Baby Shower

"Tickled pink and happy to say,

that after 3 boys a girl's on the way!"


We had a small family baby shower while Melanie was here to help her get ready for Ruby's arrival. We enjoyed good food, good company and she got lots of cute gifts!

The pregnant guest of honor!

We had it at Stephanie's house and she made some cute and yummy cupcakes!

Some beautiful bling for Ruby! Gabe's mom Yvonne had promised diamond earrings to the first granddaughter. She only had to wait for 21 years to fulfill that promise!


Opening the presents. Ruby's gonna be stylin!

Enjoying the good company.

Me and the girls.
Thanks to all who came and helped. We can't wait for this little girl to join our family!

The Out of Towners

Melanie and the boys braved the 110+ heat and came to AZ for a visit. We had a fun filled 10 days with them here. Swimming, movies, softball games, pizza parties, crafting, playing with cousins, etc. Here are some of the highlights that I got pictures of:

Jessica's sister surprised her with a dinner/baby shower so we had a girls night out at Tia Rosa's.

Kimberly's birthday was on Friday but we celebrated on Saturday by going to see "The Proposal" and then to Cheesecake Factory afterwards for dessert.

Emily was a good sport and rode home in Kinsley's car seat cause it was a little crowded!

Cousins swim party at Debbie's. The kids had lots of fun!

That day was also: Kimberly's 25th b-day

Grandma and Grandpa Jennings 61st anniversary

and Cash Gunnell's 1st b-day. So we partied!

Kim taught Melanie how to make hair bows and boy did they make bows! You will definitely be able to tell that Ruby is a girl! However her boys loved trying them on too!

Here's Reddina, Rangela and Rydette
So cute!
We always love it when they come to visit and wish they could stay longer. Come back soon!

Kamri's Blessing

Kamri Leigh Carroll was blessed on Sunday. Jason gave her a beautiful blessing and just like Samantha last month, Kamri cooperated and didn't let out a peep! She looked adorable in the dress that Kinsley also wore. Afterwards we all went over to Kim and Jason's for some yummy salads and such. The Carroll's have a large family so it was wall to wall people but no one minded and everyone had a good time. Melanie and her boys are in town so they were able to be there also and that meant all 9 of our grandkids were there. (But I didn't manage to get a picture of that!) I did get some pictures of the action:

The guest of honor

Jason and his mom Darlene

The cute family!

Aunt Nanny

Grandma and Papa

Two more waiting to come!

Kim and her friend Ashleigh

Say cheese!

Kinsley, Ranger and Annie

We feel so blessed and thankful for our growing family!

Goodbye Stitchy :( . . . .

We have had a lot of dog stories over the years, some of them funny and some of them tragic. This one ranks right up there with the tragic story of losing Melanie's beloved dog Chip several years ago. We lost our dog Stitch yesterday. We were gone over the weekend to Show Low for the 4th and when we came home we found that she had been badly injured in a fight with one of the bigger dogs. We had Steph and Curt's dog here also while they are in Utah. I knew the minute we walked in the door and she wasn't there waiting that something was wrong. We don't know what happened and I will spare the gruesome details by just saying it was not fixable and money is tight right now. So Ron got the very unpleasant task of digging a grave in 110 degree heat and putting her down. This has been very hard on us as Stitch was part of our family for over 6 years. She started out as Brian's dog but he was single and soon found that he couldn't keep her where he lived and she came to live with us. He continued to have a very close relationship with her and he is heartbroken also. I find comfort in knowing that she had a good life here and Ron would say I spoiled her. She was a good natured dog and her only downfall was that she would aggravate the bigger dogs and not back down from a fight and it ended up costing her her life. Some people say that having animals is like a heartache waiting to happen. Sooner or later that is true. But it is the joy they bring you in between that makes it worthwhile. Those that are not dog lovers have a hard time understanding the bond that develops and the pain you feel at their loss. Stitch had such unconditional love and devotion and when I was gone she would drag one of my shoes or an article of clothing to the top of the stairs and lay on it. When I came home from a trip she would sleep in my suitcase as if to say take me with you next time. She would jump in the bathtub and that was my signal to come and turn on the faucet for her to get a drink. She was very gentle with the grandkids and would let them maul her without so much as a growl. I know she was only a dog but I loved her and will miss her a lot. (The only thing I will not miss is her shedding!) I have such a tender heart for animals and although at times it causes me much grief I wouldn't change it. My sister-in-law Lindy and my brother Terry recently lost dogs too and my heart goes out to them as I know what they are feeling. They say bad things come in 3's and I hope that means nothing else will happen. I don't think I could handle it! I know this was a long post and not easy to read but it was very cathartic for me so thanks for listening.

Bye Stitchy, thanks for the memories!

Latest Utah Trip

Well Kim and I are either really brave or really stupid but we decided to do a road trip to Utah to visit Melanie. Now mind you that is 12 hours in the car (each way!) with a 2 year-old and a 6 week-old. Are we crazy or what?!! But actually the girls were great travelers and all things considered, it was a fun trip. Thank heavens for video players, Kinsley will sit for hours in her car seat watching movies! The weather was great and I wish we could have stayed for another week. Some of the fun things we did:


Here's Kinsley taking her turn driving!

We went swimming in the neighborhood pool and the kids had a blast.

We got to watch Redden play baseball at 2 playoff games. His team won both. Go Redden!

We went to a horse parade in downtown Lehi and the kids loved chasing down the candy that was thrown out.

Ryder was such a good helper and loved holding Kamri. Aren't they cute?!!

Ranger and Kinsley had fun playing together all week.

We went to see the movie UP and everyone enjoyed it.

We hit the wood connection and made some cute Uncle Sam hats!

Thanks Melanie for letting us come and entertaining us all week. Now it's your turn to come to Arizona, see ya soon!