Quote of the Day:

Today Kienna said to me (while the rest of us were cleaning the basement), "Mom, I'm going to help by make sure-ing that Jaymeson doesn't make any more mess!"

Love how she tries to get out of things AND has a cute little grammar mistake at the same time!

Some other Highlights!!

This year marked my VERY first School Christmas Concert as a mom. Kaia was in the Division 1 choir and then every class also performed. My kids were totally waving the whole time. It was SO much fun to see them light up as they scanned the crowd and then saw us supporting them!

Kienna might stand out as being one of the taller ones in her class. Funny because she's my only girl that's been on the charts. I've always thought of her as a normal height. Guess it's all perspective... (back row 3 from the left)
Kaia also stands out as the tallest in her class. This is actually both the Gr. 1 French classes. She's tied for tallest here. No surprises. She's NEVER even been near the charts in height. (back row - 3 from the right).


Hayley's shower was super fun at her friend Katie Muirheads house. There's tons of pictures (if anyone is interested email me) but this one was my favorite and sums it all up!


Another fun time was making buns with the boys. Jarett has a very special skill in this department. He may start a bakery with Saryn shortly.....


Setting up the gym for Hayley's wedding was SUPER fun too! Many fun things done and said. Loved meeting Troy's family a little better. Thoroughly enjoyed having the chairs moved into the gym by about 100 missionaries that just finished up a Zone Conference. Tying bows and seeing the many hairstyles people came up with with the sashes. Of course, the biggest highlight was seeing the progress of the gym. It's amazing how things suddenly pop and look fabulous. Oh, I also loved Hayley up on the ladder fixing the chandelier.

When father-in-law Bruce (behind the chairs in this picture unfolding a chair cover) showed up to help my mom said, "Oh Bruce, you didn't need to come." His response, "That's not what Mary said...." I laughed SO hard!




One of my favorite events of every year is the nativity pageant. This year Kaia stepped down from her role as Mary so that Kienna could have a turn. Travis jumped to be Joseph as soon as he realized he got to be next to Kienna. So cute. Kaia made such a beautiful angel and Saryn was so sweet kissing baby Jesus. LOVED these moments!



Christmas Morning is an absolute favorite. This year was probably the last one we'll have at a Grandparents house. The end of an era. Kinda weird....


We also love cousins!! Hanging out with family, especially cousins....can life get better?

and of course crashing at the end of the day

(look at Saryn's backside - so funny)

Just a few of my highlights. There will be more.....never you fear!

Jammies - 2010 edition

This year was an AWESOME year for my kids pajamas!

The girls had their Aunty Brookie make their pajamas for them. She is 17 years old and was able to make all their pajamas and did a REALLY good job with them. Thank you Brooklyn. It's hard to find cute pj's these days! Oh, and not only did she sew my girls pajamas, but she also sewed a pair for my mom as well. They looked so darling in them! Thank you Brooks!!

We also got a super visitor. Superman and Superbaby joined us!

Jarett has been saying for almost a whole year how he wants cool boy pajamas instead of plaid or reindeer. He likes the pajamas that he gets, but he REALLY wanted some fun ones. I hunted everywhere to try to find superhero pajamas, but couldn't. Luckily my Mother-in-law just happened to have superman material for the pajamas, superman quilt blocks (back of the capes) and red satin to make into capes. I just had to find a couple shirts and I was set. Oh, except that I can't sew.... So, luckily I have a good friend that can! Thank you Rebecca, I couldn't have pulled this off without you!
The boys actually enjoyed the modeling this year. Unfortunately, I didn't have my new camera yet, so a LOT of the pictures turned out blurry and distorted. However, we did get some that were priceless. I also took some more of Jaymeson last night in his super cape! Enjoy!



My mom gave us girls all pajamas this year too! Once again, my blasted camera wasn't working well and I didn't get ANY pictures of the modeling this year. They were wonderful pajamas, but it was sad doing the classic photo shoot without Hayley (who was on her honeymoon). It felt MIGHTY strange. I'll have to recruit these Jammie pictures from a sister....

Just some more Jaymeson ones:

Hayley and Troy - December 22, 2009

I don't know how to sum up such a beautiful, emotional and exciting day in one post. It was my birthday and 8th anniversary, but I didn't really think too much about that. I was too excited to be re-living it.

My beautiful little sister, Hayley, got sealed in the same temple on the same day - just 8 years later. It was SO incredible to watch her kneel at the alter and marry the man of her dreams. I have become far more emotional with every baby I have and I was moved to tears to hear the blessings they were receiving. I remembered the same overwhelming feeling when I was a bride and as I sat there, I felt so lucky - so BLESSED to have the incredible husband I have. I can't help but be excited to know that Hayley is now joining the "marrieds" club of our family and know that she married such a wonderful man to take her journey with.

I felt SO honored to be called into the brides room (where I had been just 8 years previous) and help tighten her dress laces (it was just like Gone with the Wind while she held on tight while we pulled in the stays), tidy her make-up, put on her shoes and carry her bags. It was SO much fun to be in there with my mom, and my sisters (Alanna and Hayley). The married ladies got to have a little moment there in the Brides Room and there was a very strong special feeling. Alanna and I got to announce to everyone that the beautiful bride was coming.

It was quite cold outside (-12ish), but I was so excited running around and taking pictures (you remember that I had my sister-in-laws camera :) ) that I didn't even put a coat on for almost an hour. Besides, if it wasn't cold, we wouldn't have the incredible trees that were frost covered. It was INCREDIBLY beautiful!






There is something SO incredible about being at the temple with all your extended family and seeing it grow with all the new additions through marriage. It was a tender moment for me and I know I won't forget it.

Of course, I'll also never forget my beautiful little girls. They were princesses in every form of the word. They LOVED being flower girls. They didn't enjoy being outside quite as much as I would've liked, but they were tough about it and loved being by a BRIDE!!

The family dinner and reception both had great food (Vinnie Jensen - you just can't go wrong) and great entertainment. As you walked into the reception you couldn't help but be WOWED. It had the false ceiling, the backdrops, the lights, the ambiance.

We got to work the day before the wedding setting this all up, but my mom had every detail nailed down. She had worked for months pulling this together and - like my sister-in-law, Erin said, "No one throws a party like your mom." It was PERFECT! (except for the first dance because I forgot to bring the song - sorry Mom)

The emcee was the best looking guy I've ever seen. He did a WONDERFUL job. I got SO many compliments on his voice, his sense of humor and his presence. He sung, spake and entertained WONDERFULLY. Of course, when he sang "Always" by Irving Berlin, I was to the point of tears. He also sang this at our wedding and at my sister, Alanna's wedding too. It was sung at my parents and at my grandparents. My Grandparents wedding was where this tradition was started. After they were married, every one stood up and sang it impromptu as they left. It's like one of those scenes in a musical that you think is too perfect to be in real life. From then on, it became a tradition. It is an incredibly special song to our family and having Jarett sing it made it so much better!

Mom had changed the words to a few Oklahoma! songs and it was hilarious. We had some friends sing "You are Love" from Show Boat (if you don't know this song, you need to) and I even joined in for a couple songs (in between Saryn throwing up in the hallway - thank you to Erin and Trevor for cleaning THAT up).

The dancing was SO much fun. Jarett and I had put together the dance mix and there was an awesome time had by all! Hayley and Troy cut the cake and left for the airport after the reception and then to Mexico for a week. It was fun to have them around for a little while around New Years. I hope they have an incredible married life, they adjust well and they know how much they are loved. Congratulations you guys! It was an honor to share my day with you!!







































































































































































































































PS - I apologize for the picture overload, but since I narrowed it down from 900 or so, consider yourself blessed...