I love Fall-

I seriously LOVE falltime! I love the colors, I love how it gets cooler and I can wear sweaters but I'm not usually freezing cold. I love the campfire smell in the air at night, and the scarecrows, cornstalks and haybales, and pumpkins that just seem to be everywhere. I LOVE Halloween and seeing all the little kids in their costumes- AND because that awesome holiday is rapidly approaching I realized that it was high time that we went to pick out our pumpkins to carve on Halloween. We went to a place out in Sandy. Kennedy LOVED it- and took her "job" very seriously. She was very careful and picky about which pumpkin would be just the perfect one for her. I got a huge kick out of it.

Kennedy walking up and down the aisles in search of "The one".

I loved all the cute fall decorations! It made it so fun.

Seriously you just thought the last picture was cute- she is a rockstar!

Kenna and Mom

And WALA! The perfect pumpkin! We each got one and now we just have to keep them from getting smashed for another week. Sigh... I will have to post our finished products after they are all carved.

Wahoo for new hairdo's!

Ok- I realize that it is stupid and whatever to "toot your own horn".... HOWEVER- there are moments in life that sometimes you just have to shout from the rooftops and say "YES! I, (Whatever your name is) THE GREAT- ACCOMPLISHED THIS CRAZY FEAT!" (Kind of like the scene in "The Castaway" where Tom Hanks is running all around screaming-"I made Fire!!"- ya- kind of like that...) Anyhow- Last night Kennedy and I went to "Hair night out". A little while ago I joined a group of mom's who have also adopted black kids and it is just a place where I can vent and make new friends, and talk about skin care and hair care without boring everyone else...and Kennedy gets to play with tons and tons of darling little kids that look just like her and also "get" how it is being raised as a black child with white parents. AND!! I learned how to do extensions last night! At first I thought it was pretty hard. It just felt unnatural and I didn't know where my fingers should go- and I was afraid that I would just rip her hair out by the roots if I pulled or yanked too hard. BUT!! I quickly got the hang of it...and after TEN long hours of braiding, and braiding and braiding....(and I am not even kidding when I say it took me 10 hours...I was up until 2:00am and even then I had to finish the next day...) My beautiful little girl has a new 'do'!

I realize that this news seems lame to most people...but I have to admit... it has been a real challenge for me trying to learn the art of black hair. It is so different from anything I have ever experienced and it takes meticulous care and effort to make it grow and keep it healthy. I do a style and then I freak out and worry if it is good enough or if I should start over. It takes SO long even to just comb through it sometimes. Top that off with the fact that I have had complete strangers walk up to me in the stores and tell me what they think of it...good and bad...makes me feel even more completely lost with trying to manage it. However..this past little while I have almost felt like I have had tons and tons of help from the big guy upstairs. I have not only been able to manage it, but I feel fairly confidant- and I am learning new things all the time. ME! The girl who never even learned to braid my own hair! So- I am just so excited about this newly acquired skill and I am so grateful to Kristin for not only showing me how...but making me do it on my own. Now my tiny little girl looks SO grown up!! She loves her new hair- and I am just feeling so good right now.

99 Things...

I thought this was a fun one... I copied it from Cam-
Here is a list of "99 things..." the ones that I have done are in Blue.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Italy
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (does half way count?)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34.Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language- (Do I have to be fluent?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Received flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Which ones have you done?...

Adoption Chaos...

McCarrey and I have been working and trying to get our paperwork in for another adoption....here is where it all lies...

We have about $13,000 of "reimbursements" from various sources, my work will give me a certain amount towards adoption and so will McCarrey's...etc. That is an AMAZING- HUGE blessing! Adoption is crazy expensive and definitely the money aspect is the hardest obstacle when it comes to actually going for it. The downfall is that it is a reimbursement and we can only get that money 6 months after a child is placed with us. At this point in time- a typical adoption is going to run us about $20,000.00 give or take a few grand. We will have to pay for legal, and the birthmothers medical expenses. Now- while I would love to say that we just have an extra 20K lying around the house, or even that we had oodles of change hiding in the couch cushions that would be great! But...we just don't. Providing for a child-you bet!....education, clothing, food, vacations- no prob...but 20K in cash right this second...Nope. The crap thing- is that the economy sucks bigtime at the moment and we are nervous about taking out a loan for 20 grand. Even though the reimbursements would come within 6 months and the loan could be paid off in less than a year...we would still have to float the payments on a HUGE loan. At this point in time we would be looking at about $400.00 a month. Ouch! That is pretty rough to just come up with... especially because we would be buying gallons of formula and mountains of diapers at the same time. AAHH! It is a definite frustration to me. Why does adoption have to be so expensive anyway?! Why can't there just be some amazing non-profit organization that just wants to see the children placed with a loving family- and not get rich off the deal? Well- anyhow- just venting a little bit. We will be ok- and if there is one thing I know for sure...when it is right- God will just make it happen. When we got Kennedy we had about $500 in our account. We got the phonecall that day- and I kid you not- in 24 hours we had over $15,000 in our account and we were able to get her with out any trouble. So- we are going to forge ahead- and just trust that when the timing is right...it will happen. We just have to keep working hard and saving our pennies. For all of the chaos and frustration that comes with the adoption process- the amazing experiences far outweigh them. I will try and keep everyone up to date on how the whole "process" is going. Next comes the paperwork and the homestudies...and then the waiting game! Exciting!

Disneyworld!

YAY for DisneyWorld! We just got back from our awesome vacation and we had a great time! It all kind of started out pretty shaky- and for a little while there- we weren't even sure whether or not we were even going to go...but we did and it was fantastic! We had a little accident on the plane ride over. Kennedy was coloring with colored pencils and McCarrey reached over to grab something off of the little tray. Well, Kenna thought that he was trying to take her colored pencils away and she screamed, "No! Mine!" and jerked the pencil away...and my eye happened to be right in the path of the pencil. It stabbed me right in the eye and gouged my eyelid. So at this point in time- I am in crazy pain and my eye is blood-red and I can't open it or see anything out of it. But- we flew all the way to Orlando and I am just thinking- "Get me off of this plane- and get me home!" It must have really been awful- because the paramedics were waiting for me when we landed in Florida and I spent most of the night in the hospital. The puncture hole was literally touching the border of the blue in my eye- and the Doctor said that if it had gotten me even a millimeter over I probably would have lost my sight. Scary! They gave me some drops and some painkillers, patched me up to look like a pirate-and released me. So at that point- I am really miserable and we are just planning on catching the next flight back to Utah. But! I was given a blessing and the next morning- my pain level was down considerably! I still couldn't open my eye all the way- and I looked like I had bloody, fake eye- but I was able to function. It literally was miraculous as far as I am concerned! I didn't get any infection from it, and I was able to stay so that my family could still have a great time together. I tell ya though- it'll be a while before I give colored pencils to a 2 year old again.

The Magic Kingdom was all decked out for Fall time and it was just magic! We went to a Halloween Party that they had after park hours and it was the FUNNEST night ever! They had a Halloween parade and fireworks and we were all dressed up in costume and they had trick or treating all throughout the theme park. They had fog machines going and characters EVERYWHERE and it was so fun to see Disney from a different perspective like that. I have been to Disney... I don't even know how many times and that Halloween party was the best yet.

Kenna loved all the rides,and we got big balloons and mickey ice creams- it was awesome. We stayed for a week and we got a WAY good deal on our package. All of our meals were prepaid and we could go anywhere we wanted to eat. We went to lots of fancy restaurants and lots of different character meals where they would come around to the different tables. Kennedy was kind of unsure at first with all of the characters but by the end of the week- she was asking to go and see them. She loved all of the characters, and the princesses and such. But her all time favorite day was when we went to Hollywood Studios and she got to meet the Little Einsteins. I had never even heard of them before she came along- but now we are official Little Einsteins experts and she was in awe of meeting them,and meeting Handy Manny. I found the whole thing absolutely delightful.This last picture is of my little princess with her Fairy Godmother. She wore this little dress for the Halloween party and when we ate at Cinderella's castle with all of the princesses. In this picture she is a little unsure of whether or not she wanted to smile for the camera- but I thought it was darling anyway. We had so much fun and we wish that we could have had more family come along to enjoy it with us. I love Disney- and the magic that it is for little kids. Kenna had the time of her life and that made it even more fun for us. I am thinking next year that Mexico sounds pretty awesome for a vacation... What do you think?

Gotta Love the Fair...

It's Fair time! YAY! I absolutely love going to the State Fair! It's a must do- every year...even though the booths never change and I already have purchased the "ring cleaner", and the "salsa maker"...McCarrey and I took Kennedy and we all played at the fair on Monday night. Kennedy LOVED it! She was just enthralled with all of the people and the lights from the rides, but most of all the animals. It was as good as the zoo as far as she was concerned- and BONUS! The animal owners weren't shy about letting Kennedy go up and pet all the animals.
Kennedy's "fabilate" (that's how she pronounces favorite...) were the fluffy little bunnies. I have to say- I have always loved the bunnies too. I remember once in high school when we went to the Summit County Fair and my mom, my brother Neil and I were looking at all of the rabbits. Neil said, (I think almost jokingly) that he wanted one and thought it would make a fun pet. I sat there thinking..."Ya right! No way in heck mom'll go for that!" And then later on that day we left the fair with a sweet little gray rabbit. We called her "Bunji Rabbit" and she was such a sweet pet and we loved her for years- now the rabbits are always my favorite at the fair.
Kenna was kind of scared of the little goats. However- They kept trying to eat her clothes or her hair- so I guess I can't blame her. Too Funny...
And of course- the crowning glory at the Fair- the amazing 700 pound butter statue. I can't go to the fair without oohing and aahing over the butter cow. Anyhow- the lady that sculpted it happened to be there when we went over to see it. I swear- one of the great moments in my life...or not.
At any rate- we had a great night. Filled with pigs, the big yellow slide, navajo tacos, and "live info-mercials" - and we can't wait for next year when the fair rolls around again.

Happy Adoption Day for my Gorgeous Girl!

Well- we survived it- and we had a WONDERFUL time! Kenna's 2 year adoption day was this week and we had the best time with a lot of friends and family. This is her cake- which the awesome ladies at Costco were more than happy to turn into an adoption cake fit for a princess. I thought it was darling and I was so excited because they didn't even charge extra for it! YAY for Costco! I swear I couldn't survive without that store.
We had a BBQ- and grilled up Burgers, Brats and hotdogs. There was WAY too much food, and awesome company. Mac and I feel so blessed to have such a great support system- everyone has been so incredible and supportive since we even started thinking about the whole adoption process and they have welcomed our little girl in with open arms- we love you guys and are so grateful for your love and friendship-

We had a pinata for the kids that were there. Most of them were small enough that we just didn't even bother with the blindfolds or trying to save the pinata from getting hit. We were just lucky that the darn thing even broke! (Well...ok- I guess I have to be honest- the darn thing didn't break and I literally had to just shake everything out of it!) But once it was all out on the grass- the kids just scrambled and it was absolutely delightful! We had the best time just visiting with everyone- and Kenna loved playing with all the other kids. It definitely was a wonderful night- just celebrating our family coming together. Hey- it makes me think that we should have more random celebrations like that- just celebrating the fact that you get to be a family...I know I like to shout it from the rooftops...let's start a petition and maybe we can get a holiday out of it!