BIG MESS!!

So I was on the computer working and I thought the girls were playing in their room. Oh No!They were playing alright, but NOT in their room! I decided to check on them and came out to this lovely mess! Two dozen eggs cracked all over the floor and the piano! Oh My Gosh! My first reaction was "What the heck are you doing, absolutely not"! Then I took a deep breath in and realized they are just kids, do not beat the crap out of them over a big mess! Do take a picture so we can show them all the trouble they caused me. I probably could post about one of these posts a day titled "BIG MESS".

You can only see half of the mess!! It was all over the piano keys as well.

How could you get mad at this?!!

SILLY GIRLS!!

On the contrary, the good outways the bad with kids, doesn't it? As much as my girls make messes and cause trouble, they make me laugh even more!!

Moms maxi pads! Or bandaids as they called them. Abby was the accomplice in crime.

I am sorry but I couldn't resist this! She was playing dress up and obviously got dressed all by herself. She had taken off her diaper and this is what you get!

And then she was trying to be a BIG girl like Abby. She is wearing about 5 pairs of pannies! She doesn't quite qualify for a BIG girl yet.

I was looking all over for Abby around the house and couldn't find her. Until she popped out of the dirty clothes hamper. She sure got me. And yes, she is also naked! My girls love to get naked for some reason.

PHOTOS

PHOTO SHOOT

I got the girls pictures taken at target for their 2 and 4 year updates. Of course, when we got there neither one of them would smile. They actually turned out better than I thought. Abby wanted to wear her costume that she wore for her dance recital. I thought sure, who cares? We didn't get any pics of her in her costumes the night of her recital so this will be good. I think they turned out pretty dreamy! And Kenna got a hold of the bear and would not put it down. So there you have it. You get what you pay for!

September

Abby's Starts Preschool!

Abby started preschool this year at the Montessori Learning Center in Mesa. I am a big fan of Montessori learning. My aunt had a Montessori school in her home that my brother Jaren and I went to (I'm pretty sure that's why we are so smart). I love the hands on learning environment. It teaches children to be independent (that's not always better). Abby loves preschool and loves her teachers Miss Christine, Miss Sadie and Miss Nona. We carpool with Brooke and when it's my turn to drive, Kenna and I love to play outside on the swings and in the sand box together. The kids get to play outside for the first 25 minutes of school to get all their wiggles and energy out and the parents can stay if they want.

Trip to Duncan!

Grandma and Grandpa Harris moved to Duncan in April and we like to try and visit as much as we can. The girls absolutely LOVE going to Duncan (especially Abby). She probably asks at least every other day if we are going to Duncan. The Harris' decided to have a family activity every quarter with all the siblings that can make it. This month we decided to go to Duncan for the county fair. We had a lot of fun spending time with family, eating navajo tacos, riding rides, seeing all the animals and grasshoppers and of course going on walks. The girls really enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and their cousins. Heather and Eddy decided not to come since baby was due in a few weeks. It's a good thing because Heather went into labor while we were gone. The Harris' and Nelsons left Duncan at 3am to make it just in time for Merrick William Torriente to arrive. We are so excited for them and congratulate them as they start their new family!

Abby was reinacting what she did on the Ferris wheel because it was kind of scary. Sorry about the red eye, that is what's scary!

Holy Crap!! Is that the HUGEST grasshopper you've ever seen? (yes folks... that IS a quarter) Those things were everywhere. Abby loved stepping on them and Kenna freaked when they came close to her, as did I.

Grandma and all the cousins riding on the quad. They thought that was so fun! I'm not gonna lie, Grandma driving that thing kind of scared me a little.

August

Look Who's TWO!

27.8 lbs. and 35" tall

I can't believe Kenna is already 2! These 2 years have gone by sooo fast. We celebrated her birthday at Grandma Bonnie's house. She shares the same birthday as her cousin Caleb, so we had a joint party. She was very excited about her gifts and knew exactly what to do with them. She was very good at saying thank you to everyone. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate her life and thanks to me for going through HELL to get her here!

Isn't that the cutest cake!!

She was not sure about all the attention,

and Caleb didn't like the singing so much!

What We Love about Kenna at TWO!

- She has many "terrible two" moments, but mostly has a very SWEET disposition! I'm pretty sure she got that from her me! (he he)

- She is the best snuggler. She will lay her head on your shoulder almost any time, especially at bed time while we sing her favorite song "twinkle, twinkle little star"

- She loves her big sister and has to copy everything she does.

-She is our little parrot and loves to mimic behavior.

- She says "love you too" and uses sign language (except instead of the correct sign she uses the peace sign)

- Her sweet little raspy voice

-Her big hugs and kisses

-Her dimples and big blue eyes

Things Kenna Loves at Two!

- Her blankees (all 3 of them)
- Teat (treat)

- Candy
-Suckers (someone got my sweet tooth)
- Stuffed animals
- Babies
- Grandma's and Grandpa
- Playing with Abby
- Playing "got you" with daddy

- Lil' bit (what she says when she wants more milk at bed time)

JULY

SAN CARLOS MEXICO!!

We were very blessed to be able to go with our friends the Mavity's, Stewarts, and Makelprangs to San Carlos Mexico this year for the 4th of July. We were kid free and had such a fabulous time. That was the first time I have been to Mexico, what an awesome experience! I had no idea how blessed we are to live here. It was eye opening to see the people. We left early Wednesday morning in Drew's GINORMOUS truck. Here are all the guys getting our visas just past the border.

The rest of the rode trip was great until we stopped to eat and I realized I had left my wallet back home (I know that is so stupid). I had taken it out of my purse in the car to get gas and didn't put it back in. I was sooo embarrassed and started thinking that I was going to be stuck in Mexico and my family would have to come visit me because I had no I.D. to get back across the border. Way to go Jenyce..... Ryan even asked me before we left if I was sure that I had my I.D (sure I do, it's always in my purse). I probably should check next time. After discussing it with Jake secretly because I felt soooo dumb, he reassured us that someone could email us a copy of my I.D. to show at the border if necessary. Anyways, we arrived safely and this is how we spent the next week. It seriously was heaven!

TO BE CONTINUED......

June

Happy 30th Birthday Ryan!!

SURPRISE!!

I threw Ryan a surprise party for his 30 Birthday. It turned out so good, he had no idea! The pictures didn't turn out so good I was to busy trying to make everything run smoothly I didn't do a good job of taking pictures. Anyway, this was definitely a lot of work but it was a lot of fun too. Thanks to Jen and Rob for letting us use their house and to everyone that helped with the food and planning and of course everyone that came making it a great party! We have such great friends and family. I am glad Ryan had a great birthday because he sure deserved it. He has had a great 30 years (especially the past 5) and we look forward to a great 30 more! He has accomplished so much. We Love You Ry! Thanks for being you. Happy Birthday

Gore's 50th Anniversary Celebration!

Ryan's work celebrated their 50th anniversary this year with a big family fair in Flagstaff. We all rode up in a big bus (the girls thought that was really cool)! We thankfully got there safely since the bus driver thought it was a good idea to text on his phone while winding through the mountains. Talk about scary! Anyways, we had a LOT of fun as a family. The girls got their faces painted, ate lots of food, cookies and ice cream, rode on all kinds of rides, sang and danced with the band, and Abby got to go rock climbing with daddy (I can't believe she did it and loved it)

MAY

Of Course..... My Birthday and Mothers Day!!
From what I recall I had a fabulous birthday/mother day. Ryan definitely took care of me. First I spent the morning with my mom, sister and sister-in-laws. We went to breakfast and to get pedicures. Then to come home to a CLEAN house and a massage table set up. Ryan had hired Buffy (massage therapist from work) to come to the house to give me a massage while he left with the girls. Wow, what a day. Way to go Ry!


Shout out to my MOM!
My mom is such a wonderful person all around, but especially a wonderful mother! She does so much for us kids and is always willing to do more. She is probably the strongest woman I know. She has so much on her plate, yet handles it all so well. She inspires me to be better and to know that I can get through anything as long as I am close to my Heavenly Father and ask for his help and strength. She is such a hard worker and is sooo great at what she does. If she is not at work then she is at work giving service to family and anyone else around in need. She is such a fun person to be around. I hope I can be just like you when I grow up. I LOVE YOU MOM!!

April

I can't recall much that happened in April other than Nelson and Francie (Ryan's mom and dad) moved to Duncan, Az. This was such a sad time for us and our girls:( We really enjoyed having them live next door to us. It was fun for me to get to know them a little better and grow so much closer to them. I have the BEST in-laws ever. My mother-in-law is the nicest, most caring person who loves her children sooo much and would do anything to help them. She loves her grandchildren just as much and is the best grandma. My girls love to play with grandma Francie. I feel honored that they call me Francie Jr. My father-in-law is also a very loving person. He has taken me in as one of his daughters and for this I am so grateful since he is my only father figure right now. He is doing a fabulous job. I have never met anyone who works as hard as he does and who literally is such a wonderful husband (Actually I think Ryan is right on his tail). Anyways, we are so happy for them, they are loving it down there. We miss them a bunch but are lucky enough to still see them every couple of months.

MARCH

Happy Easter!!

FEBRUARY

SAD DAY!

Our first home that we ever lived in was torn down in February. (well, we called it that cause that is where we slept at night, but in actuality it is probably more appropriately called our first dump. Or our first hole in the wall. Or our first scorpion/roach/mouse infested domicile. Or our first how-in-THE-hell-did-Ryan-talk-me-into-staying-here-for-a-whole-year.... even better... how did I do it?) It was Uncle Tom's 14 acre Ranch house that he grew up in on the northwest corner of Cooper and Pecos just south of the Cooper Ward meetinghouse. When Uncle Tom moved to Duncan and was getting ready to put it up for sale, he kept his horses there and let Ryan and I stay there in exchange for feeding and taking care of the horses until it sold. It actually was a neat little place to start out in and we do have some fond memories of it. (as you will see, we also had some not so fond memories of it, including the home getting broken into and us being robbed while we were at work just 3 months into our marriage. The thieves made away with about 5 thousand dollars worth of clothes, Cd's, guns, and other goods including a custom made hunting knife that Ryan's uncle Ted hand forged and crafted for him.... now THAT was a sad day.)

JANUARY

Abby, Spencer, Brinton, Mady, Ms. Jenyce & Kenna

In January I decided to be ambitious and start a preschool in my home. I had 4 students, 7 if you count my little Kenna who thought she was one of the BIG kids. Bless her heart she was trying to do her best but ended up giving me the equivalent of 3 extra students. I truly enjoyed the experience... but I am SO glad I am now done! (Thanks Kenna... You ruined it and you have convinced me that it is better to put Abby in preschool than to run my own.) Now I get to enjoy a nice little break and I actually have time to get things done (like blogging). In all seriousness, I really enjoyed working with the kids, it just ended up being more work than I had anticipated.