A girls hair....what is your opinion?

21 inches long....

McKenna's hair is super thick and has such a pretty natural color with some natural waves in the back mostly. We keep her hair braided a lot for school and because it is easier to manage since it has gotten so long and summer is heating up. She is trying to decide if she is going to just trim it or cut enough to donate it for little girls with cancer. Her Daddy loves it long and doesn't want her to cut the 10 inches required to donate...I donated my hair before I started coloring it and it was a great feeling so I have encouraged her but I have to admit her hair is beautiful.

So should we trim it and keep it long or should we donate it? Hair cut suggestions are appreciated! Keep in mind it's thick and a bit curly mostly in the back straight on the sides. Also, this is braided when it's not braided her hair is about 5 inches longer! So seriously even if 12 inches were cut she would still have at least shoulder length or just past her shoulders. :o) We measured it....it's 21 inches long from the crown of her head to the bottom!

Calvin Graduates Kidergarten

May 27th @ 6pm Principal Bonnie Gibson introduces the graduating kindergarten class of 2008!

Calvin, Cadence & William all buddies!
Miss Connie what a wonderful kinder teacher!

The Barkers our dear friends.

Family shot after the graduation.

Calvin on his scooter as soon as we got home.

The next day at their class party & more performances.




It was PJ day for the entire school.

Calvin with his sweet little friend Missy who had just finished crying about her Mommy not being there. Poor little doll.

Miss Connie gave perdictions as to what each student would be and she predicted that William would be a Judge, that Missy would be a Principal and that Calvin would be a Cruise Ship Captain because he is very smart, very social, always happy and is in control of things....that is a far cry from his desire of being a doctor when he grows up because he wants to help people. :o)

McKenna's Birthday Party 5/24/08

Although McKenna's birthday was earlier this week, we celebrated it this past Saturday. We first started off with a friends & neighbor party which consisted of all girls until Calvin & his friend Tristin (2 of his sisters were here at the party) decided to participate as well. The girls seemed to really enjoy themselves when they did karaoke to high school musical and Hannah Montana songs. It was so funny & cute! Then we had pizza & cupcakes.

A short while later the family guests arrived along with a few ward friends for cake & ice cream. McKenna was spoiled rotten by all of the wonderful gifts she received and was extremely happy! I bought trick candles that even after blowing out would light back up and she must have blown them out about 4 times before giving up. It cracked us up!

It was great seeing our family members and enjoying their company! Thanks to all of you family members & friends for making McKenna feel so special with your coming, your calls, your cards and of course your thoughtful gifts! Here are some pictures from the party....

Can you tell she likes her new Panda Bear Webkin??? Thanks Scoresbys! For more pictures log on to McKenna's blog she has more pictures with her friends. :o)

Happy Birthday McKenna!

Happy Birthday sweetie! I hope you liked the cup cakes I brought to your class today and I can't wait for your birthday party this Saturday!

We love you very very much!
Mom, Dad & Calvin

Best Letter I've Ever Received!!!!

On May 8th, 2008 After work I got the best letter ever from the most wonderful man in the world...Will. I won't bore you with the details but I was NOT in a good mood and had been a little snappy. As I was walking down the stairs to leave to go get Calvin from his friend's house Will was walking up the stairs with an envelope in his hands. He gave it to me and told me to not open it until I was in the car, so I said goodbye and continued out to the car thinking the letter was probably going to tell me that I was acting like a brat and I needed to loose the attitude. Boy was I wrong!



I sat in the Jeep reading the exterior of the envelope which took some thought...

Inside I found several decoratively cut pieces of paper with beautiful & some funny passages printed in a very nice font on very colorful paper. I could tell that this took awhile because there were so many of them! As I sat in my car reading them I felt like such an undeserving jerk. They were so sweet and so out of character for Will to say much less write. He had put a lot of thought and time in this sweet letter. It made me cry like a baby...laugh out loud and cry some more. I had to turn off the car and go back in to tell him thank you. I came in with blurry eyes trying to find him and looked everywhere...he had gotten in the shower (probably so he wouldn't have to talk to me because saying mushy stuff or expressing his feelings just isn't in his nature). I came in anyways and told him thank you & that I loved him very much & didn't deserve all of those nice comments, still crying mind you. I hurried to leave because it I was late to pickup Calvin.


I've never had such nice things said about me ever especially by the love of my life! I didn't even know that he felt some of those things or liked some of those things like the casserole! I later asked him nicely of course, if they had a lesson on it at church or something because it was so out of character for him, but he said no. It truly meant so much to me that he would take the time to do such a wonderful thing and say so many nice things about me! I love him very very much and am extremely blessed to be his wife!!!! I will cherish this letter forever and ever, keeping it safe in our fire proof lock box.


Will truly is the man of my dreams I will love him always & forever!

(By the way...let's keep this on the down low...he probably didn't want me to share this but it was killing me not too and it's my journal right? He's still a tough manly guy! :o)

Raise your hand if you have too much to do

Don't we all. I have more time now that I'm not working full time but it sure seems like I should be getting more done than I have. Is it just me or do we all feel this way?
I shouldn't be complaining, life could be so much harder and busier for that matter. We all rise to the occassion when we have to...and somethings will just have to wait. :o) Have a good day!

Helpful Info for every woman

I read this article this morning and thought it was very helpful. :o)
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5 Ways to Love Yourself
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1. Clean up your surroundings.Dump the fashion magazines and even the clothing catalogs if you can. They're not helping. Since fashion magazines are driven by advertising, the only thing you're going to get out of dose is a healthy dose of what you "should" look like and the products that will do that for you.


2. Stop talking about your weight or flaws.Most people don't notice until you draw attention to it. Be extra careful with what you talk about around younger girls and the men in your life. If girls only hear older women whining about what's wrong, they'll think that's what they're supposed to do: grow up to be continuously obsessed with their appearance. And your husband doesn't want to hear it either. He wants his fun, smart, confident wife to hang out with.


3. Make a list of things you like about yourself.It doesn't matter that your beautiful, glossy hair is framing a slight double chin—it's still beautiful, glossy hair! Write down everything positive you can think of, not only about your physical appearance, but also your mind, heart, personality, and quirks.


4. Tell your critics to be quiet.You look at yourself in the mirror every single day and you know exactly what you'd like to change. You probably even have a fairly good grip on what you'd need to do to accomplish it (just try to stay realistic). So you don't need friends and family throwing it in your face as well. Explain kindly that you're aware of what you look like, and you'd benefit much more from their unconditional love and support.


5. Enjoy yourself! Do the things you love. Spend time with people you care about. Do whatever you have to do to laugh. Make time to exercise if at all possible and actually plan to eat healthy, the feelings you have afterwards will be rewarding and you will feel much better about yourself. You don't need to be a super model or wear the latest clothes to feel and look great! Love yourself and tell yourself that over and over. Turn the inner critic off!

My Happy Mother's Day

So here's my Mother's day gifts....It was so cute!














Calvin made me two pretty cards and a coupon book. He said he didn't get any help...can you tell? I'm amazed that he spelled flowers but not will or buy. hee hee There were coupons for the dishes, 10,000 hugs and kisses...it was very thoughtful and cute. He also made me a caterpiller frig magnet and put the magnet on the front instead of the back by mistake. :o)




























McKenna made me a pretty card at school with her picture, a paper crown (not in the picture) and that green tube gift but she said nothing was in it...it's just to hold my necklaces or other items in it. :o)

Will got me a new cell phone with a navigation system and all kinds of stuff along with wireless headset that will allow me to listen to the tunes downloaded on my phone and take calls etc. It's red and I love it! I think he was more excited than I was and after a couple of days he ended up getting him a black one. Somehow I think that was the plan all along...ha ha...but it is the nicest phone I've ever had with really cool features.

I got injured at church on Mother's day on accident by Calvin he was laying down on my lap and I was rubbing his back but he suddently got up smashing his back into my wrist which had no where to go but down towards my elbow popping loudly about 4 times, it was so loud that people from all sides looked at us. Luckily I was teared up from the speaker already so it wasn't so obivious that I was hurt...but the people behind us for two rows asked me if I was ok after sacrament was over. Will asked me if it was broken because it sounded really bad. I had a nurse in our ward look at it because it really hurt and she suggested I put it in a wrist support thing and get it xrayed, but I thought I'd wait it out and see. After a couple of days of icing it occassionaly & constant pain I went and got a wrist thing from Walgreens. It is feeling better today having worn it for a full day & night. Calvin felt horrible...poor little guy and kept telling me how sorry he was that he broke my arm and tried kissing it better. I told him it was an accident and that he didn't break it but was secretly wondering if it was cracked! I think the kisses are what made it feel better don't you? ha ha I'm sure it's just sprained.

Overall I had a fantastic Mother's Day thanks to my wonderful family and I can't wait to start cashing in those coupons!!!

My kids have their own blogs....super cute too

My kids are always asking me about my blog and when do they get to type on it etc. So today I created their own blogs. They both loved them and are excited to create their first post.

Calvin's http://www.calvinbud.blogspot.com/

McKenna http://www.rosebudmckenna.blogspot.com/

Homework and then a piano practice for their recital tonight is on their agenda next.

Last day at Legacy

So Friday, May 9th was my last day at Legacy Traditional Charter School. Will & I decided to go ahead and submit my notice after I found out that the insurance benefits would be over $800 per month and would take a huge portion of my wages along with the long hours being required. It was difficult because I really grew to like all of the people there! To be honest I've never worked with a nicer group of people ever but overall it just wasn't worth it for us.

Today my list is about a mile long from laundry, cleaning to helping Will with real estate stuff and I'm so excited to get going on it. First I had to pay some bills online which led me to my blog of course. ha ha

Hope you all had a nice Mother's Day! I certainly did.

Happy Mother's Day 2008

I would like to pay tribute to just a few special Mother's in my life....

My beautiful Mom....Sherri (March 2008)



My Great Grandparents on my Mom's side my Great Grandmother, Ruth Crandell was a special lady and I really enjoyed spending a lot of time with her the last two years of her life...she taught me many valuable lessons.


This is one of my most favorite ladies in the entire world....my Grandma Glenna Crandell Hathcock Devine. She's my Mom's Mother. She is an extrodinary woman and the best Grandma anyone could ever have. I love her very very much!!!



My beautiful Mom....I could go on and on about her. She is the best Mom ever and I am so extremely blessed to have her as my Mother. She is beautiful inside and out. She is always there for me. She is a wonderful Grammy to my children and both McKenna & Calvin love her dearly. She calls us usually every couple of days and always bakes us great treats! We miss her constantly.


This is my Grandma Myrtle Gilliam and my grandpa Bob at her side just last month. She is my Dad's Mom and although I don't see her often I have appreciated her recent efforts to be more involved in our lives and expresses sincere love.


This is Maggie Fitzgerald....Will's Mom and she is holding our nephew Jarom. She gave birth to one of the best guys in the world, my husband Will. I can never thank her enough for that alone! We love all love her very much!

This is Carole Wright...Will's step Mom along with his Dad Mike, our nephew Jarom and niece Mailey. Carole is a wonderful lady and has always had a special place in my heart. She is super fun too.

Dancing Mamas....need I say more? Maggie has taught all of us a dance or two and so has the lady next to her Janie who is my sister in law Julie Wright's Mom.

My pretty Grandma Glenna....one of the best role models I've ever had! I admire her so very much!

And this is Sheri Gilliam....a very special Mother....she's the one on the right...Anna is her pretty daughter on the left....Sheri was my step Mom for about 11 years and to be honest even though her and my Dad divorced she has always remained my step Mom and very close to us. She has been a good Grandma to my children and is one of the nicest most genuine ladies I've ever met.

Nana.... or otherwise known as Dona Prosser is Will's Grandmother. She is Maggie's Mom and a neat lady. She is a great example of a hard working and determined lady. We are glad to see her smiling face every chance we get.

We can't pay tribute to these Mother's without Maggie having some dogs in the picture. Maggie is just not Maggie or Mimi without dogs in her life. We love them too!

Of course there are lots of other ladies out there that are wonderful Mother's and have made a special impact in our lives and I wish them all a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! I just wanted to pay tribute to the ladies that (my husband and I) have Mothered us in some way or the other and let them know how very much we love them and appreciate them. So Great Grandma Crandell, Grandma Glenna, Grandma Myrtle, Sheri, Nana, Maggie, Nana and Mom....Happy Mother's Day!

Mother Dear I love you so very much! I miss you so much and wish you were here with me to give you a big hug. You are always there when I need you. You have given me so much and continue to help me through life. I love and admire more than you will ever know!

Being a Mom is one of the hardest, yet most wonderful & rewarding things we as women could ever experience and I'm so thankful to be one myself, especially when I had several doctors tell me I wouldn't be. I want thank my Heavenly Father & Heavenly Mother for their love and for the opportunity of having these Mother's and to be a Mother! I feel so very blessed to have so many wonderful Mom's in my life! Happy Mother's Day!

Pictures of our House

Some of my family members have requested that I post these. We love our new house and although we still have many projects it's coming along nicely in the 2 months we've been here. Some of these pictures are from March including this one of the front all of our these now have beautiful flowers everywhere.

We still have a lot of painting to do and decorating but it will come in due time. I'm not patient so of course I wanted it all done the day after we moved in. ha ha The paint you see was already done and with 20 plus foot ceilings in the living room those colors will stay. Although I love red we might tone the kitchen down a little to blend in with the rest of the colors...in our other house my kitchen was red so it's not that I don't like a red kitchen. :o) We absolutely love the house! I'll post some of the upstairs at a later date.