PENDLETONS

Cooking with Mom!

2012-01-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, one of Megans gifts from her grandma was this adorable cooking apron. I thought it was so cute. So I had her wear it while we made some cookies together. Megan of course had to have some dough and chocolate chips. Yum!

Whitney is growing up. I couldn't believe she fit in these cute 18 month old clothes her aunt sent us for her 1st birthday. Thanks Sheri!

Christmas At Ours!

2012-01-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

This was our first year at our home for Christmas. We had so much fun being able to get things ready for the kids for Christmas and see how excited they were. We usually have been flying and haven't been able to bring gifts, so this was a lot different and fun to experience. We missed our family, but enjoyed spending our own Christmas together as us and so did the kids. We avoided opening gifts in the morning and so we would make it to church on time. We knew if we started opening presents they wouldn't want to stop. So, we waited till we got home from church and went at it.

Our three cute kids on Christmas day.

Jackson loved this dinosaur that he got that is enormous compared to the other one we got him last Christmas. He absolutely loved it!

It was a lot of fun getting matching pajamas for the girls. Megan also loves dressing like Whitney.

On Christmas Eve we made stockings for all of us. This was our first year at our own house for Christmas and so we haven't made stockings for each of us yet. It was a lot of fun putting them together. Hopefully they'll last quite a few years.

This was Christmas Eve after Santa had already came. We thought we'd try to hide some of the big gifts. See if you can find the basketball hoop or girls playhouse. I thought we did pretty good trying to hide them.

Jackson loved putting together this Cars 2 Mac and Lightning McQueen set he got from Grandma and Grandpa Shelley. I was amazed that he was able to put it together all by himself with only a little help.

Jackson and Megan were so excited for the beta fish we got Megan for Christmas. They were way into its every move. We named it Bob after Jacksons first beta fish he had when he was little. We named it that after Jacksons first word, "Bob, bob, bob...."

The day after Christmas we went to an Indianapolis Pacers game. It was their first game after the closeout.

For New Years we went out to Alabama to see Daves sister. We had a lot of fun hanging out. The boys always have fun going out and playing football together. It was great having warmer weather than we have out here in Indiana.

Fun before Christmas

2012-01-07T15:16:00.000-08:00

These are a late, but here are some pictures of when we went up to Indianapolis at the beginning of December to Indianapolis downtown and our Childrens Museum which has been a lot of fun to have a membership this past year. They had a fun Christmas area that the kids loved seeing Santa. Guess I won't say they all loved it, Megan was scared of Santa. As you can see in the pictures, she tried to get away from him everytime we got to see him.

At the Indianapolis Childrens Museum at Christmas time.

This was such a fun slide they had in place of the stairs that are usually there. I took Megan, Whitney and Jackson down along with me. Megan got a little scared.

As you can see, Megan is crying. Jackson loved seeing Santa this year. Whitney probably didn't know what was going on. However, I totally remember little Jackson so scared of Santa a couple years ago.

We went to a parade they had in our town. Jackson and Megan have hot chocolate smeared all over their lips as you can see. It was so cold, we had to get some. It gets so cold here, colder than Utah.

My little Santa and reindeer all ready for Christmas. Two cute girls playing together.

Jackson and Megan were so excited when it snowed for the first time that they just had to go outside to play in it. I never realized how much work it takes to get kids all dressed to go out in the snow to stay warm, till now. It was great for them to get out though since it had been so cold and we hadn't been able to go outside for a while. They were dying to get out and I believe at the time I was excited for them to get out too.

We built a mini snowman with the little snow that fell. It didn't last long, but it was great fun while it lasted.

We had a Ward Christmas party and of course we had a special visitor. I think our Santa is a pretty good one that does it every year. He pulls it off pretty good with his white beard and all. He even brings along Mrs. Claus.

Dad had to get Megan to come this close to Santa this time. Maybe next year she won't be so scared.

Megans 3rd Birthday!

2011-12-21T20:31:00.000-08:00

It was so much fun throwing Megan her first birthday party. As you can tell a princess birthday party, I know a very common thing to do. But, I did as requested. I had fun planning it and making her cake and all. The only bad thing is having her birthday right next to Christmas making it very inconvenient for all her friends to come. We had some girls come, but not as near as many as I invited, we'll have to figure something else out for the future. We had so much fun though playing many games, making wands, eating cake and ice cream, and opening presents. All the girls just loved dressing up in their princess dresses as well. Megan loves pink and everything was pink, pink, pink. She always says, "Mmmm.....I love pink!," and holds a pink thing up to her face. Such a girl! We love our sweet princess Megan! Happy 3rd Birthday Megan!

As you can tell, Jackson didn't want to be dressed up like any of the girls even though he got invited to a princess party for Megan. So, he decided to dress up, but as Spiderman. He also had to have a cars cup and plate instead of a princess cup and plate. I didn't mind! Rather have that than the other way around. He's so funny sometimes.

So, this was early morning on Megans Birthday. We had Megans birthday party a few days before her actual birthday. Dave gets a kick out of putting a blanket covering the kids door and sliding balloons in between the door and the blanket, so that when they open the door all the balloons come falling into them. We did it for Jacksons last birthday too. Megan didn't think it was as funny as Jackson did. She can be pretty aunry in the morning if not enough sleep, which happened. Whitney woke up crying and I couldn't go in without it falling, and so Megan woke up to her crying and wasn't too happy. Anyway, she had a fun filled day doing all the things she wanted like Chuck E Cheese and going out to eat at her favorite places.

Three cute kids. We love you Megan! Happy 3rd Birthday!

Thanksgiving at our house

2011-11-29T12:30:00.000-08:00

It was so cute, Jacksons Kindergarten class had a little Thanksgiving program. His teacher had them make homemade cornbread w/ butter, fingerprint turkeys, pilgrim hats and ties, and candles. Then after they ate their cornbread they sang a bunch of Thanksgiving songs that was really cute. Its been fun to enjoy all the fun things they do at school for the kids.

Jackson made Megan an Indian head band since she didn't have a hat. She loves being like her older brother. It was very sweet of him to think about her without.

My three cute kids with glasses and goggles on.

Some pictures of us just having some fun hanging out at home with the cold weather and all. Crazy Megan is always pulling her silly faces.

Dave played at the Turkey Bowl they have every Thanksgiving with Jackson and his cousins and Uncle. They had so much fun. Dave was glad not to have a broken hand this year like last year.

It was great having some family come to visit us for Thanksgiving. We had so much fun hanging out, playing and watching football, playing at the park, and going shopping on Black Friday, and having such yummy food for Thanksgiving. We had so much fun being with all of them.

We made some fun turkeys with rice krispies, oreos, chocolate frosting, and candy corns. I thought it was a fun and easy idea.

Megan loves to play with Whitney and hide from her under her highchair. Whitney couldn't find Megan anywhere and then Megan would peek up and surprise her. It was way cute!

Running the Louisville 1/2 Marathon!

2011-11-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I ran in the Louisville 1/2 Marathon. It was a lot of fun, they had bands on the sides of the roads, water stations, and lots of people cheering us on. I've been training for it for at least a few months. I was kind of nervous doing it since I've never run an actual race that was timed and all, but it went good. I had to really push myself through it of course,but I did really well finishing till the end. I had a finishing time of 2 hours 9:20. I was pretty tired of course afterwards, but it felt great accomplishing my goal. Thanks to my cheering team on the side lines. Dave, Jackson, Megan, and Whitney were there to cheer me on. Thanks you guys!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

These took some time to upload and put on my blog, but they're here. Life is a lot busier now. We had a wonderful Halloween and hope you did too!

Our two cute little Tinkerbells.

We had a Ward Halloween Party last week and brought these brownie pumpkins to it. Jackson helped me decorate them. It was too bad it rained. We had trunk or treat inside the gym which was a little crowded, but still a lot of fun.

This year for Halloween Jackson was Spiderman for our ward party and his school parade and a Transformer for Trick or Treating. Megan was Tinkerbell for the party and a Barbie princess for Trick or Treating. I only dressed up Whitney for the party. It was too cold on Halloween to put her in her costume, figured it'd be better to keep her warm. For the party Dave dressed up as Zorro and I was his partner in crime.

Megan just loves to pose for the camera. Its lucky she is so cute, she's a tuff one thats for sure.

Some pictures of Jacksons Kindergarten parade at his school and of him and Megan with a few friends. It was cute to see him hold Megans hand to walk around all the classes with his class.

I had to do a little photo shot with Megan after I got her all ready for going Trick or Treating. I did it quick since I knew her hair wouldn't last long.

Carving our pumpkins together.

This year I decided I was determined to make a soccer ball. Dave, my wonderful Mechanical Engineer, helped me do it. I thought it turned out pretty good. Jackson wanted the spider from Spiderman, Megan wanted a funny face, and Dave did a huge eye ball. We love finding something new to do every year that will challenge us.

It was so much fun to take Megan and Jackson Trick or Treating this year. They had so much fun and got plenty of candy.

Whitney found Megans princess bucket and got caught taking some. Uh oh!

Still happy though. She's our little angel and is always so content.

Jackson's first soccer game

2011-09-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

Jackson is now playing soccer on a U6 team, the "Seahorses". If you watch the video you can see him score a goal during his first game! He is #8 on the blue team.

Grandpa came to visit!

2011-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

It was great having my dad come out for a couple days since he was out for business. We've been lucky to have him come out a couple times. We had so much fun making boats, going to Rascals, and dinner. We had a lot of fun together. The kids really liked having Grandpa here.

Some fun times hanging out!

2011-08-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

With Jackson at school now in the mornings me and the girls have a little time to hang out together. I love it! As you can see Megan loves her little sister Whitney.

Where's Whitney?

We've had some fun times dressing up in dressup clothes as you can see. Megan just loves the color pink as any girl does and she has to have everything PINK!

So, we had a little fun the other day emptying our lovesac so we could wash it. We emptied all the stuffing onto sheets, then washed the sac, and then filled it up again with big bowls. It took some time. Although, it was nice to clean the huge thing. We might have another adventure cleaning the other one. Yipee!

Sweet Whitney is getting so big! Sorry its a little blurry, I used my phone camera.

We always love going to the park to have a break for me and the kids of course. The kids love to put Whitney in the swing now. She loves it too it seems.

Silly, Skinny Jackson! He loves to wear this container that holds our blocks. I can't believe he can get it on.

Jacksons first day of Kindergarten

2011-08-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

So sad, my little Jackson just started Kindergarten. He's so big now, it kills me to think of the days when he was as small as Whitney. That seems like not too long ago even though of course we've been through a lot. Crazy to have a kid in school now. Hard to deal with someone elses schedule and not just mine. He's only doing half day thankgoodness. He's kind of been a little sad leaving home even for the few hours that he does. So, its working out fine doing this instead of full day. Jackson really likes his teacher and loves all the fun things he gets to do in his class as soon as he gets there and all.

We made a fun rice krispie bus to get Jackson excited for school the night before.

Jackson's 5 years old!

2011-07-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, its been a little while since Jacksons birthday, but our internet hasn't been up and running so I haven't been able to post pictures. But, here they are, especially for my mom. Jackson had a wonderful birthday. We surprised him in the morning by putting balloons between his door and a blanket that was help up by a huge ladder, as pictured below. So that when he opened the door the balloons all fell on him. He loved it and started laughing.

Jackson really wanted a buzz lightyear for his birthday. So, that's what he got.

Of course we had to go to Chuck E Cheese.

Later on we went to the new Kung Fu Panda movie and then went to dinner. I so didn't want to make two cakes for his birthday since I was already making one for his party. So it worked out to put candles in a donut at the restaurant.

Jacksons Kung Fu Panda cake as requested. I've really had a lot of fun making all the kids birthday cakes that they've wanted over the years.

This year for Jacksons Birthday party we had it at the Commons, pictured below, which is a huge indoor play area that just opened a month ago. Its been great to take the kids to when you just need a day out of the house and don't want to go outside where its so humid and hot. It worked out great for his party. We had cake and ice cream, Dave did games like hide n seek with all the kids, and opened presents. It was a lot of fun to see Jackson so excited and having such a fun time.

Megan was exhausted after the party. She was so tired that she fell asleep right on the floor. I was doing the dishes and I looked over and she was completely out. She has never done this.

Lots of pictures!!!

2011-07-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back blogging, well at least for now. We haven't had our internet working and right now I have internet. Here are a bunch of pictures of our trip to California with my family. It was awesome! We were on the beach all week. It was either playing at the swimming pool or at the beach. So much fun being with the fam!

At the airport waiting for our flight to California.

It was so gorgeous staying right on the beach. This is where we stayed. We stayed in these beautiful condos that you walk out and its all tropical right there in the middle of all the condos.

We went looking for seashells on the beach a few mornings while and after we went running on the beach.

Every morning I went running with my dad and sisters. That was awesome! We went running along the beach every morning bright and early. This is a picture of where we went running below.

A picture of my parents with all their grandchildren as of right now.

My mom and dad with their new little granddaughters, Whitney and Rilee.

Playing at the Beach

A few other fun pictures of our family

Easter pictures finally!

2011-05-17T11:47:00.001-07:00

Whitney is all smiles now. Anytime you look or smile at her she pulls a huge smile. Such a happy girl!:) Hopefully she stays that way for a while. We'll enjoy it for now at least.

This was Jackson at his little preschool Easter party we all did together. It was a lot of fun having all the brothers and sisters invited too. We had a Easter egg hunt out back and had lunch together. It was so much fun doing preschool for Jackson for 2 years. I will really miss it and so will he.

Jackson and Megan loved all the chocolate they got for Easter. They especially loved these chocolate bunnies.

More and more smiling, Whitney is such a joy in our family.

I saw these cute easy to make Easter nest out of a magazine. Jackson had fun making them. Megan is still a little young to do them. But they still had fun with them putting their colored eggs in them.

Megan just loved eating all the chocolate as you can see it all around her mouth.

Jackson and Megan always have fun finding their Easter baskets. Megan just loves to pull this face in a lot of pictures. I took most of these with my camera on my phone so they're probably not the best. I hate it when all my batteries are dead and not charged. Especially on a holiday! Oh well, these are better than nothing.

Fun Lunch Time!

2011-05-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know about at everyone elses house, but lunch time takes forever at our house, so I thought I'd snap a few pictures while we were at it. Jackson loves to pull crazy faces for pictures sometimes as you can tell. Silly boy! I can't believe he is going to Kindergarten in August, scary!

A few pictures of Whitney just hanging out. She is growing everyday it seems and is smiling so much. We love it! We love our little Whitney!

Whitneys Blessing Day! Grandma and Grandpa came!

2011-04-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

It was wonderful blessing Whitney a few weeks ago. Even Daves parents were able to make it out for it.

We had a lot of fun hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Pendleton. Here are some pictures of us at the Indianapolis Childrens Museum together. We got a pass there for this whole year which will be a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun, thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa!

Playing Outside!

2011-04-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Whitney still growing. I thought it was too cute with her holding onto these animal shakers.

The weather has been great the past while and we of course love it! So much fun to go out and ride bikes, play at the playground, play sports, play hopscotch, draw with chalk, etc. I'm so an outdoors person. Yay for the nice weather, hopefully it'll continue.

Whitney growing up already

2011-03-11T12:37:00.001-08:00

Its fun to already see Whitney getting a little bigger over the past 6 weeks. I can't believe how time has flown. Its a lot of work taking care of the three kids, but its sure cute to see them together and to hear Jackson and Megan tell Whitney how much they love her. Makes it all worth it!

Megan loves to hold and give lots of kisses to Whitney as you can see.

Whitneys first bath. She didn't like it too much!

Poor Whitney! Jacksons holding Whitney alot better now. I didn't realize that Whitney was in such an uncomfortable position.

I love the twin outfits their Aunt Sheri got them. So cute! I'm excited to match their clothes as they get older.

My mom and sister came into town a few weeks ago to help with Whitney, which was so much help. Thanks again mom and Ashley, we had so much fun!

Jackson and Megan came to see Whitney

2011-02-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Jackson and Megan were so excited to come see Whitney at the Hospital. I don't think Megan understood before, but now I think she's understanding that there's another baby in the family than her. They both have been doing really well with the whole new baby in the family. Hopefully it'll continue. Thankgoodness Dave has been able to be home to help for the first week home and then my mom and sister will be here next week to help.

Megan and Jackson both giving kisses to Whitney. I thought it looked like Whitney was smiling or maybe she was just so squished.

A big yawn!

Whitney Amber Pendleton came!!!

2011-01-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a little surprise happen yesterday while we were out shopping and getting Megans 2 year old pictures taken. While we were walking out to the car to drive a 45 minute drive back home, my water all of a sudden slowly started leaking. I was 9 days early and wasn't expecting this whatsoever. So, as you all know change of plans, we dropped off Megan and Jackson at our good friends house when we got back to town and headed straight to the hospital to check me. My water had broke and we were going to have our baby girl, baby #3. Crazy! The whole epideral, IV, and contractions didn't quite go the best, but its all good. Whitney is here and is a perfect little angel that we love already so much. Pushing was easy as ever. It only took one push and she was right out. Jackson took 2 1/2 hours of pushing, Megan took maybe 11 minutes pushing and Whitney, maybe 10 seconds. It was amazing! Anyway, we are so happy and feel so blessed to have our little sweetheart with us now. Here are a few pictures of us and her for now.

Our Christmas this year

2011-01-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

Some pictures by the Christmas tree and at our Wards Christmas party with Santa and a few of Jackson and Megans friends. Gotta take a few crazy pictures of the kids, as always, that shows the true kid inside.

Megan didn't like Santa this year. Maybe next year she'll do better. Jackson had a hard time too of course the past few years and he loved sitting on Santas lap this year.

For our Christmas this year we were lucky to go to California to spend it with Davids family and my parents some now that they both live there. It was so much fun having Jackson and Megan spend a lot of time with their grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. We had so much fun doing all sorts of different things together. We had so much fun mainly spending Christmas with family.

Cute girl cousins together.

Megan loved feeding the baby doll from a pretend bottle. She's going to do great with her baby sister that is coming soon. Hopefully, she just loves babys right now.

Megan and her cousin Ella look so much alike that I realized they have the same shirts so I thought I should dress them up to match each other. I can't believe how similar they look here. Here are some pictures on Christmas morning.

Doing the Nativity with Davids brother and his family. Jackson was a lamb, Megan was an angel, and David and I were Mary and Joseph (since I'm of course with child). Jackson was being tricky above holding a plate with his toes. Not too sanitary, thankgoodness he was done eating.

Jackson apparently wanted to try on some of my shoes and act like a shoe monster. This is Jackson and Megan riding on their Grandpas bike from when he was 5 years old. They loved riding it all over in their front room.

It was great being able to go see my parents, brother and sister while we were their in California. We haven't ever had it where both our parents live in the same state until now let alone less than an hour away from each other. Its great!

We had so much fun going to the San Diego Wild Park. Jackson and Megan loved the animals of course. Jackson and Megan love sticking out their tummies at each other.

We went to a place that we usually go to while we're there in California with Davids family called Johns Incredible Pizza where they have food, different themed rooms, games, rides, etc. It's a great place for families.

Just Davids luck, their was a Jazz game against the Clippers in Los Angeles. So, of course we had to go. It was fun going, LA is a busy place.

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year, thanks everyone for all the fun we had together with all of you.

Happy 2nd Birthday Megan!

2011-01-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

We celebrated some of Megans Birthday at our home by opening her presents (we didn't want to send her bike all the way to California then back to Indiana), and celebrated her actual birthday in California with her grandparents and other family, which was way fun to do since we're usually in Indiana on their birthdays, so it was a nice to spend it with family.

Lately Megan has just loved the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show, so I decided to make her a Minnie Mouse cake this year for her birthday.

Megans pretty bright red lips from the red frosting on her cake.

Crazy Megan!

New Costumes

2010-11-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

So, I totally hit the after Halloween costume sale just right, and maybe got a few too many costumes, but you can't beat it when they're such a great deal. I'm stocked for quite a while, lets say. Megan isn't quite into the dressing up into different costumes yet. Jackson has had so much fun trying some of them on.

The two of us being crazy!

2010-11-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Jackson and Megan just love to play together and climb all over each other. They're such crazy kids and are always keeping me on my toes. Never a dull moment here!

I had to take a picture of Jackson before he left for preschool, I thought he looked so grown up that day.

As you can see, Megan got into the markers, yay! Jackson also did too, but I forgot to take a picture of him too. I thought to take a picture right before I washed Megan off. I guess you gotta laugh at the things they do sometimes and be glad it wasn't on the walls of the house. For everyones enjoyment, a front and side view of Megan with marker all over.

Halloween and other fun!

2010-11-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween this year as usual. We did the pumpkin carving of course. Dave did a cool looking star as you can see and a batman sign for Jacksons. I attempted doing Mickey Mouse, but it didn't quite turn out how I wanted it, oh well. It was fun carving it! This year Jackson wanted to be a Sheriff like Sheriff Woody off Toy Story. Megan was a classic princess. They had fun dressing up for all the Halloween parties we got to go to.

Jacksons Preschool Halloween party

For Jackson preschool party I made this breaded pumpkin with spinach dip and vegetables on the side. I also made some of these fun Halloween tombstone cupcakes.

Here's our new Suburban we got just the past week. Well new to us. It's a 2003 and very nice. We needed it with our family growing in the next few months. I already love it!

Baby #3 Inside of Me!

2010-10-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

For anyone who doesn't know by now, yes we're expecting baby #3. We just let the word out to all of our family (with this shirt on Megan) and friends on our trip out to Utah these past few weeks. I'm as of right now 23 weeks along and am due on Feb.3. We're so excited to be expecting another GIRL! It'll be nice putting on Megans old clothes. It'll also be nice because Megans clothes should fit this girl at the time they fit Megan since Megan was born in December and this girl in February. So, that will hopefully work out nice unless this baby is a chunky one, which Megan definately wasn't and never has. She was always right on for when clothes were suppose to fit. We're very excited to have another and know it'll be alot of work, but well worth it.

Our Trip to Utah

2010-10-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time going to Utah. It was great being able to spend time hanging out with family doing lots of different things. Here are some pictures of all we did while being there.

We hiked up to Stewart Falls, our classic family tradition, while we stayed up at my Grandparents cabin some of the time, up in Sundance, and just enjoyed hanging out together.

We also had a lot of fun going to the BYU game while we were there. Too bad they're not doing so well this year so far, but we'll still be true blue fans.

After the football game we even got to see the BYU basketball coach Dave Rose, which Dave thought was awesome of course being a huge fan and all.

I love the different faces Megan is always pulling. I also love it when I catch them on camera.

The grandkids all loved the animal masked that Grandma and Grandpa Shelley brought for them. They always love the little surprise gifts they bring for them whenever we see them. Its nice up at our cabin where noone has to stress over work or anything, just relax.

It was my moms birthday while we were up there and so we celebrated. Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

We stayed at my brother and sisters houses while we were there after the cabin and did a lot of fun things like riding bikes and scooters, going to Thanksgiving Points Farm, going to Chuck E Cheese, walking to Cabella's to see all the animals, etc. Jackson and Megan had so much fun hanging out with their cousins while we were there.

It was great being able to also see Daves brothers family, Kevin and Cindy while we were there. Their four boys are so cute. They have a very busy life, but are very on top of it. They blow me away with all they do. I only think of having three for now. One at a time, as they say.

I also got to see some of my good friends from High School, who I always love to catch up on life with. I love my girlfriends! What fun memories we have.

We had such a fun trip, Thanks everyone! We Love all of you!

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a little while. We had a fun Fourth of July weekend. We went to Cincinnati, Ohio to the Childrens Museum. Jackson and Megan loved it! They have a lot of fun things to do there. A fun filled day for kids. The building looks a little different from the front, not quite your average looking Childrens Museum, use to be a train station, but way fun to go to.

They loved playing in the water area. Thank goodness for the little coats to make it so they don't get soaked.

Megan loves to pretend she's a fish now. She's doing all kinds of animal sounds and making all different animal faces. Its fun to see her personality really come out.

Dad fell asleep on the bus while Jackson was driving. Scary!

Now, if I could only get Jackson to work this hard at home. Its funny that kids love to work for play.

Jackson wanted to do the grocery shopping for me this time.

Happy 4th Birthday Jackson!

2010-06-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

Being at Grandma and Grandpa Shelleys in California

2010-06-18T10:40:00.001-07:00

Being at Grandma and Grandpa Pendletons in California

2010-06-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Preschool Party

2010-05-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a little end of the year preschool party for the kids. They just loved being outside to play in the water on the slip n slide, playing with waterballoons, running through the sprinkler. We had a fun time this past year doing preschool with a few of Jacksons friends from church.

Megan loved playing out in the water too with all the other kids. So happy!

A Fun Weekend in Indianapolis

2010-05-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was so much fun, we went up to Indianapolis for the Indianapolis 500 qualifications racing. They try to go the fastest to be in the front for the actual race. I couldn't believe it. I've never been to one before and man they go fast. They were going around 230 miles per hour. It scared me the first time the car came around. The Indianpolis 500 is really big around here as you can see lots of people really get into it.

Then after the racing was over we headed over to the Indianapolis Indians baseball game. We sat out in the grassy area being easier to handle the kids. Jackson got a little shirt for getting a season ticket. Get this it was cheaper to buy him a season pass than to buy 2 game tickets. So we have to go to just 2 games to make it worth the money. Of course they are trying to get the parent to buy one too. Tricky people!

Where's daddy? Jackson thought he would throw all his stuff on Dave while he was laying on the floor TRYING to take a nap. Not very easy to get one around here.

Happy Birthday Honey!

2010-05-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Dave turned 27 this year. I made him a ice cream cake. So.....yummy! Hope you had a good birthday Dave. We all love you!
Sorry Honey! I seriously didn't try to put 28. I forget, I'm older than you, I know!

I love taking pictures of Jackson and Megan together. So, here are a few.

Father and Son Campout

2010-05-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun for Jackson and Dave to go on a Father and Son Campout they do every year here. Jackson went last year and I think the year before that when he was really young. They have so much fun together. Jackson got so excited when I told him he got to go camping with dad. He said he wanted us all to go, and we will, I told him its just for the boys this time though. They always have a good time. I guess the weather wasn't so good for them, really windy and rainy, but still fun.

I guess they played a few games. Jacksons holding rubberbands they played a game with.

Ok, so when Jackson and Dave got home, Jackson comes to me and says, "Mom, a small branch fell and hit our car!" I was really hoping it was a small branch and not a big deal. Oh no, Dave said, it wasn't event that big of a branch, but still did quite a bit of damage as you can see. I was a little surprised you can say. Couldn't be that small of a branch. So, we really need to still get that fixed. Darn nature! A few months ago we were driving to the temple and hit a deer and now this. Its all good!

Grandma Shelley came again!

2010-05-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun, my mom was able to come out again to visit for a week. We had so much fun hanging out, going to the Indianapolis Zoo, playing with toys, going to lunch, going bike riding, and just talking and being together. Its always so much fun when grandma comes.

We saw all different animals at the Zoo. As you can see we saw a Huge Polar bear going for a swim, my mom and Jackson touching sharks, monkeys being crazy, elephants, dolphins doing a Huge show, zebras, giraffes sticking out their long tongues, a walrus getting up close and personal, and much more. We had such a fun time at the zoo.

Thanks for coming Grandma! We had so much fun with you!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

With Jacksons preschool we had a little Easter party at our house. It was fun, we had a little luncheon, easter egg hunt, a fun Easter egg cake, and colored Easter pictures. Its been great having him in this little group for preschool. Jackson loves all of his friends in preschool.

Megan has been so cute lately with her hugs, big smiles, folding her arms, and playing more with Jackson. Jackson has loved being able to play with her more. We found the Easter bunny!

For Easter we had fun going out to Alabama to see Daves sister Kristi and her family. We haven't seen them in quite a while so it was fun hanging out with them.

Jackson had a rough morning for some reason and didn't feel like smiling till he found some yummy candy in our Easter egg hunt. Silly kid!

Grandma and Grandpa Shelley came!

2010-03-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

It was so awesome, my parents came out last minute the other week. My dad had a business trip in Michigan so he had to come out. He decided he should bring out my mom with him instead of leaving her at home. I was so excited! We had so much fun, we were able to go outside since the weather was pretty nice some of the time. It was great since we haven't had this nice of weather since, I really can't remember, probably late October or beginning of November. It's always nice and so much fun to have them come and visit. Thanks for coming grandma and grandpa. Jackson and Megan had so much fun hanging out with you.

Trip to Utah

2010-01-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun trip to Utah for Christmas this year. It was nice to be with family and friends during the holidays. We haven't been back to Utah for Christmas for at least a few years. So, it was nice to enjoy that fun and exciting time together. I know there are a lot of pictures, and feel free to look, but I know my parents and family really like to see them, so that's why I put them all on here since I don't like to e-mail them to everyone seperately. Thanks for such a fun Christmas and New Year everyone. We love and miss you!

Yes, I even got to go see how Snow College is holding up since my younger sister is going to school down there.

It was fun seeing a few of my friends from College and High School.

We went to this fun place that is over my the University mall called Pirates Island. It was so fun, we went twice. I totally recommend it!

I always love seeing my Grandma Shelley. It's always tradition at the beginning of January to go sledding with my dads family. So, we were able to enjoy doing that here and we got to go on snowmobiles that my Aunt and Uncle provided. It was awesome! Then afterwards have a huge luncheon together and have pose stew, so good.

Megan really likes to stick out her tongue right now.

Yay, I got to go snowboarding at least a little.

It's so sad, we helped my parents pack up and clean there house cause they moved to California. So sad, but they are already enjoying it. It's like a nice early retirement, other than my dad still working.

We loved being able to go to the Salt Lake Temple lights, so tradition. It's always so fun and nice to be so close to the beautiful temple.

We got to go see Daves brother, Kevin and his wife and kids. It's been quite a while since we'd seen them. So, it was nice to see all there cute boys and how much they've grown up. That was so much fun you guys.

Had to go to Wingers

We had so much fun going sledding quite a few times.

Christmas morning

Christmas Eve at Salem pond

Megans 1st Birthday!

2010-01-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

This is a little late since we've been busy being gone to Utah and all, but we had a great day with Megan on her first birthday. I totally can't believe it's been a year since she was born, but I guess it was at Christmas time last year and it is Christmas again. What a fast year! Anyway, Megan had so much fun going to IHOP for breakfast, going to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, opening presents, having cake, and going to see Santa all in one day. She did not go without. I guess that's whats nice at Christmas time, lots going on. Yay, Happy Birthday Megan!

Just hanging around the house

2009-12-14T10:18:00.001-08:00

Wow! It's been forever since I've last posted pictures. Halloween, that's been a long time. My camera hasn't been working though since my rechargable batteries died off on me. So, I haven't been able to take pictures since Halloween either. Anyway, here are a few pictures of us just hanging out at the house on Saturday having lunch and having a few laughs. Fun times just a chillin'.

Megans gained such a personality lately. It's so fun to make her laugh. We just love to play with her and make her happy.

Yay, CHRISTMAS!!!

Jackson made this paper angel at preschool and liked playing with it. He has had a blast going and has totally grown up going to all his friends house without crying. It's definately been a great thing for him.

Megan is on the go now all the time. It's hard to get a good picture of her holding still and smiling. Growing up, she's close to wanting to walk now, always standing up to everything.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

As tradition, we of course carved our pumpkins for Halloween. This year we tried to not go as extreme as we usually do. Dave carved the Superman pumpkin, Jackson wanted a scary Jack-o-lantern for his little pumpkin, and I did Dora the Explorer, since Jackson just loves watching it. This year Jackson was a football player and Megan was a cute little ladybug. We had a fun Halloween going trick or treating and to our friends house for a Halloween party.

Jackson and his little friend Gwyen reading a book together on her couch at her families Halloween party we went to.

Jackson always has to play in the leaves whenever he sees a big pile of them. When I went visiting teaching, him and his friend Savanna had a blast playing in them. He couldn't help but notice that Megan needed to play too. Jackson never wants to leave her out of the fun.

Our Ward Halloween Party

I didn't know being a ladybug was such a common thing for a little girl. It was funny there were two other little girls that were a ladybug other than Megan. We couldn't resist taking a picture of them all together.

Daves friend came to the ward Halloween party. Dave dressed up as Abraham Lincoln and I dressed up as a deviled egg, ha..ha..! It was a lot of fun with the dinner and trunk or treating they had. The ward parties are always a lot of fun to go to, they always do a great job with them.

I felt ambitious and made a Halloween cake for the Ward Party. It was fun, but a lot of work.

Jacksons Preschool Halloween Party

It's been a lot of fun the past few months doing preschool with Jackson and a few of his friends. We will do a lesson everyday with a letter, number and theme. This past week for Halloween, I taught, we did a lot of fun Halloween crafts and treats. One of the days I had a little Halloween party for them and played a few fun games like a cake walk, but with cupcakes, and eat a donut off a string. They had fun dressing up in their costumes. Jackson has had a lot of fun with preschool, it seems already, and has done so much better going to other peoples houses to play without having a hard time when I leave. It has made me sad to see him break out of his shell, now I have to remind him to give me a kiss, a hug, and say bye. He use to cry, hold onto me, and not want me to leave. But now he does wonderful. So that's been very nice to get over.

A Day in Bloomington

2009-11-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went to Bloomington since we've never visited that way, and its not that far away from us. It was a lot of fun. We drove the long way to get there and saw all the pretty leafs that have turned colors also. We spent the day there going to a way good Thai restaurant that Daves friend from work recommended and then went to this childrens museum that wasn't too bad. Jackson and Megan had fun going there, especially after the drive there. It was a smaller kids museum, but it still had a lot of fun things to do there. The dinosaur you see up above would tell you how tall you are if you stand under it. Jackson was kinda scared of it though.

This was a cool towere that the kids could climb up through. Jackson never likes to do these kind of things though for some reason. Same with the play area at McDonalds or Chuck E Cheese. Oh well! I was tempted to climb up it, it looked so fun.

Can you see the lizard? It's kind of hiding.

Megan loved being in this mirror little tunnel where there were mirrors all around her. She's such a girl! Loves to look at herself in the mirror.

Jackson loved playing in this water area. We could have left him there to play for hours. Well worth the money going here, babysitter included, nice! =)

My sweet blue eyed girl!

This was a cool area where water bubbles would form on your hands. Dave tried joining them together. It felt funky!

The Old Days!

2009-10-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

My coach from my High School soccer team posted this picture on facebook. It's from my senior class soccer picture we took way back then. It totally took me back to those days when I use to be so much more fit. Man, we worked our tails off back then. I'm still staying in shape, but I've never been in as good of shape as I was back then. Those were a lot of fun memories. Someday I'd really like to play with the girls again. Man, we looked tough! I just love the game!

Fathers and Son Campout

2009-10-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Dave and Jackson had so much fun, they went to the Ward Fathers and Son campout. Dave has taken him before, but Jackson hasn't really been old enough to really have fun doing the cool and exciting things they do there. They had so much fun making and shooting off rockets, roasting hot dogs, finding a racoon in the garbage, playing dodge ball, doing the iron man contest, swinging on a HUGE tree swing and much more. We're lucky to have a great ward that has a lot of fun events.

Grandma Shelley Came to Visit!

2009-09-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun having my mom come visit for a while. We did all sorts of fun things. We went to the Cincinnati Reds game, the Indianapolis Museum, the Not Just Popcorn store (has over 250 kinds of popcorn), went shopping, had frozen custard, played outside in the sand, sprinklers, bubbles, and much, much more. We had so much fun when she came out. Jackson and Megan had so much fun being with their grandma. Plus, it was also nice to have extra help all the time with the household chores and taking care of the kids. Thanks for coming out mom, sure love ya!

Playing Outside

I watched Jacksons friend Kenzie for a little bit with my mom and they had fun running through the sprinklers, playing Don't Eat Pete, reading books, and just playing together.

Cincinnati Reds Game

Downtown Fun

I felt bad we all got some sun on Saturday from being outside all day at our stake softball games and at the downtown events that were going on. Megan showed it pretty quick.

Indianapolis Museum

It was so cool they already had the dinosoar the was coming out of the front of the Museum, but they made some changes to the entrance making two HUGE dinosoars pretending to try to go in the side of the museum.

Jackson liked playing in the icecream parlor and pretending to eat all the icecream.

We even took a trip to Egypt while she was here. HA... J/k It was cool in the Museum they had a cool plane that looked just like a real one that we pretend to fly to Egypt and experience all that they have over there. It was really neat. Jackson loved the alligator as you'll see.

Jackson gave Megan a ride. I kind of was a little nervous. I can wait for Jackson to drive someday in a real car... especially with Megan!

Grandma rode on the carousel with Megan. Jackson wasn't too interested in riding this time for some reason.

Thanks for all the fun we had with you Grandma Shelley. We love you!

Our Trip to Utah

2009-08-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun trip to Utah to see all of my family, a few friends, and a brother of Daves. We did SO... much in a week. It's been over a year since we've been back to Utah so it was fun seeing everyone. We spent time going up to my familys cabin, hiked up to stewart falls, went to Wingers (such good sticky fingers), went to the dinosaur park and farm area at Thanksgiving Point, went swimming all at the pool, Chuck E Cheese, and lots more. It's always so fun going home to see family and friends and just spend time together. Thanks fam! We had a blast with all of you.

Thanksgiving Point

Chuck E Cheese

Up at Stewart Cabin

Hiking up to Stewart Falls

My sister-in-law, Kaitlyn, made such a yummy apricot pie. We were all impresses with her cooking skills. Since they've been only married a year and she made it just right. What a great cook her mom must have taught her to be.

Jackson had so much fun being with his cousins Alexa and Nathan. They all got along and played so well together. They just loved running around chasing each other. This was so funny because when we went down to the ponds. All of a sudden Nathan tackled Alexa. It took us all by surprise.

Farm area at Thanksgiving Point

It was fun also seeing Daves brother, Kevin and his family. We got to ride on a hayride, Jackson rode on a horse, they saw all kinds of animals, and the kids went to jail.

It was fun seeing Jackson and Megans new cousin Rusty who they hadn't seen yet and neither had we. Its hard being far from family, but we do what we have to in the situation we're in. Someday we'd of course like to move closer to the west. But, for now we really enjoy the people, ward, and fun things we get to do out here in Indiana.

Cincinnati Reds Baseball Game

2009-08-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of us going to the REDS game in Cincinnati, Ohio. It's so nice to have so many things close by to go to like this. It only takes a hour and a half to go to a few big cities in different states like Ohio and Kentucky. That's what is so different here than in the west. Megan and Jackson just loved it! Jackson still is talking about how he wants to go to another baseball game.

It was fun seeing the fireworks they did after the game, even though they lost. It was the loudest and longest show we've ever been to. We seriously could feel our seats shake it was so loud. We really liked it, but I think Jackson got a little scared of it.

Trip to Nauvoo

2009-07-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we were able to go to Nauvoo again. We had so much fun going to the plays they have, the oxen ride, the carriage ride, the temple, all the sites, etc. We were able to go a few years ago, but it was great going again to see the things that we weren't able to make it to the first time. It is such a beautiful city. The temple is just amazing inside and out.

It was so fun, we got to stay in this little cabin one night. We found out that a family went there to visit and decided they wanted to move there since they liked it so much and they started a cabin/hotel business. We thought it was a fun idea. I guess they name the cabin after a family from way back that lived there. They would use all the old wood and totally fix it up to the way it use to be.

This is a picture of Joseph and Hyrum Smith leaving Nauvoo, on their way to Carthage Jail. Joseph knew he wouldn't be coming back to Nauvoo once he left. What sacrifices he made for us to have the church. He was an amazing man. Going to Nauvoo is such a great trip to help you realize all that he and all of the pioneers did to keep the church going.

This is the house where Calvin Pendleton lived. He was a doctor that did free work for the people of Nauvoo at that time and a school teacher. He had a great last name. We had to take a picture in front of it being Pendletons. Dave is pretty sure we are related somewhere down the line.

It was so much fun also going to the pagent in Nauvoo which is of course the classic thing to do there. It's pretty crazy what they do to put it on. It goes on for a whole month so you can imagine the sacrifices people go through to put it on.

Jackson wasn't able to see being so low down in his own chair so Dave had a great idea to put his chair in the stroller to be higher up so he could see everything. Dave's always coming up with great ideas.

Going on an Oxen ride. Jackson loved to touch the ox and the horses there. Typical kid that just loves animals. He wasn't too happy to leave them.

We also stopped at Carthage Jail on our way back home. It is just a wonderful place to go in and see even though it is sad to see the place where our dear prophet Joseph Smiths life was taken. He lived great and he died great. People thought they could stop the work from moving forward by killing the prophet, but goes to show you today that that didn't happen. What a remarkable man he was! I would recommend going on this trip to whoever hasn't. What a fun and spiritual trip it is.

Demolition Derby

2009-07-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

We all had so much fun at the Demolition Derby this year. We went last year too, the county fair comes every year here in July. There's always good food, rides, animals, and the Demolition Derby that goes on. This years derby was a lot better than last year too. I remember going to them as a kid and loving them and I still enjoy going to them. The kids had a fun time being there too as you can see. They were both really happy and good for us even though it was a late night going to it. A great family tradition to make.

The whole back of this B4 car got so crushed in. All the cars got hit pretty bad. And it was even funner that it was in mud.

Jackson loves playing with Play-Doh, like every child. We made some fun make believe food, a hot dog, chicken, mac n cheese, brownie, and of course, chocolate milk to have for lunch and then of course he had real food.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jackson!

2009-07-02T11:16:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my baby boy, Jackson, is already 3 years old. He had such a fun birthday. We went to McDonalds, his favorite place to eat, for lunch and had cupcakes, went to Milk and Cookies at our library, and opened lots of fun gifts from family and friends. He sure got spoiled. I can't believe how fast he's growing. Next thing I know he'll be off to Kindergarten, so sad!

Jackson loved the gator golf that Grandma Shelley got him for his birthday. "Ahhh...it's eating my hand!" he's saying.

It was so much fun making a cake for him this year. I made a Thomas the Train Engine cake for him. I got a few ideas off of the internet and it actually turned out alright I thought for his party that we had for him.

We had a fun birthday party for Jackson at the park next to us with all of his friends. It was a pretty hot day so we had lots of drinks, popsicles, and cake. Jackson got lots of fun gifts from all his friends. We've been so lucky to have such great friends out here where we live. Happy BIG 3rd Birthday Jackson! We love you!

DETERMINATION PAYS OFF, FINALLY!!!

2009-06-22T12:57:00.001-07:00

What is in this bag you might ask? Well, alot of you might know, but we finally caught our mouse that we've had in our house since March. After all the hard work of 15 mouse traps, i'll remind you, we have FINALLY caught our mouse. How you might ask? All I'll say is, 4:30 in the morning, 2 hours, a tall box, some blocking off of the closet, tearing Megans room apart, bleach, 409, and 2 mouse traps. Determination has finally payed off! Dave looked back to when we bought the first mouse trap and that was way back in March. So, it's been over 3 months of this dang mouse running wild in our house. We were sick and tired of it. So, we aren't quite sure if there are anymore, but we haven't heard any ruffling of paper in the closet yet, and hopefully won't again. Yay!!!

We put the 2 mouse traps into this deep box and let it get caught on one of them. I'll save you the trauma of the mouse picture when it was dead. I just needed evidence that we've got rid of the mouse. What a great feeling to not have a mouse in the house. HOPEFULLY!