Why Goalies use water bottles...

Enjoy! We did! Kari

Kenzi starts Skating lessons...

OK, so if you have been reading this blog you know how into Hockey our family is. And some people may ask does Kenzi like hockey because of her parents or does she like it. Well, let me tell you. She has been exposed to hockey because of Carter and I, no doubt. However she was glued to the 1st game she saw. Hands on the glass, face hanging over, could not pull her away even after the game was over. We have also taken her to a Mavericks basketball game. IT was the same situation where we were in a box and there was free food, and "copcorn". (yes she still calls it that) She was more occupied with eating popcorn and the star up in the ceiling then the game. (The star is what the Stars players skate through when they first come on the ice.) We have not taken her to baseball or a football game live yet, but I am sure that they will turn out the same. So given that information Kenzi keeps talking about playing hockey. I got talking with a mom that both of her children play. She let me know what to do and so we checked it out. The first two pictures are Kenzi desperately watching when I am trying to sign her up. The following pictures are her actually trying. At this point she has had 3 lessons and is improving. They have passed her off on standing on ice. She is getting way better at marching and she doesn't need the "walker" anymore. Though falling she has down but the getting up is still a challenge. Which is totally understandable given that most people I know can't do that on regular ground! The last two classes she has gotten off the ice 20 minutes into her 30 minute class and says she done. We have been able to convince her to finish the class and then she says she wants to be "mommy's boy". (Marty Turco from the Dallas Stars.) And if you get her talking about it she will talk for days, so we will see if she can make it long enough to actually play hockey. And yes she insists on wearing her Pluto jersey. And the last class she was so distracted by the hockey players that she was half listening to the directions! Later, Kari

One Month in the life of "Mackenzie and Co"...

So as to not have to do multiple posts to feel like I am not a complete slacker, (I have been so out of touch it is ridiculous!) I decided to do One month in the life of Mackenzie and Co. So here it goes...

We had storm threat in our area. It was threatening to have golf ball sized hail. So I got home after hearing the city alarm for the first time since we have moved to Texas and Carter tells me that we should try and get both cars in the garage. I am totally up for the challenge and we start frantically moving things out of the way to hopefully get the cars in. Well the picture is proof that we got them both in, however we did have to do a "Duke's of Hazard" exit from the cars. And of course we did not get hail, but it was a fun adventure any way. And now we know that we can totally get our cars in our garage!

For preschool I got to do Valentine's Day with the kids. They made cards and sent them at the post office. Then we had lunch at the park. They seemed to really like the whole thing. They were really cute too. But how can these kids not be right?

On the Friday before Valentine's Day Kenzi and I went to Carter's work for lunch and brought what Carter called "Sixburgh" cookies. He was happy to pass them around the office since the Steelers just won the Superbowl! They also are now the leaders for the most Superbowl wins, I think. My football friends will correct me. But I know for sure that the Steelers and the Cowboys were tied at 5 and the Steeleres are now ahead of the Cowboys. Which just made it extra special for Carter since he works with a LOT of Cowboy fans! Of course Kenzi got a lot of attention from Carter's team and co-workers.

We had a "We Love Shanette" party. Shanette is our babysitter and we love her as though she is our own. So we had a party with her and a few of her friends where we had pizza, played wii and watched a movie. Kenzi loved having all of the teenagers over and they were all great with her. She also loved being up until 11 pm which of course trying to get her up the next morning was a challenge. Good thing the party was on a Friday!

Kenzi tried to become She-Hulk! She has started getting into things lately and acrylic paint that I had on her dresser (to decorate her wall) was one of them. She pretty much got it everywhere. I am only showing the picture of her hands, but she got in on her bum, the floor, toy box, door to her room, bathroom, vanity, and bedspread. What can I say she is thorough!
So that about sums up a month in the life of Kenzi and her friends! I will be posting a few events by them selves as they are a little more eventful. But hope you enjoyed this and feel free to tell me I am nuts for thinking I have to keep everybody aware of almost every moment. Though I have to say it is fun to share! Later, Kari.

I am ready to go Mamma!

So Monday morning I say we need to run some errands and "Kenzi, you need to get your shoes on." Needless to say this is what I see when she comes back to my room and Says "I am ready to go Mamma!" She of course gets tons of attention with the hat and the all purple always gets at least once "Is purple your favorite color? I love my little girl and wow is She adorable!

Is my girl pure bread Texan or what?!?!?!?!?!?!??!

GO STARS!

Well Last week we had a Stars week. It started out that Kenzi and I took the train down to the American Airlines center and met Carter there for a Stars vs Flames game. Which they totally won. At the game we found out that Marty Turco (Mommy's boy!) is going to be at the JcPenny at Stonebriar mall on Saturday. So after Carter and Kenzi convince me to go and try and meet him we did so. Unfortunately we were about 15 minutes to late as they cut the line off at 4:00 pm and we were about 20 people back. Though we did get some pictures of him signing other peoples stuff and who knows Kenzi might be pictured somewhere. As we went up to see him closer there was a guy that looked rather official with a camera with a huge lens. He could probably get nose hairs if he wanted. He turned around in front of us and said "Oh how cute", flipped up the camera. I said smile honey and he took the picture. Of course, my kid is adorable but she was especially cute given that she was wearing her Turco mask. (As shown above.) One person as we were walking past all the people in line who got there between 11:30 and 3:45, (yes the first person in line got there at 11:30 am) one person said, "Oh, it's a girl!" She made me proud! Though we did not get to meet Marty Turco, we had a great day trying to do so and it was great to spend time together as a family. Thank you Kenzi and Carter for helping me to have a memorable day. Oh and I did get to try on the Stanley cup ring for the 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was actually a pretty hefty ring! That will probably be the closest to Marty I will ever get. Well, actually I take that back. I was closer when we went to the St. Louis Blues game last year, but I could not have picked any of the players out of a line up at that point. Though I did tell Robidas "good Game". That is another story! So sorry for the babbling and have a GREAT day! Later! Kari

Sophie goes for a ride!

We spend Monday nights with the Sophie and her family and I was fortunate to get this on video... Enjoy! Kari

Mommy turns 35!!! Yikes

Well unfortunately, I turned thirty five recently! Though I have to say that my birthday was great! I didn't have to do anything and Carter made me dinner and Carter and Kenzi made me a cake. It was such a nice day and Kenzi got me the Mother & Daughter Willow Tree statue. Thank you to everyone who wished me well and helped to make my birthday special. And especially thank my husband and daughter for loving me so much to help make my day extra special! Kari

Mama goes to Calistoga!!!!

So while in California I got to go to Calistoga with my mom and Carla and Cara. Carla is my moms best friends and Cara is her daughter. We had a great time shopping having great food and fun girl time. Carla is the one with the Towel on her face. Her daughter made this oil combination for your face that she says works great! I tried it one night but didn't keep it up so I will take her word for it. The scenery was beautiful and so was the weather. I know my mom is going to hate being in these pictures that is why she is hiding in the group one. However, I think my mom ROCKS, so I am sharing! The reason Carla has her raspberry bag in front of her in the pictures is because she bought it at the Coach outlet store on the way to Calistoga. And by the weekend was done Cara and myself had one too. I was going to get a picture of all 3 of us with our bags but I forgot. Oh well. It was such a fun weekend! Hopefully we can do it again ladies?!?!?!?!?!? Kari P.S. Bet you didn't know that you were going to be on the web when I was taking pictures did you. Well OK maybe my mom did!

Uncle Ken & Aunt Norma Buy a house!!!

We want to congratulate Uncle Ken and Aunt Norma for their new home. When Kenzi and I went to CA the first week of this month we were able to go and see their new house. It is beautiful! It is in a really nice neighborhood and they are loving it. So below I am going to post the video tour. I am totally warning you it is almost five minutes long! That is five minutes of your life that you are not going to get back! So watch at your own risk! Once again, congrats Ken & Norma! Later! Kari

Jesus wants Kenzi for a Sunbeam!

So today Kenzi started Primary at church. Primary is the childrens program that teaches the children all about Jesus. The theme this year is "My Eternal Family". And today's lesson was on "I am a Child of God". They got the yellow crowns in class today. Kenzi absolutely loved it today. And her teachers told me she did REALLY well. She is in the Sunbeams class which really indicates the childrens age. So her classmates are all the same age and she will be moving from class to class with them. Just like school. Anyway, enjoy! I thought she looked so adorable today! But then again she looks adorable everyday! Kari

A Merry Kenzi Christmas...

Merry Christmas to everyone. We had a great Christmas. And really it was a Kenzi Christmas. Alex and JT had to watch Kenzi open a lot of presents before they got there presents from us. Really it is just pay back for all those years Carter and I had to watch them open all of their presents. And I think they got the best last. JT had to open his gift about 5 times. You know, one box inside another! :0) And Alex had to do a Christmas version of the amazing race. He first had to find a note under a light bulb and it continued onto the park, counting our lights on our house, and even getting a clue from a block of ice. Though I think the longest task was a word find which he did not get right the first time. And all of that led him to an iTunes gift card in the box he originally opened. It was great! Kenzi got a Kitchen from Santa which she loves and plays with often. She got a guitar from her Uncle Len & family and a drum from Gramma & Grampa G. She loves playing with all of her toys and I still have to find room for them in the house. Dax and Georgia were even happy with the Christmas knuckles. They spent the whole morning chewing on those. It was great to have the in-laws in town to share this time of year with. We are sorry that we cannot spend it with everyone. I think my favorite gift besides the spa weekend in Calistoga CA are the aprons that Kenzi and I got from Gram Mac. Mine says Cookie Maker and her says Cookie Taster! Oh how true! Anyway, I hope that your family and friends are doing well and have a wonderful New Year!

Baking for the Holidays!

So Kenzi I endeavor to make Christmas goodies. She was so excited to help and in the beginning was there for ever measure and pour. Then about middle of the way through she started doing her own baking by cutting an orange with measuring spoons. By the time we finished our five items she had lined up my flour, sugar, and brown sugar bins and was playing with her toys on them. It was a lot of fun and I thought Kenzi looked so cute I had to take pictures. And she insisted she dance with the dog while I did so. Don't worry I made her wash her hands again before we kept baking! Kari P.S. Yes that is marshmellow cream on her face and she was the official taster! She had quite a bit of sugar that day!

OK...

So I have been so out of touch since my Palm died. It is pathetic, I know, that I rely on a device to remind me to take my vitamin, but such is my punctilios nature! So I have some posts that I have been meaning to put on the blog and just haven't, so bear with me while I do some catch up. (I know Keri, I don't have to catch up but they are such fun video and pictures I have to share!) Like this video of Kenzi. She was so cute that day and got so much attention over her purple outfit especially the hat! Enjoy! Kari

Guess who has a webcam now?

I finally got the webcam set up that I bought several months ago. If anyone is on Live Meeting drop me a line and I'll give you my log in name. Let me know and we can talk, or if you want you can talk to the dog, she is a better listener.

3650 Days ago today...

I remember the first time I told Kari I loved her she laughed at me.

To be fair, we had not been dating long. We had gone to the Irvine Spectrum to see a movie, (It was the Wedding Singer, which was the first movie we saw in a theater.) and we were walking back to my car. Kari, being the person that she is, started to dance in the parking lot. Now, she and I had been getting to know each other pretty well at this point, but at that moment, it just seemed like I was seeing her for the first time. She seemed so happy and full of joy. And at that moment, I realized that I loved her. Now, this is not the kind of realization that allows you to “play it cool” and use your “poker face”. Its not like I was trying to decide between having a burritos and tacos for dinner, and decided on tacos. Needless to say, I must have looked kind of funny, because Kari stopped, looked and me, and the following exchange took place:

Kari – “What are you thinking?”

Me – “You don’t want to know.”

Kari – “Tell me, I want to know.”

Me – “No, you don’t.”

Kari – “Yes. I. do.” (Said in the kind of tone that lets you know that if you don’t fess up, there WILL be trouble.)

Me – “I love you.”

Upon hearing this, my future wife, the mother of my children, my best friend, my eternal companion, the flame on the candle of my soul and the person who makes my life complete, laughed.

She laughed long and hard. At me.

At my heartfelt declaration of love. .

Let’s soak that in for a moment shall we?

Once I got to know her better, I found out that Kari laughs like that when she is nervous, and that she was not mocking me, but I made her nervous by telling her what I was feeling. At the time, not really feeling good about that. Fortunately she only laughs when I tell her I love her sometimes now. (Just kidding)

Kari and I were married for time and all eternity 10 years ago today. Kind of a big deal. I am not sure how we ended up together, or why. But I am glad that we did. We’ve been through some interesting stuff over the last 10 years, but I would not change it for anything. I love Kari, and our relationship has become the best thing that I have.

Thanks for marrying me babe! I love you!

What is with the sleeping arrangements?!?!?!?!

OK, so I promise we have a very comfortable bed for our daughter. We know, we have had to sleep on it a few times ourselves, while she steals our spot in our bed. So I am not sure what it is about sleeping anywhere but her bed. But I had her go in her room for quiet time, which is time that she plays in her room. When the timer goes off she can play anywhere in the house. I checked on her and this is how I found her! I got the camera, because lets face it sometimes I am a scrapbooker first and a mom 2nd. Then I swung her legs on the bed and removed her shoes. I LOVE my girl!

Yin-Yang Dog

OK, So maybe it is "Line o' Dog", however, I was chilling on my bed watching the stuff I DVRed and catching up on some back issues of magazines. Whenever I am on my bed both of our dogs are there. Except at night when Georgia gets crated and in the morning when Georgia wants to play while I am still sleeping. But I thought this was so funny, that I had to take pictures and post. If I didn't know better, I would think that they were blood sisters. But no, we got Dax (dog on right) five years ago and Georgia (dog on left) in January! Kari

"I wanna take a rest mommy..."

So I came into Kenzi's room and she was laying on her toy box as shown in the first picture. "What are you doing Kenzi?" "I wanna take a rest mommy." "OK sweetheart." I came back about 5 to 10 minutes later and this is what I found! I actually had to wake her up when I need to go to scouts. Otherwise I think she would have taken her normal 2 hour nap on there! And she only sleeps that long when she takes a nap. We are phasing out of naps. YIPPEE! Kari

Kenzi chillin' in her house!

Kenzi LOVES her house and any chance she gets she asks to play outside and you can almost always find her in her house. Well, I only recently have started letting her take stuff items outside with her. And this is what she does with her time. I thought it was so cute I had to take pictures and post. Hope you enjoy! Kari

"Trick or Treat"

Well, Halloween without a hitch. Kenzi looked adorable in her Batgirl costume and she got a bucket and a half of candy. It is going to take us awhile to get through that! Well at least if I have anything to say about that! We went to Trunk or Treat with our 6th ward friends. Sophie was a spider, Ben - Indiana Jones (he even came with his own theme music!), and Ella was Belle. Everyone looked so adorable! And after the Trunk of Treat we drove around our neighborhood and trick or treated. Yes I said drove. I was very tired and was going to go home but Carter suggested just stopping at the house we wanted so I said I was in. We went to Kenzi's most favorite houses in the neighborhood. So she got the see the decorations up close. We had a great time! On Saturday we went to our ward Trunk or Treat. I could not find the camera so we didn't get pictures. However, Dave and Liz's kids were Snow white and a race car driver. It was a lot of fun. And Like I said, PLENTY of candy!!!!! Anyway, I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! Kari