Fun with Papa

We had so much fun while Papa was here. I love my dad. He does so much for me and my family. I'm so glad he was able to come out for Kallen's Blessing and be a part of the circle to bless him. I hope he can come out fairly often so that there can be a good bond between them. I love watching him laugh and play with the kids. I love them getting to know him. I love that he gives Kaijsa a hard time and she loves being teased by him. I love that he and Kaitlyn can talk and I want Kira to know him better too. The little ones adore him and miss him now that we've moved so far away. They are always asking for Papa and Jennie. Maybe someday he'll retire and move close by. Jen too. hint hint. :) Thanks dad for coming out. Thank you for all you do. We love you! The Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo were fun to see. I think the crowd was a bit much for him but he handled it and the crew like a champ. We hope to see you again soon Papa and Jen you're welcome too. We love and miss you both.

Newest Family Photos.

Here are some of our new family photos. We had my dad take them with our new camera and some on his. I think they turned out cute. With 7 kids it's guaranteed we won't all be looking at the camera or smiling or remembering to take sunglasses off but overall they are good. We had fun going around town finding places to take our pictures. Jen, my sister, had scoped out the places earlier when taking Kaijsa's senior pictures so we didn't have to hunt too much. The day was cool so no one complaining of how hot they are but it was chilly enough to hear a few I'm cold comments. I love my family. They were troopers with me saying to smile and stand here or do this. I was also able to edit them a bit on the computer, some of them anyways. It's been fun looking through them and seeing wacko smiles, eyes closed, funny faces, and overall family fun. Family picture taking is always good fun. I've learned to not stress about people not looking or smiling. With a family our size that's just not going to happen. I've enjoyed having my dad here too. His visit has been way too short. I have taken a few pics of him and the kids and will take some more but it's just never enough. Thanks dad for everything! Love you. Love you Larry Dean and kids! We are truly blessed with all who are in our family.

Kallen's Blessing Day

Today Kallen turned 2 months old and was also blessed in church. Yep, Kallen's Blessing Day was today! He looked so handsome in his white suit and I found cute white shoes to go with it. We moussed and sprayed his hair to be all curly and cute. He has the prettiest highlighted curly hair. He behaved during the blessing and was a doll. Larry blessed his last child today and it was a lovely blessing. He'll have strength, be an influence in the church, serve a mission, get married in the temple and have loving parents both earthly and heavenly that he can turn to. He will have a keen mind to know right from wrong and what is true and what isn't. I wrote it down the best that I could and maybe someday I'll get it into his baby book. With the other kids and Larry not feeling the greatest we didn't stay at church long but we were there for sacrament and the blessing. Larry stayed to fulfill his responsibilities as membership clerk and made sure everything was recorded accurately. I am so grateful my dad was here to be a part of it. We love our Papa! Thanks for coming dad. We sure do miss you being close by.

We took some other pictures but the family ones didn't turn out too great. We'll take more of those tomorrow outside. Hopefully some of those will turn out. I got a new camera for Christmas and so far we're loving the new pictures.

We love you Kallen Dean. I'm so glad you're a part of our family. I was unsure at first since you were quite the surprise but now I can't imagine our family without you. You complete our family and our home. You have such a sweet spirit and bring peace and calmness to our souls. I still wish you could have had the second middle name of Teancum but know your named Kallen Dean after your dad and grandpa for a reason. You're a sweet spirit. Love you!

Photo with Santa

Here is this years Santa picture. I had a few free minutes so I took the kids to the Mall to sit with Santa. The line wasn't long which was nice but we had to buy their photos which is a bummer. But it turned out cute so worth it. He was a great Santa and it was fun to do. Traditions are important.

I'll put more Christmas pictures up soon but wanted to at least put this one up. We have Kira with us now and it's lovely having her. The little ones adore her and she's having fun with her older sisters too. It's nice being a complete family. We'll take some family photos with her and Kallen to update the blog and our families with. I hope they turn out. Tomorrow is Kallen's blessing so we'll for sure take some tomorrow. My dad is in town so he can help. :) Plus my christmas present was a fantastic new camera.

Merry Christmas To All And To All A Goodnight!

Cute pics with my early Christmas present.

I had to work today so I wasn't able to get all dressed up for Christmas Sunday. While I was at work Kaijsa and Kaitlyn got the kids and themselves all dressed up in their new Christmas outfits. Thanks Jen and Papa for the little ones outfits, they are so cute. Kaijsa and Kaitlyn picked out very pretty dresses too. They stood in front of our tree and took a few pics with my new camera (my new early present). The pictures turned out nice and so did all the kids. Larry was sick so he's not in them either. Due to him and I not being in them we're going to dress up again next week in our Christmas finest with Kallen in his blessing suit for his blessing. My dad will be in town and he can help us take pictures plus he'll be here for the blessing. I'm super excited. I love my dad and want my kids to know him and spend time with him as much as possible. Thanks to "Santa" for my new present. I look forward to figuring out how the camera works and taking some great pictures of my wonderful family. I love you kids! I love you Dad and Jen! I love you too Larry Dean and hope you can start to feel better for the holidays. We get to pick up Kira in 2 days and that will be great too. Our family will be complete.

School Events

Kait did a great job in Peter Pan. She made a good Peter Pan and knew all her lines. She had many practices and help put the scenes together too. Kaijsa did the make-up and did a good job with it. It was fun to see them involved with their schools and helping each other out. Keep up the good work girls. Kait I think wants to continue with theater and we support her with all our hearts. She's a great Thespian. Good job Kait!

A week after the Play Kait had her Choir Concert for Christmas. They are a small group that all volunteer to be in it. They practice before and/or after school and aren't very big but the concert was good. It was fun to see her up there singing with her friends. The boy next to her is her special friend Tanner...he's a doll. Thanks for starting off the Christmas season Kait!

I love seeing the kids involved in things and making friends. I love seeing them support each other and the love we have for one another. We all went to the school events and had fun together. Kamden had a school night too that we made it to just before it was over. It was fun to see him and his Gingerbread House that he made. He comes home so excited and loves learning. The joy of the season...

Kallen at 6 weeks

Kallen Dean at 6 weeks. He now weighs 10 lbs 4 oz and is 22 inches long.


He loves to make faces and hear us laugh. He's such a gem.


He loves his daddy and looks like him too.


Kinsee loves him too. Kai thinks he's a doll and tries to carry him around. So much love is given to him. We love our Kallen Dean!

Kallen is doing well. The Dr was very impressed by our boy. He was amazed that he had so much hair. He was also surprised that Kallen could push himself up and look around while on his tummy. He holds and controls his head very well and is growing like a weed. He's gained 2 lbs and grown an inch since his last check up about a month ago. He still sleeps great and is a mellow boy while awake. He is a sweet son and a joy to have in our home. I know now that our family is complete and I'm glad my last 2 were as calm as my first 2 were busy. Our oldest 3 are great with them all and we love being together as a family. I love knowing we'll be together forever. Happy Days for us.

Together for Church

We all made it to church this week after weeks of having baby, someone or all of us being sick, or traveling to drop off and pick up Kaitlyn. I have one more Sunday then I'll be switching shifts and working on Sundays. Yep, you read that right. I'm moving from Graveyard to Days. I have my last 7pm - 5:30am shift on Dec 13th then move to 7am - 5:30pm. The down side is that I'll be working Thurs-Sun so will miss church. But another bright note is that I'm going to be training for a Supervisor position. I have a training period to see if they like me and I like the position before being offered it full time. I do hope I can handle it and like it though because working days would be nicer than nights. Plus I hope the company sticks around with me working for them. There is the chance of next year our office closing but I sure hope not. Anyways, I'll have my nights to be with my kids for a bit and to get some sleep. I will still have 3 days off together too which is nice to get things done or go places. I'll still be working holidays but I don't mind too much because the pay is nice on those days. Enough about me...on to the kids.

Kaijsa is getting ready for finals and her semester to end. She is getting closer to graduating and being a grown up. Mixed feelings all around for that. She is doing well in school and enjoying her classes and teachers. She is also coming to realize that what we told her about her Senior year is actually true. It's not the best year of H.S.

Kaitlyn's play is this week so she's super busy with practices and set design. She is also in Choir and busy learning Christmas Music. She too is enjoying school and doing well. We sure are glad to have her back from her Thanksgiving trip and she's glad to be home too.

Kira will be here for Christmas and we are super excited for that. She's in Basketball and doing well. She even made a 3 pointer at the last game. She's dancing still and busy with school. She's the same size as Kaijsa which makes us laugh. We buy for one and both can wear it/ use it.

Kamden is loving Pre-K. He loves bringing his craft projects home and learning things. It's been really good for him. I even thing we can understand him a bit better. He's growing so fast and getting so big! We can't keep him in clothes or shoes. Crazy.

Kinsee Belle loves to draw/color. She's going to be artsy I think. She is also practicing gymnastics all around the house. If she can find something to hang off of she is. If she can jump off it, she is. She is getting very good at her headstands and loves doing them.

Kaileigh sees Kinsee do the headstand and does her own summersaults (not sure how to spell that). She is still very laid back and funny as can be. She makes the funniest faces and is talking more all the time. She is a little mini me and that makes me laugh...so far. She can be found with a book quietly looking through it often throughout the day.

Kallen goes to the Dr tomorrow for his 1 month check up. We're a bit late (6 weeks) but I'm sure he'll be found healthy. He sleeps quite a bit still and eats more each week it seems. He's even outgrown his first outfit already! He is such a doll and we love him. He's snuggly and cuddly. He'll smile at times and holds his head up rather well. He has a peaceful spirit and personality about him which we all enjoy. I'll update with his new stats but I'm sure he's gained weight and inches.

Larry's been battling not feeling well and will hopefully feel better soon. He's stayed on top of things despite not feeling the greatest. He even got a calling at church! He's now the Assistant Ward Clerk! After almost 8 yrs of no callings, neither of us has had once since we got married...not sure why exactly, he's got a busy one to fulfill. I know he'll be great at it. Love you Larry Dean!

I'm excited about my new job prospects. I'm also trying to be a bit more homemaker. I've made Pumpkin Bread and Banana Bread in the last week or two and today made my mom's delicious Fudge. I love her fudge, it's just too bad it takes 2 weeks to sit. Oh well, it's worth it. We have the tree up but not decorated yet, hoping to do that tonight. We have a few decorations out but mostly just the boxes/tubs to put them out. Not sure how much we'll actually decorate this year but we'll do some. Time gets past me before I know it and not as much gets done as I think it will/should. Oh well. The decorations aren't the reason for Christmas and that's what we want to focus on this year. Our goal this year is to have a quiet light Christmas without too many gifts and do bigger birthdays. Focus on whose birthday it is and what they like rather than what we want. We'll see how it goes.

AZ is having beautiful weather right now and we're loving it. I got the ok to exercise again so hope to get out and start walking. We're done having children now so I have all my baby weight to lose/work on losing. It's a big goal and will take a lot of work but I'll try.

Happy Beginning to the Christmas Season! May you all have peace and joy in your hearts, homes and lives.