La Vida De Los Biggs

Mesa means Family

2011-12-27T12:32:00.001-08:00

While in Mesa we have an enjoyed Many memorable moments! Including an ugly sweater party at Jeff and Chels' house. Thanks to Grandma Anna's magic, this is a picture of what Maya was doing the whole time we were at the party!

Here is a picture of the couple that won the "ugly sweater" contest. They have candy canes and bows taped to their sweaters, and it was great!

Chealsie was a Great hostess. We had good food, good games, good fun, and great moments to remember! Here is a picture of her during the white elephant gift ex-change.

Here is a picture of my brother-in-law Cory winning the "cubby-bunny" contest, and Janthan giving it his best shot!

I joined the "sparkling cider" contest because Jeff needed one more participant. Of course I did not think about how it would be carbonated. Of course I don't drink carbonation, so I basically gaged on it the whole time and had tears running down my checks. The second guy from the right downed the whole bottle in about 30 seconds. It was Crazy!

Here is a picture to show you exactly how exhausting our trip has been. Maya sat there. fast asleep, in the middle of all the noise and fuss around her, for about 20 minutes. Tired girl!!

We got to go see dad's grave site with mom and the kids. It was a nice little visit!

Maya is in love with little dolls, and seems to have one her hand, through out the whole trip! Good thing she got three baby dolls for Christmas!!

Kirtlyn was happy to play with her cousin Ellie, she even gave her a matching shirt was they could be "twinners!"

We have a picture just like this of when they were just little babies. Now they are 18months, and still the cutest cousins ever! Maya and Harper with Uncle Chris!

Ellie Biggs holding Maya Susanna

We had an Elf party at Joel and Stephanie Biggs house, and Santa left his Christmas bag under the tree, so Levi passed out the gifts for all of the kids to enjoy!

We have enjoyed many yummy dinners with Grandma Anna, Jeff, and Chealsie. But Christmas dinner was the most well attended, so we loved being there with everyone!!

Aunt Patricia, Kiley, and Kirtlyn

We had a great time at Dawn and Cory Echol's ward Christmas party. It was a "treck to Bethlehem." It included foods that might have been eaten at that time, sheep, and even a Live manger scene. It was a nice event for all of us, and we are glad we got to go!!

What great times and happy memories we have had! Thanks to our families who have welcomed us home so graciously!!

back again, with the Biggs

2011-11-30T10:48:00.001-08:00

For those of you who know the Haskins, I had to add this. You can see that Dylan had no trouble at all getting to know grandpa, when we brought them over to meet the

Biggs family!

Miss Maya

Here you can see Rylee and Kirltyn playing dress-up and Grandma and Grandpa Biggs

London meeting Kirtlyn's cousin, Brianna!

Hyrum seeing his favorite cousin, Polly Evans!

Rebecca, Polly, DeWitt, and Maya!

Maya loves her new baby cousin, Jared Thomas Richins!!

We were lucky enough to be in town for the Thatcher light parade. It was great, but very cold, so we stayed warm with coats and hot-chocol

Hyrum had plenty of layers on, he just kept taking it all off. I guess he was warm enough!

All bundled-up!

Go ahead, tell me what Christmas movie little Thomas reminds you of! Love it!!

Well here is cute May sneaking up the stairs, and eating stopping to eat a cookie... so sweetie!
We put together a quick birthday party for Thomas and Hyrum, and we combined it with the grandkids "polar-express party," We had a great time with pizza, hot-chocolate, cake and gifts!

Over course we had to have a pinata. Yes, we even printed out the "pinata," song for everyone to sing!

Here you can see how the boys were showered with love. (or gifts and cake!)

Time to relax, spend time with our family, and enjoy a little vacation is heavenly!

This is Hyrum stuffing a red vine into his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He need a varity.

The trip went So smoothly, and the kids were amazing being the car for 10 hours, for tow days in a row!

Kirtlyn's first Piano Recital

2011-10-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last year and this summer, Kirtlyn has learned a lot about music and piano from two very talented ladies. Jesse Overton, and Kim Arcila. When school started this year, we stopped lessons, and she has been out of practice. But a few days before the recital, Kim asked Kirtlyn if she would play, and of course, Kirtlyn was all for that! She had three official practices on a piano before the recital... she is amazing!!Thomas came straight from school to see Kirtlyn play. Kirtlyn just beamed, and ran right over to see him. (She did not get up to see anyone else because she was being "professional" and staying in her seat.) It was sweet!
Riley, Kirtlyn, and London Haskins. Great friends!

Here are the kids waiting to watch the show, so proud!

Maya, Hyrum and Thomas sat still in their seats, until the recital started... of course this is how it always goes!
Kirtlyn looked like a real grown-up! She got dressed up, practiced her music (truly on her own, just singing the notes, while she pretended to play the piano), and sat in her seat in the front row until it was time for her to play.
This is Kirtlyn with her piano partner, piano teacher, (and she also happens to be the Primary president), Kim Arcila. She is a great friend to ours, and we feel truly blessed to have her in our life.

and here is Ava Powell who also came out to support Kirtlyn!
She was so lady like, getting up and down those steep stairs!

She did a great job, and I hope to figure out how to post a video tonight, so you can see it!!!

Maya visited her friends during the recital. This is her with the Arcila family

Here is the whole group at Dairy Queen, after the recital. We had a great time, and the ice-cream-blizzard-guy was just so fun for the kids!! He had to chase them to the car for me, so they would actually leave... they were just having so much fun!

Thanks to everyone that came to support Kirlyn, and we are so proud of our talented, hard working girl!!

So long Scarlet Fever!!

2011-10-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some recommended activities to do if you are ever stuck at home with this terrible bug.......

Play in the rain!

Get lots of these naps in!!

Build the Biggest and Best family-fort ever, and watch some new movies while you relax inside!!

and remember to take your medicine!!

Here are some symptoms you will come across when dealing with Scarlet Fever.....

The Rash,

Belly ache and severe headaches,

The red face and inflamed throat,

and sunken eyes, all of that and possibly some fever and nausea, and you've got it, scarlet fever.

Here are some precautions to take along the way...

Wash EVERYTHING the bug might have touched, than wash it again.

You will need All of this, and just use it until it is gone,

Then, just stay home and rest until your little family looks like this again..

And remember, someone else has been through it before and survived. You can do it!!

Mexican Indépendance Day

2011-09-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

Thomas loves to make up costumes. This one just happens to be a great Mexican Independence day costume!

She is one cute lady. WE love this little Mexicana!!

These are our friends, the Haskins. They are going to a public school together with our kids right now. And we hope they will get outside their comfort zones a little and really practice their Spanish!!

The Mexican Independence day program was great, Thomas lead his class out into the courtyard, each student wearing the traditional costumes of Spain and Mexico.

Kirtlyn's class took turns reading a message corresponding to the letter that spelled out Independence. She did it beautifully. Her accent is so good, I did not know it was her. I am still trying to figure out how to put video on here, but I will try to put that video on here.

This one is not working, but I will keep trying! Happy Mexican Independence Day

So-long Summer Time!!

2011-08-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

School has begun, and we will miss....

Swimming,

Playing with Lego Guy.

Swimming...
Time at the park,

Study sessions, (This started as spanish lessons for our three kids at Danni's house. Than it grew and grew. Kim and Danni Arcila were tutoring between 15-18 kids by the end of the summer! It was miraculous, and it will bless each child's life!)
We will miss Ana Karina, (She has been my assistant in nursery, a babysitter, and a friend to our family. Now she is in the MTC preparing for her mission in California.)

We won't miss popsicles, those are good any time of the year round here!!:)
But we may not have a lot of time to smell the roses, ( Thomas planted a rose bush this summer, and we are really enjoying each new blossom!)

or for just Hanging around,
We will always enjoy Maya's messy faces,
and something to warm us when the morning comes around.
We hope to continue to Swing in and out of each day,
and to do some more swimming along the way.

So, So-long-summer. We had some fun!! Still we are glad school has begun!!

UN ANO

2011-07-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

Get Ready for some seriously adorable pics of yours truly!!!

The only purpose of Maya's walker now is for her to sit back and relax, with her favorite stuffed animal, Sam the Lamb.

Believe it or not this cute pooch is only two years older than Maya!

THE PARTY

Eva Powell

Dylan Haskins
Elijah Powell

Daniela Arcila and Maya, the Birthday Girls!

(We celebrated with Danni, her birthday happens to be July 30th!)

London & Rylie Haskins with Eva

The adults of the party

Maya enjoying some marshmallow goodness!

There's that happy lady! Wearing a dress from Grandma Anna and some good times with her brothers! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mayaita chiquita bonita! We love you sweetie!! (We are excited to see the dress from Grandma Biggs soon too!)

The new Do!!

2011-07-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

BEFORE...

AFTER!!

SO much better! Jaime did some magic with my hair, and now I am a whole new person!

here he quickly braided my hair, and Kirtlyn was fascinated to see his abilities!

This was the first cut, he was so careful, and gave me the first strand. He thought maybe I needed it for my scrapbook.

... Almost done!!!

Tammy is the one who told me Jaime could do my hair, and she was right, he is amazing!

All the hair I lost was well worth it!

Now I am enjoying the new do!!

Oh what do YOU do in the summer time?

2011-06-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Oh what do you do in the summer time,

When not all fingers are working!
Do the kids just go crazy,

Climb to the top of the fridge,

Or hide in tight places, to get away......

If that's what You do,

We do Too!!

Oh what do you do in the summer time

When all the pools are tempting
Do you eat two things at a time,

Or Burn in the bright sun shine,

If that's what you do,

WE DO TOO!

Oh what do you do in the summer time,

When all the world is Sweet!
Do you feed missionaries,

Or bake like crazy,

and eat the treats All Day....

If that's what you do,

WE DO TOO!!

Package made perfect

2011-06-04T11:34:00.001-07:00

After praying, and lots of "discussing" with the people retaining our package in customs, and finally with Grandma Anna generously paying the the extra $130.00 Mexican tax fee (for her $20.00 package) our package finally arrived, only a month after she sent it! Oh HAPPY DAY!!!
Easter eggs are unheard of here, and will be so nice to have now!
Of course we love the $30.00 Chili's gift certificate, for Thomas birthday, and we will surely enjoy it!
Grandma made a pile of skirts and dresses for the girls, and they LOVED it!
Thomas put on his new shirt, and colored his new super-hero book right away!
Maya jumped right in with everyone else! ( I wanted you to see how strong she has gotten this last month.)
She looks beautiful with grandma's new dress on!(we think her eyes may be more green than blue some day, like her dad!)
Kirtlyn, of course, was the most excited. In the end, the UPS guy told us to use FedEx next time. I guess if the UPS guy says to use FedEx, than we Know now that it must be a better way to go!
Grandma and Grandpa Biggs "birthdays package," came just in time for big Thomas' birthday.
Of course the Nutter- Butters, Cheese-Its, and marshmallows were opened and enjoyed right away. Kirtlyn was so excited to put on a dress from Grandma Biggs, that was identical to the dress given to her by Grandma Anna the year before. And she enjoyed her special wrapped gift from Brianna. She carried around the purse, with everything she got, in it. It was a good time!

Another home-made gift, from Grandma Biggs, was these beautiful paper dolls.. Kirtlyn used those right away!
The gift bags from Mary were so nice to pass out on May 19th, even Maya loved it.
And the new Toy Story 3 game for Thomas' Birthday was perfect! I highly recommend it for anyone with little kids. It is so easy, and so fun!!!

Thank you Grandma Anna & Grandma/Grandpa Biggs, it was nice to have a little piece of home delivered straight to our door!

Happy BIRTHDAY HONEY!

2011-05-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few pictures from one of my favorite days with Thomas!

He is a constant company to me, a father that never wants to do anything but play and enjoy teaching good values to his children, and a most loyal friend!

It has been the time of my life, sharing the last eight years with times and it would not be right with out him!

No one can show such a calm/collected spirit, while still being so easily excited by the joyful things in life, and always doing everything with an eye single to the glory of God!

There is nothing I want more than to celebrate the birth of Thomas today, and show him how we love and constantly thank our Heavenly Father for him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!

Field Trips

2011-04-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of places to try next time you are in Guadalajara!

There is a huge park called Colomos. It is mostly pine trees and walking lanes, but they have some things the family can do too.

There is a building called "The castle" where they have some art displayed. As well as activities for the kids like molding clay and movies.

There are great areas to stop and picnic, and some that also have crafts available for the kids. Crafts like painting ceramics or wooden toys.

Of course the coolest part about the whole park is the Japanese Garden. Full of big fish, and little turtles!

In one of the picnic areas I let the kids pick out one wooden toy to paint. The three toys only cost $6.00 total, and it was only $0.40 to get into the park. I am not lying, they do not charge for kids, and the adults only pay $0.40... a very cheap way to get out and enjoy the day!
Our second field trip was to the Guadalajara zoo. So Fun!!
This is a fountain at the entrance of the zoo, that has animal faces sculpted in the fountain wall.
After you enter, there is a grand stair case taking you down to the zoo area. It has the monkey sculptures running down the center, it was nice.
At the bottom of the stair case is this lake with the "boy riding a fish" fountain. It was cool. The kids liked it.

They had every kind of animal there that you could imagine!

There were two baby black bears, so many birds and deer, and my personal favorite, a polar bear!! (of course my camera died when I wanted to get his picture.)

Thomas was so much fun at the zoo. Just one of the kids!! They were always ten feet ahead of the rest of the group. Every now and again he would stop and show the kids the map, and explain to them where we were headed next... they loved it!!

There were So Many reptiles. Tons of snacks, alligators, and lizards.

In this picture the kids were pretending they were in a scene from Harry Potter and they were trying to magically remove the glass of the snakes' cage!

There were several camals..Monkeys... most of which had babies with them!

They had wild cats of EVERY kind; the cheetah, the White tiger, the Black Panther, Mountian lion, Lion... name a wild cat they had it. Very cool.

We thought this fountain was so pretty, it was a great looking zoo too!
This chimp was so fun, he just sat there, staring at our friends' son Elijah. He seemed to think we were funny to look at.

There were two huge bird aviaries that the kids loved walking through.. we were truly face to face with those birds!

In the end, we decided to pay a little extra for a Safari ride, to go through the Safari animal area on an open car.... It was the best part of the day. As you can see we became close friends with Mr. Giraffe! It was a great "field trip!"

Seven is Heaven

2011-04-13T08:27:00.001-07:00

Gifts fit for a princess on her special day!

Kirtlyn wanted to do some swimming, I stayed with Maya on the grass most of the time, it was great way to spend a hot afternoon!

And Danni took her out to pick a pinata for her birthday party! I actually did not plan on having a pinata, and Danni said she had to have one.. and so we do! It was a great birthday present from Danni!

HAPPY SEVENTH BIRTHDAY KIRTLYN

All ready the day has started with presents, and tasted treats. Kirtlyn got some new clothes this morning, than walked down to the bread store with dad to pick out some tasty breakfast.
She got some yummy donuts and fruit for everyone to enjoy together for her birthday morning breakfast.
She also got some great new boots, she loves them. She even pretends to be a cow-girl!

here are the party girls, already enjoying the day!

Seven is heaven!

Conference "Can Do's"

2011-04-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

We had our Conference Candy, the M&M's in hand to get things started on the right foot.
Sometimes the kids would leave and entertain themselves. One time they came down-stairs dressed-up to look like the characters on this picture. It is blurry and hard to see, but they did a great job matching the picture!

Other times we each sat and confortably listened. There were moments of silent listening here and there, but mostly the kids played, and Thomas & I listened. Still, I know that we heard what we Needed to hear.... weather we had perfect silence in the house or not.

Kirtlyn even put on a dress for the Sunday sessions. When I asked her if she wanted to go and change, she said, "But mom, it's Sunday." And so it was! I love that valiant desire she has to make Sunday a little different, to make it sacred, to make it Holy!!

L Tom Perry talked about the Sabbath, during the Saturday morning 1st session. He talked about how we must prepare our children for the Sabbath, that they might be a standard for the nations. My testimony has grown on this matter, considering now that our world here is much bigger than we originally thought. The Lord needs us to be his helpers in establishing the standards and truths of His true Gospel, in order to better prepare his saints for their return to him. And each of us will do this, weather we feel worthy or prepared to do so or not. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows the work we are able to do.

I loved the quote that Henry B. Eyring shared, at the end of the first session, from President Benson that said, " I love this work, and it is work!" It is work, but we are able to do it, through Him, and we will feel the joy of our labors!

Conference is a joy for us, it is not always pure reverence, but the spirit is invited here.

I pray for each of you and your specific needs, and I love you!!

We are children of God, and I am so grateful for that knoweldge in my life!

If you would like to hear more of the General Conference talks from the Prophet and Apostles go to http://www.lds.org/?lang//eng

on the right of the page you will see conference messages from the Prophet and apostles.

Jennifer Biggs & Family

It's not easy being GREEN

2011-03-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

It seems we have been celebrating this entire month, mostly St. Patrick's Day- plus a few other important events.

We have enjoyed LOTS of crawling from Maya, she is a movin!

On March 8th, We started with a green dinner for the "wives club,"

it included cucumber salad, celery and peanut butter sticks, yummy oriental salad, and Of Course.. green deviled eggs! A real hit!

Here are some of the precious company we were privileged to enjoy at the lunch!

There was even a special treasure hunt for the kid. They followed the "Leprechaun's" hidden clues through-out the house until they came upon the hidden treasure. It was a very well-done treasure hunt (put together by Thomas) that ended with a delicious pot full of gold!

Even after our "green lunch" with the ladies, we could not stop partying. So Thomas made some delicious steaks then Mango, orange, banana shakes, followed by a mean game of kick-ball, and we just kept enjoying every minute of the day!!! (It is hard to tell, but all of the kids are wearing ties, they wanted to look formal for the taste-testing of the shakes!)

On March 17th, the "official" St. Patrick's Day, our friends Danny Arcila and her mom came over to help me practice my Spanish while I showed them how to make my sugar cookie recipe. We iced the cookies with some green frosting, and even took some over to the kids favorite teacher from their old school, Miss JoAnna. She lives near by and the kids insisted we take some cookies to her.

With the month starting off so well, my birthday was just a bonus!

The Arcila's brought over a cake they made to go along with my regular cheese cake, and we enjoyed the evening together.

Thomas and the kids got me some new slipper's, flip-flops, flowers, and my Favorite: a Walker for Maya!! I love it, because Maya loves it! And we are able to be a little more hands free through out the day now!

There was one gift full of candy that Hyrum had no problem watching over for me!

We had a few special deliveries, that were so sweet! Lincoln and AnJane brought me a dozen roses. They were just beautiful! Another friend from the wives club, Michelle Miller brought me a personal size dessert, which I immediately dug into! Yum!

Every year, what I love about my birthday is how Thomas and the kids so lovingly take over the house-hold needs for me. Together, they washed, dried, folded, and put away about six loads of Laundry. Half of those Kirtlyn did herself. She was truly giddy that it was my birthday, and volunteered to fold herself over the washing-machine, just to do the laundry for me. It was so sweet. It is cut off in this picture, but she had her legs sticking straight out behind her. She is a real angel!

The morning of my birthday was real sweet. Taking a walk together down to the nearby bread store, and our fruit vendor, to grab some pastries and fresh fruit! Everyone enjoyed it!!

It was a wonderful birthday thanks to a wonderful family!

Kirtlyn and Maya look so cute in their matching hats!

One day the kids just decided they wanted to make dinner, we had a great time working together in the kitchen to cook, cut, prepare, and serve a yummy meal!

Thomas and Hyrum loved getting right to work in the kitchen!! It was a great time!

Kirtlyn was well prepared with her matching "American Doll." They had their apron's on and everything!

We also enjoyed a little movie night with some of our friends, and of course had to do a little ping-pong... just the right way to end a day! We love making such memorable moments! Life is grand!

SOO Sick

2011-03-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Kirtlyn and Thomas are just growing-up!

I wanted to put this picture on here and show you how big they are. Thomas turned five in December, and has grown to be an obedient, independent boy. Kirtlyn will be Seven on April 13th... no, I can't believe it either!! And she is beautiful as ever!!
Hyrum needed a little rest with his daddy when he got a little bug and was sick all one day last week.
He was so exhausted from being sick all day, that I walked in and found him asleep, leaning over the toliet.
Poor thing!
But he is well and whole and loving his happy time with baby sister Maya!!
They don't look anything alike, do they?!

CON AMOR

2011-02-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

We had a chance to take Lincoln and AnJane' to a little town called Tonola to look for some things they needed. The entire town is full of craftsmen selling their beautiful supplies. It is the place every new medical student goes to get everything they need from beautifully hand-carved tables to laundry baskets, for a great price.
We ran across this little modern art studio, in the middle of all the vendors. It had amazing art, as modern as can be, and this One beautiful painting of a little piece of Mexico. We fell in love with the painting and brought it home to serve as a reminder of beautiful Mexico, long after we leave here.
We enjoyed Several valentines parties this year. Starting with one that AnJane' organized as a "desert" party for all of the "wives club" to share a treat and make valentines. The train cake above was a beautiful dessert that my friend Amy took to the party, it looked So good, that no one even touched it until the party was over. I loved the train cake, and Amy said she felt it looked sloppy because she decorated it while holding her 9 month old baby. Wow!! I could not do that while holding a baby!

after that we had a wonderful Carne asada or barbaque with the high priest group in the ward, it was ecspecially nice for Maya was who
loved by all of her Mexican "abuelos," and enjoyed her first taste of Rebecca's famous sugar cookies! (Thanks Rebec)

Los ninos enjoyed some mexican chocolate/marshmellow suckers and cupcakes for valentines day. They gave daddy his favorite butter toffee candies and chupa chups suckers (which the kids quickly ate For him immediately there after), and Kirtlyn helped Thomas pick out a beautiful flower from the flower vendor on the corner, for me. I am defiantly going to plant it and keep enjoying it as long as I can.

The kids enjoyed a little visit from there favorite perro in the coto. Little Thomas says that when this dog grows-up, it will be a horse... so there you have it!! Gotta love that!

And to top it all off, Kirtlyn had a great time hosting her first sleep-over with a friend of hers named Rylie. Yes, they loved looking alike, and staying up late..... while we may not really be ready for anymore sleep-overs any time soon, Kirtlyn just says she loves sleep-overs!!

January, Starts the year off Fine!!

2011-02-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

Family Photos

We had a great trip home, spending a little time on the beach in Mazatlan, and enjoying every minute of it with the Hiatt family. Lincoln, Thomas' cousin, his wife AnJane', and daughter Kylee, car pooled home with us, since they got accepted to medical school this semester.

AnJane taking a chance at standing with the kids, and holding Kylee as the waves come rolling in!

Kylee and AnJane

MAYA, KIRTLYN, and KYLEE

Kylee loving Maya

The Hiatt's stayed with us for about three weeks, when they found a wonderful home for their family.

It has a great covered porch..

A nice big front window....

Thomas' and my favorite part, a cozy back porch with a little BBQ grill for entertaining! (LOVE it!)...
A nice size kitchen that is being remodeled...

Beautiful stair-case with a "Harry Potter" cupboard room underneath it.

And a beautiful Master Bedroom, with a great view of the city, large closets, and a cool little desk in the corner for studying, blogging, or whatever might come to mind.

Other than that

we had a pretty normal month..

enjoying the wonderful weather in Guadalajara... now that we are back again.

Hyrum is a "Big-Kid-Now," with at least a yards worth of gum-balls for bribing, (Thanks Joel and Stephanie) he can now wear his underoos all day and all night.

and Maya just enjoying a little time with Daddy.

and Thomas has made every effort to ease the work load at home, one of the things he has done, is create a Great, CHORE CHART (including chores like making the bed, turning off lights, and Doing Homework:)

These are the prizes they picked out at the dollar store... leave it to my kids to pick only practical prizes:)

jewelry box

Hulk tooth-brush

a little Umbrella

AND to keep things rolling along, YES

Maya started Rolling!

Home Again, Home Again

2011-01-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

So after saying goodbye to our reacquainted family members...

We packed up all our belongings...

All our kids...

And saw the United States of America shrink in our rearview mirror (at least our side rear view mirrors, the other was blocked by luggage)...

We traveled for 3 days (24 hours of driving time)...

But we found things to keep us entertained...

We saw some amazing sights...

And enjoyed our time together...

And we still love each other and are happy to be together.

2011-01-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

We got snowed in just North of Payson. Here are the kids sliding the hill when the snow just started.

Here is my Grandparents' cabin where we stayed. It was a lot of fun and very pretty to look at.

2011-01-01T13:00:00.001-08:00

Customize your own free scrapbook

Hurry-up and wait!:)

2010-12-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

We did what ever we could to keep busy, and not think too much about missing Thomas

So it started with the graduates, Chris and Andrew, and a visit from good old friends (Tiffany )
Followed by a very patriotic Veterans Day!!

Than some food and fun at both Joel and Esther's houses!

Of course we had to have a girls weekend with crafts, dinner at Bucca's, and family dinner at Aunt Tricia's house. The kids had a great time enjoying the "best day ever" with Uncle Jeff and Grandma & Grandpa Biggs.

Of course it was all topped off by a Beautiful Thanksgiving Feast at Dawn and Cory's place. With a Thankful Wreath, games, bonfire, train, crafts and Lots of food!!

We loved having Steve and Amee in town and enjoyed watching the light ceremony at the temple. Diesel was a great little guy to be around.

The kids loved meeting with old friends, and enjoyed a little play time and pizza with adopted "Aunty Teresa" and the boys Louie and Tom-Tom!

Family photos were a must do with Steve, Amee, Diesel, the kids & I in town. They turned out great, and it was the perfect day!

Finally our busy, but mostly incomplete month (without Thomas), comes to an end, and soon he will join the picture and be reunited, as he arrives, and the waiting is over... this very night!!Happy Holidays ahead.... we love you all!

2010-11-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

Personalize your own free greeting card

October Daze

2010-11-10T10:15:00.001-08:00

"Red-Rover, Red-Rover, send those little ones over!" Was the best game to play at the Very Merry un-Birthday party that Mary organized for all of the cousins.

Of course Lindsey and Hyrum were the final members of their line, but they loved having everyones attention while they ran for it!
Decorating their own Party Bags and filling them with prizes after each game was a great way to keep the kids involved, and each leaving with a "gift," of their own!

Decorating their own party hats and cup-cakes is just another easy way for the kids to enjoy every minute of the party!

Of course we played a little ring around the rosy, and blew out the candle on the cup-cakes!

Here's the whole gang!!

It was a great Party!!

The rest of the month found us very comfortable, enjoying time with grandpa! Here you can see that Hyrum was always comfortable!

Than came the Primary Program!!

Mary wrote the kids into her wards primary program since we missed ours in Mexico!

They had some help practicing, and did a great job in the program!

The kids were looking festive in their new harvest colored Sunday clothes!

Than the girls (and grandpa) got to relax with a Ladies Lunch!
I made my mom's enchiladas and was glad to see they were made well enough to do my mother proud, and leave the pan nearly empty!

Kirtlyn perfected her kick-boarding skills in Grandma's warm pool!

Maya made many great memories with Grandma!

Than came the Great Pumpkin Thomas Biggs! (there is something I love about this "close-up," pumpkin picture that little Thomas took!)

Grandma was an expert pumpkin carver, even with the kids crowding her!

Maya Susanna had a very Healthy month! She weighed in at 13.5lbs, and officially moved on to size two diapers... go Maya!!

Dallin did not know what to call his costume, he just put on what ever looked good. However, I am pretty sure he is the King, from the Burger King commercials!

Gotta' love that Hyrum.
And Allison made the Best Radar from M*A*S*H that I have ever meet! She is one cool lady, especially with a little Maya-pumpkin-pie on the side!

Happy Harvest Everyone!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

We were lucky to enjoy Halloween in Safford this year. The kids really soaked in all of the good times with their cousins!
A costume parade at Dorthy Stinson.
Snow white, Dracula, Black cat, Batman, Ariel, and Buddy the elf looked great for the event!!

Here are some Beautiful girls enjoying a Beautiful October day!

Maya was wickedly cute, and Kirtlyn too!

Batman Thomas, and Buzz Light Year Carson were the perfect super heros!

Hyrum and DeWitt just looked great in their hand made costumes. DeWitt was Peter Pan, and did a great job assembling it! Hyrum was an elf, and I paid someone else to do a great job assembling it!!:)

Lillian made a great scare crow, with a little Maya from the pumpkin patch!

Heres hoping your Halloween was a happy one too!!

Since we've been gone

2010-10-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

We are home for the next three months, and everyone has made it well

worth the visit!

We started with a week in Mesa, and Grandma Anna's very Best Party EVER! I loved..

The Door Decorating..
My personal Favorite, Tricia popping out of the dryer to scare the kids that came to her door for

Trick or Treating...
the Screaming (those two screamed So loud, So many times, that the everyone in the room would just scream right back at them.)
Some wonderfully- Creative Cookie decorating...
And of course the Costumes and Run-way show!! It was just Fun!!
A bloody chief,

Pretty in pink princess,
A "Prrr"fect cat,

A valiant knight,
A pirate king,
and the first mate,
a courageous cowboy,
a poising princess
a confident cowboy,
a brillant in blue princess,
and the purple fairy!
We had visitors from Columbia (my sisters friend in town for the weekend-Dre), Germany (my brother's old company-Winkler.), and Mexico (yes that's me, but Mexico is a long way to come from, so I am counting it!), and of course my entire Knudsen family, including grand-kids... A pretty good turn out, I would say. And the most fun we could possibly have asked for! I loved it! It was a great way to kick off our visit home, and Halloween!

Maya's Blessing

2010-09-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma Susan and Grandpa Tom came down to celebrate Maya's blessing in church today. They came only for five days so we had to make every moment count. As you can see, Maya is doing her part.

A couple of weeks ago, Maya got to know her Grandma and Aunt on the Knudsen side, and this weekend she enjoyed getting to know the Biggs side grandparents.

They brought presents for every day and the kids have enjoyed everyone of them. One of the days' present was a blow-up swimming pool that they actually brought from Aunts Rachel and Mary.

Grandma and Grandpa have been here before, so we didn't do a lot of sight seeing. However, we did go eat at a couple of taco places. But we had to get creative to figure out how to fit four adults, three toddlers, and a baby in a tiny Nissan Versa. (If any of you are law enforcement, we claim refuge in Mexico) The kids enjoyed seeing where we have been as they made faces at the cars behind us.

Here we are eating the best tacos al pastor that we have found. The kids have become pros at eating and enjoying hot Mexican food.

Here is Maya Susanna with 1/2 of her namesake. The other is Anna, Jenn's mother.

Maya's blessing day wearing a dress crocheted by Grandma Susan.

Here is a better look at the dress and the blanket, both made by Grandma Susan.

The kids sure are proud of their baby sister Maya. Thomas asks why Maya is so "Beautiful".

And here is the answer:

Just on a funny note. Thomas and Hyrum both like to play on Jenn's iPod, but they don't know the pass code. And every time you enter a wrong number, it locks for longer and longer. Now the iPod is disabled for the next 21+ million minutes (40+ years). I guess this will be a good present for Thomas' 44th birthday.

A Busy Few Weeks

2010-08-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here is another post from Maya's Mother Land

Hopefully you will see all the activities that have gone on since the last post and will understand why it has been so long.

Here are a few pictures of our latest celebrity. Everywhere we go people love to stop us and look at our baby. Then they love her even more when they find out she is Mexicana.

Here are a few of Maya with her loving brothers

Hyrum is really starting to love his baby sister.

And here she is with a couple of her compatriots.

Kim Arcila

Daniella Arcila

Jenn has been superwoman. She hosted a lunch for all the other American wives ("The Wives Club") shortly after her c-section.

Here are Kirtlyn and Hyrum with a few of the new American kids in our Stake. (Yes, Hyrum has a headless Superman hanging by the cape in his mouth...he is in a comedic stage)

And a highlight of this time has been Grandma Anna and Aunt Trisha coming to visit from Mesa, AZ. The kids were so happy to see them.

Hyrum instantly looks older here.

Grandma Anna brought presents for everyone...shoes for the kids, clothes for Maya, and brown sugar for Jennifer and Thomas.

We went to Tarasco's to get Tacos al Pastor (You can see the meat cooking on the other side of the man in the blue shirt, notice the pineapple on top).

We also went to Tonola to get some typical Mexican shopping done. There, there is a good restaurant where you can get the best Mole (Thomas' plate), and the best Enchiladas (Jenn's plate)

Kirtlyn is the only one that we could get to sit next to the skeleton. But even she wanted to keep her distance.

HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Meet Miss Maya!!

2010-08-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

We found internet in the hospital so we decided to share the photos we have.

Here is Jenn right when we got here. Obviously this is before the birth. The hospital is Hospital Country 2000. It is very Catholic, along with everything else in Mexico. The staff is very nice and very professional. Jenn says that this is her best post-c-section recovery. She compliments the doctors for that. We have been here for about 24 hours and have seen 6 doctors come in and out to check on her and the baby. If we need something, we can go talk to the doctor, who is in the nurses station, instead of asking the nurse, who then would have to call the doctor, who might not respond. Of course this is a private hospital that really knows how to treat the customer.
The doctors were great, they let me look over their shoulders and they explained everything. I had just finished my surgery class the day before so I was able to keep up with what they were doing.
Maya did great, but she was not happy to come into all that light.
Don't make the incubator worry you, all the babies spend ~4 hours in there to acclimate themselves to this new world.

Room 209, Time of Birth 3:10

This is Jenn right when they brought her back. She is doing great!
Babies stay in the nursery here all night and in the mother's room all day. So here she is through the nursery window.
Here are Annie and Tammi, they stayed with the kids all night last night while I stayed with Jenn. They really are a great blessing to our family.

Hyrum is mildly excited that he has a new sister. Thomas is the most interested. He is just so amazed at how small everything is. And he is excited that Hyrum is not the smallest in the family anymore. Kirtlyn is the most excited to take her home and get started mothering her. She is also the most concerned for Jenn. She had a lot of questions about the surgery and how they fixed the hole in Jenn's tummy.

Here is Maya. If any of you can suggest a good middle name, we are open. We have discussed Lorraine, Marie, and Susanna. We are not sure what color eyes she has yet. Jenn has brown, but all our kids have blue. Maya is also the first baby to have dark hair. The other kids' was so light that they looked bald. Thomas kept saying that she has short, dark, boy hair.

We are so glad to have this new angel in our lives. Maya will definitely fit right in.

As I have loved you...

2010-07-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Daniela Guilante on the left, Daniela Arcila on the Right.
We played many games, five or six. It was great!
Martha my visiting teacher on the left. Relief society president Rosita in the yellow on the Right.
Tami came over for the shower and helped me with translating the whole time.
The food was fantastic, Loved the tostada, a spice cake, rice pudding, and a lemon cake. It was just delicioso.
Truly spoiled, and tired after the four hour baby shower.
....Love one another

When asked how the baby was doing, Thomas mentioned to my visiting teacher that we may be having her a little early. Immediately she said she would support us. By the time we were out of our church meetings, the relief society had planned a time, place,some food, games, and a ride for me to my own baby shower to take place a couple of days later. While at the shower they spent at least one hour discussing every possible way to help me. From help with the kids, to dinners, to picking up my family from the airport if necessary, to bathing the baby.

This is it, this is the love He has spoken of.

The Baby Bump

2010-07-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

I know a few people wanted to see the

the belly, here are a few shots, before it

is too late.....
July 14th 2010
July 17th, 2010
July 20th, 2010
While Hyrum was sitting on my lap the other day, I asked him if he wanted to get a pillow to lay down. He looked around for a minute, than stopped, looked at my belly and said... " Pillow, pillow right here," pointing to my belly... So funny!!

Wanting to better prepare him, on another occasion, I pointed at my belly and asked Hyrum if he knew what is in there. After which he frantically tried to search to see what I had stuffed under my shirt. When I told him it is a new baby sister, he started explaining to me (like I was confused) that the baby was right here, pointing to himself. He might be a little surprised when a new little one shows up here in a couple of weeks... we'll see what happens. :)

baby business

2010-07-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that we have reason to breath easy!!

This pregnancy has already by-passed the length of our last two pregenancies.

If this had been little Thomas' pregnancy, we would have had

him two weeks ago. If it had been Hyrum's, we would have gone

in this week to deliever.

Not this time!:) We are blessed to know that this baby shows

no problems, she is progressing properly, and she has even turned.

Thomas and Hyrum never made it that far.

We are so grateful that all is well!

The planned C-section is offically scheduled for August 7th, and we do plan to make

it that far!!

We will deliever in a Very nice hospital with a Great, bilingual doctor.

She has taken good care of me, and insists I call her directly for all of my needs,

I have not had to worry about her availability. If we do go to the hospital early,

she will have us call her first, than go to the hospital. So she can meet us there

and have everything all set- up and ready before we even get there. I believe

we are in good hands!

We are grateful for your thoughts and prayers in our behalf, and look forward

to sharing more good news with you soon!!

Jenn, Thomas, and the kiddios!!

Thomas' progression, kinder 1

2010-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Thomas' little class had a

presentation to finish the

year, and show us what they

have learned.

We basically got to be a

"fly on the wall" while they

reviewed everything they had

learned.

We saw them go over their

numbers, letters, colors, shapes,

vowels, days of the week, months

in the year, and the solar system

in both Spanish and English. It

was fun to watch, and they had a

couple of songs they had learned in

class.

I was laughing how you could see Thomas

looking at the other kids when they were

trying to give an answer in Spanish, and

you could see the other kids look at him when

they needed to give an answer in English.

But he did very well. Always answered when

it was his turn and almost always had the right

answer! It was nice to see his Progress!

The videos are very short, but cute. I can not get the blog to upload anything longer than 12 seconds. If anyone knows any tricks, or has any recommendations for what I can do, I would love to share more videos with you!

Sunday and the sunken sink

2010-06-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

We were quietly enjoying the peace of Sunday afternoon, when we heard a BIG thud, followed by a crying Hyrum. We raced up stairs, only to find this new, certainly not anticipated, scene. Thomas got there first, he is a little faster then me at these days, and he saw Hyrum crying in this now empty hole, that was once a sink. Apparently both Thomas and Hyrum had been staying and playing in the sink, and now it is no longer.

The GOOD NEWS is: Hyrum was not at all hurt, just a little rattled. There was nothing under the sink, so nothing got ruined. The bowl of the sink did not brake, and we did not have to pay for it to get put back in place. And it did not fall while little Thomas was in it. This is good news, because he is big enough, I am sure he would have been hurt.

So over all, we are counting are Many blessings!!

The best things in life take No Time at all!

2010-06-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

She's been asking to have it cut for weeks,

But I have been avoiding it like the plague.

because she worked so hard to grow her long hair,

I thought cutting it would be something I could not bear!

Again she asks me with excitment,

It was time to cut it, no denying it!

So we put the hair in a braid,

and I gave her one more chance to back away.

"I want it short, so it will be cute and new."

So we chopped it off, and indeed it was true.

Her hair is cute, just divine.

And we did it no time.

She was trying not to smile, she was so thrilled.

She could not wait to see someone she could show it to.

So it turns out, the greatest hair-cuts of all,

are the ones that take no time at all!

Mean time the boys are on to better things,

Ping-pong is the new scene.

Now we have something to do during our

"summer-time."

We made some marsh mellow brownies just in time,

For a Saturday girls movie night.

And of course, the games have begun,

and soccer, or "football," is the real talk of the town.

The kids had their faces painted and watched the game,

Even their teachers school were dressed and ready for the world cup to begin!

" I Love Thomas BECAUSE..."

2010-05-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

PLAY TIME with the kids is his favorite Break Time...

He will go to any HEIGHT to make us happy...

He wants to make everything as SPECIAL as can be!

He is so TALENTED, he can make anything seem easy...

celebrating everyone else's birthday has to be one of his FAVORITE things!

...He knows how to "JUST BE."

He never gets tired of being with this FAMILY!

...With him, LOVE is always spoken here....

A lot of work with him, is just A LOT OF FUN ....

he is always Anxiously engaged in a good cause, and SERVING everyone....

He is the perfect EXAMPLE of "Be Still my Soul..."

He is always COMFORTABLE around this family!

He is happy to be with ME, where ever we might be....

There is NO ONE else I know that these three will just sit and anxiously wait for!

... and There is NO place he would rather be than sittin' on the couch eatin' a sucker with the family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Thomas, we love you in every way!

Dias de Nino

2010-05-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

Last week the kids got to celebrate another holiday, that is new to us. In the states there is a Mother's day, and a Father's day. In Mexico they also have a kids day. It was a great time for these kids! The whole week of school they got to do something different each day. The first day they wore clothes to paint in and they made something. Tuesday was pajama day, Wednesday was beach day, and the principal herself brought out the hose to spray the kids with. Thursday was costumn day.. Thomas was an elf and Kirtlyn a bride, of course. And the school was So excited when they saw Kirtlyn's bridal dress, than asked her to bring it in the next day for a special event that would happen at their party, which you will see here in just a minute!

So these are pictures of their Big party on Friday, and it was a good one too!!

The boys all got to make these bird-like puppets, while the girls went to another room to wait their turn in a "salon".
One of the rooms they had was for the "baby" class. These little guys got to turn on the radio and dance around with Ms. Joanna.

Thomas' class got to spend a little time in the "cinema" room, and watch one of his favorite shows "Tarzan."

This is the girl that Thomas has liked all year. One day he came home and said, " Mom, that girl is beautiful, I am going to marry that girl!" I have never heard him talk about anyone else like that... before or since.
Yes, you are reading this correctly!! They had a special room, in the principal's office, for a "civil marriage." They did not hesitate to make it as real as possible either!
Each of the boys got to wear this great top hat... this is a great shot of Thomas!
and a suit coat... boy, he just looks slick!
Of course, the girl I showed above had already picked out another boy to marry... I was disappointed. But Thomas did not mind too much. He still seems to be the kind of kid who will be so happy to get married one day. So he enjoyed this, and the pretty girl was Maria I believe. And yes, you can see now why the school needed Kirtlyn to bring in her "wedding gown."

There they are, marriage certificate signed by witnesses and everything... what a day!
Welcome to the the "salon," Kirtlyn loved this room, and happily awaited her turn!!
No kidding, she had a full manicure, and her pesos ready to pay for it... It was amazing! She did spend a lot of the day just waiting at the "salon," but every girl in the school got a turn, and I am telling you it was well worth it to Kirtlyn! These are, of course, a few of her favorite things!!

One thing she just loved was painting her nails. This included a soak, and lotion. Wow!

a little hair styling before she goes.
Make-up time....
And one last look in the mirror, than Kirtlyn was on her way to the rest of her eventful day!
The lunch was provided by all of the parents. The kids were each given their pesos to pay for all of the food they wanted! It was just so well done, and really a lot of fun for everybody!
Kirtlyn is eating a little ice cream and Hyrum sat next to her with his hot dogs.

This is the juice and ice cream table, there was also a table with hot dogs and chips. You could choose a hot dog with lime and salt, or just a cut-up hot dog with Ketchup on it. And we are the only ones who brought a bag of potatoe chips. The other chips were some kind of pork rind or puffed chips. It is interesting our differences, and we love to be a part of all of it!
Time for the big moment! Welcome to the Wedding!

I love this picture because he looks just like any groom would, scared! But do not be mistaken, this kid insisted on being Kirtlyn's partner! Two other boys had to back down because Santiago made it a point to marry Kirtlyn. Than he spent the rest of the day sitting next to her. Kirtlyn was just flattered!

You know Kirtlyn loved every minute of this!
Exchanging rings.. no kidding!
Here is her new "husband," Santiago, signing his name on the certificate. Wow.
Yes, she had to sign her "marriage certificate." I am not going to lie, it was almost too real to me. I wouldn't be surprised if she has to cancel this marriage someday.:)

What a full day! I can tell you, I am not ready for these little ones to get married just yet, but I am thrilled that the school made such a big deal out of Dias de Ninos, it was great for the kids!!

We look forward to celebrating our kids more in the future!!

Our Easter in Safford

2010-05-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

I will be posting some old pictures for a while, I just don't want to miss any of these cute pictures!
Carson, Lindsey, Thomas, Brianna, and Kirtlyn enjoying there candy.
Happy girls
Cute kids!
As always, Thomas just found a couple of eggs, then immediately sat down to start eating the candy!
visiting Scott and Rebecca's animal farm was a lot of fun!
The Easter bunny actually forgot to put out the Easter baskets, but luckly Kirtlyn woke-up early and said," I just want to go see if the Easter Bunny came." So I quickly handed her a book to read on her bed, while we went to "check" on the Easter bunny. She was very patient! And it was well worth it I am sure!!

Kirtlyn's Mexican birthday party in the states, and some fond good-byes!!

2010-04-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

Thomas put out a full taco stand including three kinds of meat, two kinds of tortillas, grandpa's beans, and more... it was wonderful. And of course the limes to squeeze on top! Everyone really enjoyed the authentic Mexican Taco's!!
I asked Kirtlyn what she wanted for a birthday cake, thinking she would tell me strawberry or chocolate... I was wrong. She described a strawberry, grape, lemon, "Wedding Cake" that Rylie was so sweet to actually create! Now you can see Rylie's true talent, because this is the exact cake that Kirtlyn wanted!

It looked so good Hyrum took a nice taste of the frosting! That cake was a real winner, it was completely gone by the end of the night! Great job Rylie!!
The gifts were great, thanks to Everyone!
The birthday girl herself, all dressed-up in her new clothes!!
There were nothing but good times had with these girls! How blessed we were to be together while we could!
One great hug good-bye with one great group of girls!!
These kids loved being so close together while we visited, and soaked in as much play time as possible!!

Good-bye and great times! Thank you everyone, Mesa and Safford were all we hoped it would be during our visit! Love you guys!

Kirtlyn's American party in Mexico

2010-04-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Kirtlyn's sexto cumpleanos! No clowns, no jumping toys... just a park, pizza, and Ice cream cake. Very American. We had a great time with our friends: Tami, Christian, Anni, and Danni(L-R). Plus a couple of friends from school.

She got some nice hugs from all of the kids, just for her birthday!
The girls had a great time playing together for the first time outside of school.
Kirtlyn wanted to open her presents at the party, that is what she is use to. I was nervous about this because I have never been to a party in Mexico when presents were opened. They never seem to do that. I was assured that it is fine to open presents, it is just so busy at a normal fiesta that they do not find the time. Everyone enjoyed clapping and cheering for her new gifts.
Here are two of her four favorite girls from school. Lia is in the orange, she tries to use as much English as she can to talk to Kirtlyn. Than Pau (bow) in the white, one of three Pau's in her class. While Kirtlyn was gone, Pau kept going to school saying, Kirtlyn just has to be back today. She really wanted to see her again!
We got her a DQ Ice cream cake. This is not something I have ever seen at a party here. I am pretty sure jello molds are the most popular party desert.
Everyone wanted to see all of her new toys, they are just gathered around trying to get a chance to play!
One of the Barbie toys she got was a spa, they have been playing with it ever since.
Here is the doll her friend Lia gave her, I know you will be impressed when I tell you, little Thomas took this picture!

Spring Break, and So much fun!

2010-03-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

Kirtlyn and Greysen, good old friends at the park!
A Tiffany Square reunion, all of our old friends together again at the park!

Left to right: Perkins, Franzen's, Croft's, I am holding the boys & Kirtlyn is there in front, Eyestone's, and Angie & Greyson. It was a perfect day at the park seeing all of our friends! I can Not believe how grown-up those kids are! I really could not recognize them! It was so great to see everyone! I am so grateful those girls would all meet me there, thank you ladies!
We got a chance to go to the Gilbert Library, and than play at the park behind it with friends, it was a great idea! My sister Dawn invited us, and we played with them for a couple of hours. There is So much to do there! This picture is of Hyrum, Kirtlyn, Louie, Tom-Tom, and Thomas. My friend Tess' boys, that we saw at the park at the end of the day.
Thomas was so happy this tree was close enough to the ground to climb!
This picture shows some of the cool play walls the kids can climb on and around. You can see Kirtlyn in the front and Kelsey, my sisters daughter, and Thomas at the back of the shot.
Kelsey following Thomas to make sure he is Ok.
There was always one of Dawn's big kids watching one of my smaller kids, they were Cute!
Yes, that is all hair just from little Thomas' head! I know, it was do time for these hair cuts!
and he sat so well, just laughing at the mass amount of hair falling off of his head!
Once grandma bought Kirtlyn the Barbie, of course we had to throw her a birthday party. Here she is with her "birthday cake" (brownie).
We got to take a trip out to visit grandpa's grave. Kirtlyn walked around and returned flowers to any place that they may have fallen out of.. it was so sweet.
peace.
At his head stone, grandma asked us to sing grandpa's favorite song...

"Give said the little stream" it was a great day!

Leperchauns, family, & friends...happy St. Patrick's day

2010-03-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great family activity to put together a number of school bags for the humanitarian office, to enjoy great family time, and to celebrate St. Patrick's day. We had a great time eating green food, and making good memories!
Hyrum was covered in green frosting from our green cup-cake decorating activity.
Dane knew the best way to eat those green cup-cakes!!
Hyrum, Dane, & Jake enjoying every minute of the day!
Look at those sweet girls.
Grandma and Wyatt.

Well, who couldn't love him! He is a little leperchaun, isn't he?!
We are family
Here it is, the party people, enjoying every piece of that green food!
Cute Kirtlyn, and Kyle.
Cute Kelsey.
There they are, our two little leperchaun's. They look great. The party was just a success!
Here is a perfect shot of Hyrum and Grandma playing one of their silly games... You've got to love it!
This is actually a few days ago, but this is Kirtlyn and her "best friend," Lily. This was a time she has been waiting for, this time with her friends.
Annie, Lily, Hyrum, Kirtlyn, and Thomas gracing us with a special performance. They had a lot of fun making up shows, and running out to show us. good times, great memories.

Utah trip

2010-03-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

On Friday the 5th My mother, brother's Chris and Jeff, and I drove to Utah for my brother Stephen's sealing on the 6th. It was a quick trip, but we had a great time, and would do it again if we had to.

Here are some pictures from the big event!
Monday night, following our return from Utah, we had building blocks and baked goods for our FHE activity. It was a fun night, and this picture is taken after we had already given away a plate of cookies, and a Lot of the extra cookies had already been eaten!! Um-um good! Do not worry honey, I will make you some when you get here!
Kirtlyn lost her second tooth while we were driving home from Utah, so she got to have a visit from the tooth fairy that night. It was awfully nice of her to hold on to it until I was coming home!

grandma, grandson, what a shot!
Diesel is one happy baby, yet I always took a picture of him just After a great big smile.. sorry you could not see how cute it was!
Me and the baby Diesel! I could not believe how old he was already, especially since this was my first time meeting him!!
Her is a small view of Steve and Amee's living room. It is a great house for them
Chelsea, LeDawn, and her sister are just as much family to Steve and Amee, as anyone else is!
All of the family together
Amee and the family
The Knudsen family
Just the happily, newly sealed, eternal family... What a special day!
Here are some great shots of the Bountiful temple, where the sealing took place. My brother Chris and I were just in awe with the utter beauty the surrounded that temple!
Directly in front of the Temple there is a circular, downward, view of the underground parking lot... Yes, even that was Beautiful!
We could not believe how many ways we could look at this temple, and see it's beauty!
What a view!
I loved the scenery so much on the road trip, I just had to take a few pictures!
The red rock with the white snow was especially beautiful!
The camera did not fully catch the color and beauty of it!!

This last week

2010-03-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

Thomas did not want to miss my birthday, so he got a little excited and sent it a couple of weeks earlier.... Which is great! I will really enjoy reading Maxwell's book on my road trip to Utah this weekend, and I will of course by practicing some delicious baked-goods from the Lion House recipe book, and be ready to make it for Thomas when he gets here in a few weeks. It really is great, it even came with a DVD, so if I am Totally lost, I can just find it on the DVD! The Calendar is full of beautiful pictures from Joesph Smith's life. Great present, I am so Excited!! This actually happened a few weeks ago, but this was the first of many "accidents" Hyrum has had at Grandma Anna's house. He just laid down behind the coach, none of us aware of it, and started kicking the lamp until it fell and broke.... Oh Hyrum, what a talent you have.
We had to make a weekend trip to Thatcher to take care of a terrible tooth that was really bothering Kirtlyn. This is actually the after picture, if you look closely, you can see a silver crown on her back left muller. She is so proud of her "silver tooth!"
She was So excited to sit in the the "moving chair," she was really like no one you have ever seen at a dentist office before. She just loved it. During her whole procedure she just wanted to know what was going on, she would tap the dentist on the arm every few minutes asking him what he was doing, and why. She just had to know how it all worked, it was so sweet to know that the biggest problem we had in the dentist office was that she was curious, I'll take it! That was a blessing, and everything went so well!
Her cusion gave her a pair of sun-glasses to guard from the "bright" dentist light.
Grandpa Biggs got a new toy, and the boys could Not leave it alone all weekend in Thatcher. It is all they wanted to do the entire time!
I got to see busy Allison during our short Thatcher visit, she is just a great girl!
Hyrum, Thomas, Carson, and Lindsey just enjoying some time together over the weekend!
Carson and Thomas have come to a new level of friendship and playing. They have both really grown up and learned to do a lot of sharing so they could enjoy playing together more. And somehow they managed to wear the exact same blue hooded tops, and looked just a like all weekend.
It was freezing cold, and I was begging them to stay inside, but they would not leave the gator!!
Back in Mesa, Aunt Patricia really knows how to play a game of cards, and the kids loved learning go fish with her. Now they play very well, even on their own.
Hyrum is just great at leaving his mark, and poor grandma's blanket and floor did not see the "make-over" coming. He is blessed with a forgiving grandma Knudsen, that is no lie.

Hyrum is probably the best at talking on the phone with dad in Mexico, he just never stops talking! We love it!
We had a great time meeting with my sister Dawn, and an old friend of ours, Jamie Guthrie. Thomas had so much fun, he took his lunch up on the toy, he didn't want to miss a second of play time.

Photo Gallery

2010-01-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

I feel like I haven't posted in a while, and thought you might enjoy some photos with no rhymne or reason!

The Tooth Fairy vs. Ratoncito Pérez

2010-01-21T18:18:00.000-08:00

Kirtlyn, our oldest, lost her first tooth. Her tooth was loose for a long time, so we have been preparing her with stories of the tooth fairy. But when she went to her school and told her teachers about her tooth, they told her stories about another dental thief.

El Ratoncito Pérez.

I guess, according to Wikipedia, that the USA is really the only

place that the tooth fairy visits.

Kirtlyn put her tooth in a pillow made for her by Grandma Susan and when she woke up, sure enough there was 20 pesos in its place. We were relieved to say the least, we were worried that the tooth fairy was going to try to visit Mexico and we didn't know if it would make it past customs and how it was going to exchange money so late in the night. So good thing there is a Ratoncito Pérez in the world.