Ruby the Mermaid (with fins!)

Gettin' Warmer!

Ruby the Mermaid and her daddy and sister, Sadie, came over for some tropical smoothies and swimming tonight. We're still a bunch of wimps - swimming in the heated spa 'cause the pool is ONLY 79 degrees :) David did jump in the big pool (which scared Sadie) and Ruby followed him in and promptly asked to get put back in the spa. When I asked her if going in the big pool was fun, she simply replied "No" in the cute Ruby voice. Toby is kicking and swimming, but still clingy. Heather is going underwater for "minutes" at a time she says. TJ is getting better and better, too. But, Ruby is the champion - she was under the water more than she was out of the water!

HELP - needs a name

I need everyone's help. Susan and I spent Friday evening staying up WAY too late working on a problem. The mini is due for registeration renewal and that is the time when I can submit and get customized (vanity) license plates. I've already decided I want to get the AZ Diamondbacks plates instead of the generic AZ one (even though it is pretty). But, most importantly, I need to decide what to put on the plate. So, as a test to see who actually reads my blog, PLEASE post your thoughts on the following possibilities:



HDROOM
BIGSPDO
THKGBIG
GDGTGUY
OTRWOMN
NOT QT
MINIPWR
JLSWIFE
GOMTRNG
DNTGROP

or, you can check your other ideas (Susan and I had a list of over 30, the ones above are actually available) at this site: https://servicearizona.com/webapp/vehicle/plates/start.do

obviously, if you don't understand one of the ones above, then it probably isn't a good one to use :)

Thanks for the feedback in advance! Please hurry, I need to pay the registeration TAX by May 15th!

Kid Time - continued

Some more pics from swimming last Wednesday - Toby is showing his "muscles"

As a reward for "eating" (they pick at their dinners that Susan makes unless it is mac and cheese, cheese pizza, or dino chicken nuggets) their Sunday dinner I told them we would hang out on the balcony. They all got their binoculars and were looking at the mountains and the birds and each other close up. They also like to say hi to EVERYBODY as they walk by the park behind the house. Again, the weather and sunsets are beautiful!

I was on the hammock trying to read. I'm reading a few books right now, but on the hammock I was attempting to read "Men of Valor - The Powerful Impact of a Righteous Man" by Robert L Millet. My dad gave it to me for Easter. It seems to be his testimony/general thoughts about men, the priesthood, duties, and the times in which we live. The part I read in the hammock was about home teaching and so was the lesson today in Elder's Quorum. Even though we visit all 4 of our families every month, I've realized that there is SO much more we can and need to do for our families - both to bless and care for them as well as in order to bless and be an example for our own families. So - I need to start praying for them, be willing to help with visible needs without asking, and involve myself more in their lives besides just hanging out at their homes once per month.

I also taught Gospel Doctrine again today - the "3rd in rotation" teacher didn't show up (again), so instead of the bishop teaching (like he did last time because we were in San Diego) - I did! Luckily, I knew which lesson we were on and could get the teacher's manual from the church website on my cell phone. I read the lesson plan and the scriptures (John 9, 10) during sacrament meeting. I think it went well - it is better when you don't have as much time to get anxious about getting anxious before teaching. I really do feel comfortable - and was shocked when reviewing the lesson plan after the class how much of the material we really did cover (since I didn't have anything more than a small cell phone screen to read from, we ended up talking naturally as a group about the chapters and how they relate to our lives). Anyways, it was fun, and most importantly, I grew from teaching and got a lot more out of the scriptures than if I had been doing hall duty and ringing the bells.

Kid Time - Swimming Again

This was last Wednesday - I finally got home during daylight hours and we went swimming (with the heated spa, still not hot enough on its own). The kids love it, although Toby just followed me around the backyard as I trimmed, cleaned, and maintained things. I guess that's a good thing that he doesn't want to get in the water without a parent. The weather has been perfect the last few weeks!

Playin' with fire

I surprised TJ - I went by his school and pulled him out early and took him straight to the mountains. It was good to spend some time together on the way there and back as well as while he was building fires with his friends. His age group was by far the best represented - and most of them are on a common baseball team, so by 8:30 this morning most of the ward had left in order to make it back for an 11 am baseball game. After a cold night in the truck, I was ready to come back home, too. TJ had a great time and I'm glad he's such a good kid! We look forward to taking Toby with us next year (if he's potty trained).

the winner!

I won't bore you with all of the pics of the race - so here is TJ with his churro, a single pic of the race cars goin by fast, TJ and I attempting a self pic, and TJ beaming when Jeff Gordon won!

race pics

This was Susan's favorite driver, Kevin Harvick, going by before the race (Susan claims the only reason she likes him is because he used to drive a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sponsored car)

TJ was very excited to wave to Jeff Gordon (you can see Jeff in the picture to the right of TJ's wrist)

It was awesome to see all of the people in one place with the American flag coming down behind a stunt parachuter.

Jeff Gordon went by with flames coming out of the side of the car. We could see the glowing brake rotors from our seats.

Race Day!

Saturday instead of Sunday, night instead of day, the "real" drivers of the Nextel Cup series instead of the Busch series - TJ and I had to go to the races this time here in Phoenix. The best part was that TJ's favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, won the pole position (started the race at the front) AND won the race! We had great series where we could see all of the pit stop crews and the whole front stretch of the raceway as well as the sharpest turn (right in front of us) where we hoped to see some good crashes (just one happened, though).

We drove to the park and ride lot and took a school bus to and from the race - that was fun to ride on a school bus with TJ. He thought it was neat because this week he went in a school bus to see Wizard of Oz performed at a theater in Phoenix.

The race scanners we bought last summer finally came in handy at the race - it was great to be able to follow along. If you haven't gone to a race - you need to go - just for the noise and the feel of all of those cars roaring around the track!

TJ was happy that the domino's pizza sponsor was giving away free slices of pizza (he ate mine too) and that we could find him a churro half way through the race. He also got Burger King on the way home. Next time we'll definitely take the nicer camera and go early so we can see more of the freebies and stuff outside of the racetrack!

Toby's Easter Dinner

Susan and Grandpa were having so much fun reading that poor Toby had to "knock knock" on the door for someone to notice him.

Once he got inside he immediately got his baby treatment from his doting mother.


And then he got to feast on Doritos! On the carpet! In front of the TV!



And the rest of us ate a yummy Easter dinner at the table with "Flat Connor" (see Susan or Marie's website for an explanation)!

Playin' at the 'tute

The kids had a blast last weekend playing at the Institute where Grandma and Grandpa Kennedy are full time missionaries and instructors.