Society. They had a nice ceremony and reception. They help with activities around the school and provide service in the community. She was chosen by maintaining a 3.5 GPA

High School Orchestra banquet. The seniors are honored at the annual banquet. One mom put together a nice slide show of the many activities and performances throughout the year and a
tribute to each individual senior. Taylor is 5th from the left. The conductor is 3rd from the left.

Paige also received some awards from her teachers in 7th grade. She received a PE award and science award.

I know it's almost impossible to read but Taylor's name is on the Honor roll list. It's on the right side just past 1/2 way down.

This was Taylor's last day of school and I was there helping with some Proj Grad things. I got him to point to his name on the honor roll list. He only did it because the halls were empty. He's not always cooperative when it comes to my desire to document life with a picture.

This is the only picture I got from Taylor's seminary graduation. This is the early morning bible study class that he took for the 4 yrs. of high school. They have a ceremony to congratulate the students for completing their studies and hand out diplomas. Taylor had to leave for work before everything was completely over, so I didn't get a picture with the diploma. I taught Taylor for the 1st 3 yrs. and this other lady taught this past year.

Lexi had her 5th grade awards ceremony at school. She received the gold presidential award. this is for maintaining a A average all year and for receiving commended on her state exams in all subjects. The 5th graders are tested in reading, math and science.

After the presidential awards and other special presentations each student is presented by their teacher and receives any awards she or other teachers have for them. Lexi also received awards in Reading, Citizenship, Music and Safety Patrol.

Mother's Day

2010-05-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Mother's day -thanks so much for making my day a great one.

Some flowers from my hubby. He knows I love a mixed bouquet.

My girls are so sweet to fix breakfast in bed.

3 of my kids that have given me the title of mom

Me and my girls with a yummy dinner that they fixed. Love the day off!!!

Last concert

2010-05-27T18:56:00.001-07:00

I can't believe we're to the end of so many things for Taylor at school. This was his last orchestra concert. I love to go to the concerts and will miss this.

These are all the graduating seniors from orchestra. There are 22 of them. This will leave a big hole in the orchestra.

Weekend in Az.

2010-05-09T12:28:00.001-07:00

We took a quick trip to Easter AZ for the weekend. these are just a few pics from along the way. Unfortunately I didn't take pics when we were with friends visiting. We went to go and see the temple there (see next post) and got to visit with some good friends also. Since it was so short of time we didn't do a lot of other activities but we did enjoy going hiking in some hills on Sat. afternoon. that's not something that we get to do in Houston. It was also unseasonably cool which was a welcome change.

The girls at a rest stop. We have stopped here many times on various trips and I have pics from all different ages of the kids.

A motel in a small town along the way. We told Taylor it was all ready for him to come back and run it.

On our hike we found a small horny toad. Lexi was willing to hold it.

Paige and Lexi heading up the hill.

A shot of Mt. Graham with fresh snow. It had just fallen the day before

Maria with the kids at the top of the hill we climbed.

Ken with the kids

A shot overlooking part of the Gila Valley

Taylor with our horny toad friend, just before we gave it it's freedom back.

Gila Valley Arizona Temple open house

2010-05-09T12:11:00.001-07:00

From May of 1995-Oct of 1996 we lived in Safford, AZ., a small town in the eastern part of state. Ken flew forest fires for a avaition company out of the town. While we were there just a short time, it left a big impact on our lives. We made friends with some incredible people, loved the area and stop and visit during our trek to and from Ca. In 2008 it was announced that a temple would be built in the Gila Valley, the area where Safford is. We said we wanted to go and were waiting to hear when the open house would be. The temples are sacred places of worship and after they are dedicated, only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that are worthy may enter. Before they are dedicated the temple is open to the public to come in and anyone can come in and see and learn all about what temples are for. We had hoped that the open house would be when there was a break in the kids school schedule but of course, no such luck. We decided the last weekend in April was the only time we would be able to go. We left Thurs afternoon, drove part way and then arrived Fri. afternoon. We actually went to the open house on Sat. morning. The temple was just beautiful, of course. We loved being able to see everything and are so grateful the temple is there for the people to enjoy and participate in the sacred ordinances. The peace and serenity inside reminds you of how sacred this building is, even before dedication. While it was a quick trip and lots of driving it was definitely worth it.

This is us at the back of the temple

At the front of the temple

The front facade of the temple.

Spring in texas

2010-05-09T12:01:00.001-07:00

A sure sign of spring in Texas are the bluebonnets. We had quite a bit of moisture this year so they were beautiful. We usually head NW of us the first Sunday of April to see them. With it being Easter we didn't go until the 2nd week. We came across a huge field which was just gorgeous to see this carpet of purple flowers. We go with good friends and take turns taking pictures of our families. These are some that I took with my point and shoot. You can get the feeling of how beautiful they are.
Paige

Lexi

Taylor

Ken & I

April update

2010-05-09T11:07:00.001-07:00

We are in the big end of year windup. This time of year is so crazy with all the activities going on. I am already behind on May so I thought I would do a quick update on some of our activities for April.

Taylor had the opportunity to baptize a boy in our ward. His father had been given the opportunity when he was a priest and so he wanted to pay it forward. It was a great experience for Taylor and wonderful as a parent to see him use the priesthood to bless others.

The youth at church had a "Decade Dinner" where different age groups dressed up in attire from various decades. Ken had the 50's, Paige the 60's and Taylor the 80's. I got them just before they headed out the door. They had a great time and even learned some dances from the eras.

Senior prom 2010-Taylor and his date before heading off to the dance. they got a limo they shared with two other couples. It was held downtown at the Houston Club and they said it was pretty fun. I can't believe my boy is so grown up and when I see him all spiffed out he looks like such a handsome man.

Lexi and safety patrol. The 5th graders are chosen at school to spend 6 wks as part of safety patrol. they help with morning arrival and afternoon dismissal by opening car doors of car riders. They put up the flags and help maintain order in the hall at dismissal. Lexi's job was flags-I was very impressed with the respect she and the other students handled their responsibility with.

Taylor got a new job. He is working concessions at the local multiplex theater. He has only worked a few times but enjoys it so far.

Easter

2010-04-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

Easter kind of snuck up on us this year. We were just past Lexi's birthday and I realized Easter was in a week. It was also different because we didn't go to church because of General Conference. It was nice in the fact we didn't have to hurry in the morning to get everyone ready for church. Lexi was the one up and excited and it took a while to get Taylor to cooperate and wake up. It was a very pleasant day, listening to the counsel of apostles and prophet, sharing good food with friends and being together as a family. Most importantly remembering the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. A gift that is a blessing everyday.

Taylor's wisdom teeth

2010-04-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of April Taylor got his wisdom teeth out. Everything went as planned and he came out of surgery very giggly. The nurse said he did great and was entertaining them all in the back. I could see why, Taylor is a spaz with drugs. He has never had his mouth numb so he kept touching his lips and chin. I was videoing him and driving at the same time and so it's a bit wobbly. He kept telling me he was feeling well enough to go to school. The video shows how goofy he was. He has quickly healed and with minimal swelling.

Tennis anyone?

2010-04-19T12:11:00.001-07:00

In the Fall Paige and I had a discussion about the importance of physical exercise. She tried to tell me she got plenty in her PE class. We all know that that's a joke and I told her she needed to find something to do for physical activity. She decided on tennis, her junior high has a tennis club that she was able to join. The emphasis was teaching the fundamentals of tennis, which was perfect because Paige knew nothing about tennis. In Feb. there were tryouts for the tennis team and Paige made the team. She has really enjoyed learning a new sport and hopefully she can enjoy playing tennis throughout her life. It's interesting for us to learn the game and watch her matches. Sorry I don't have any "action" shots. It's hard to get decent pics. from some of the places we have to watch the matches.

21 yrs ago

2010-04-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, how quickly life changes in such a short time, at least it seems like just yesterday that this picture was taken. Obviously not, but I can't believe my baby is 21 today. We had such a naive perspective on being parents and were so excited to have our new baby boy here and healthy. We had a lot to learn!!! We have loved being parents and the great joy that comes from seeing the growth in each of our children. There have been plenty of tears and trials too. It is very gratifying see the great work that Jordan is doing and realize that there is so much still to come. We are grateful that Heavenly Father has seen fit to have been blessed us with 4 great children and pray we can do the job as parents that we are suppose to. Happy Birthday Jordan, Love you whole hearts!!!!!!

Jordan in Hemet

2010-04-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

Jordan's 6th area on his mission was Hemet. It is southeast of Riverside. This is the area that he had been in the longest, he was there for 4 1/2 months. He was just transferred last week. He really enjoyed the people in Hemet and had some great experiences as a missionary. These pictures are a bit old-from the end of the year but he broke his camera and we just got it replaced a couple of weeks ago. We are hoping for some updates soon. His new area is Beaumont. It is right along I-10 between Yucaipa and Banning, both areas where he had previously served.

When Jordan left he decided that he didn't need a rain suit or special rain gear. The Riverside area gets about 1 1/2" of rain/year. Of course this was the wettest winter in several years and Jordan was on a bike. This is after being out in rain all day.

Jordan transferred to Hemet the end of November so the holidays were spent there. His 1st companion was Elder Dunn.

The youth group from the ward wanted to make sure the missionaries started their day out right. Looks like they're good for a couple of weeks. I love the artwork on the wall.

Elder Torbit and Elder Dunn with Rita, an investigator they were able to teach. Her friend that is a member of the church baptized and confirmed her.

Each of the places Jordan has been has their "local" activity. In Hemet the elders played softball on Mondays with a city league. Here's a clip from Jordan. He got a couple of strikes before getting a piece of it and hitting a home run.

Taylor the cook

2010-04-11T12:16:00.001-07:00

As a senior Taylor had only a few credits needed to finish this semester. He decided to have some fun and do something besides what was required. I talked him into taking a food and nutrition class. He has learned quite a bit and will be something that will benefit him the rest of his life. He had a assignment to make and bring a family recipe and present it to the class. We settled on chocolate turtle cookies. They aren't really fancy but fun because they are baked on a waffle iron. It was fun to watch Taylor use some of the things he's learned and do it. The hardest part was stepping back and letting him do it. He did great and the teacher thought they were a really unique cookie. The bummer was not getting to eat them, they are one of our favorites.

Visit from Sis

2010-04-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister Sara came to visit my other sister Amy during spring break. Since Amy is up in Nacogdoches and the scheduling thing we didn't catch up until the end of her visit. We met up by the airport and got to spend a few hours together before she headed back to Calif. She brought Benjamin and it was fun to visit and see how much he has grown. It's always great to see family.

spring break camping

2010-04-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

We did our annual spring break camping trip. There were 7 families all together and we headed to Lake Livingston this year. We hadn't been there before but thanks to Holly for getting us this great area where the kids could play in the street and we were all together. We were up there for Thurs., Fri., and Sat. which turned out to be perfect planning. It was nice to just get away from the everyday schedule and be out in the beauty of nature. We even had beautiful weather.

On Fri the kids decided since it was nice (mid 70's) and we were by a lake they needed to go swimming. Some of the kids had brought bathing suits but those who didn't had figured out something to improvise in. This was before heading to the lake. And this wasn't even all the kids there were nine not pictured. Of course, some were not of the age to be swimming yet. Don't they look like a happy, warm bunch?

Of course when they just put their hands in the water it didn't feel too bad. Lexi was the first one in and jumping in was a whole new experience. Then it became a matter of who would be brave enough to take the plunge. Many of the kids jumped in but not very many were in for more than a minute or two.

Paige made the jump and was back out quickly.

Lexi all nice and wet

Paige and Lexi dared each other to jump in again.

Besides the lake there were lots of other things to keep everyone busy. Paige tried out her kite flying.

Taylor and Taylor with Michael

The 'tween' girls-Olivia, Carly, Morgan and Lexi

The 'middle' girls-Quincy, Paige and Andrea

Ken-helping cook up some yummy breakfast tacos.

We even got some service hours for the elementary school by cutting out some laminating for the teachers. Hey, might as well make the most of the time. Not something that is easy to come by at home.

Playing washers, you just have to be careful of wandering little ones.

Tracball

I'm not that bad of a partner

The whole family before the end of the day.

Sat. morning as we were enjoying a leisurely breakfast, Ken showed us the radar screen on his phone of what was heading our way. A big rain cell. We quickly went to work packing everything up. As we were literally putting the last things in the car, the raindrops started. It was a good thing we were ready to go, since it rained the rest of the afternoon and brought a cold front with it. Camping is fun, but not in the rain.

Kodiak X

2010-04-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Summer of 2009 Taylor attended a special Venturing summer camp. It was leadership/team building skills course taught through a week long high adventure camp. Each day they did different activities-small boat sailing, horseback riding, climbing, shooting, etc. The boys all loved it and were then qualified to attend Kodiak X. This was taking the skills they had acquired this past summer and putting them into practice. The first weekend of spring break Taylor and 4 other boys from our crew went to Kodiak X. It was perfect camping weather and they were able to renew friendships and learn many things. Taylor even interviewed to go on staff for Kodiak this next summer. We'll see if that works out. Ken and I went to pick the boys up at the end of the weekend so I was finally able to see some of the things the boys all come home talking about. I actually got some pictures to boot.

Taylor in front of the camp logo

This is outside San Marcos in the hill country of Texas.

Taylor participated in the closing flag ceremony for the weekend.

After one last group activity everyone had to tell something memorable from the weekend.

Taylor receiving his gold Kodiak X medal. One thing that is different about Venturing from the other Boy Scout programs is that it is co-ed. Of course separate facilities and sleeping areas but there is a growing number of female crews.