Daddy Daughter Dance

Sara's first school dance, she was soooo excited!!
Not only did she pick out her outfit but also her dad's.
Good times!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our ghouls to yours!!

The Joker and Kakashi Sensei

Inigo Montoya

* not pictured were Bryan and Aimee dressed as pioneers

Peep Jousting 101

Every year around Easter the kiddos like to do a something we call peep jousting.  It's a joust involving marshmallow peeps (chicks or bunnies), toothpicks, and the microwave.  The peep to receive be impaled with a toothpick loses and gets eaten by the spectators.  There's always lots of cheering and speculation as to who the winner will be along with a running commentary during the joust.  Oh the great fun that it is to blow stuff up in the microwave!

If you've not enjoyed the sport of peep jousting, here's a quick tutorial to get you started.

Peep Jousting 101 part 1 or 2 

Peep Jousting 101 part 2 of 2

Peep Jousting 102  the introduction of riders coming soon

General Conference

I love, love, love General Conference weekends!!  

They are so fun and spiritually uplifting!!

The kiddos smiling and happy during the 3rd session!

I love that Daniel, Jared, AND Sara will sit, listen, play conference games through all 4 sessions.  I love how they let their creative juices flow and make the weekend fun for all of us.  They truly are amazing children.


*General Conference weekend happens twice a year.  It's a two day weekend filled with the words of the leaders of the LDS church.  To learn more visit http://lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng

Rube Goldberg

Inspired by all the Rube Goldberg contraptions at the OM competition, Daniel decided to build his own.  This contraption is designed to put his marbles in their proper place.  He is currently working on another machine that will enable him turn off the bedroom light without getting out of bed.  Pictures of that machine will be posted as soon as he's done with it. 

I really do love to see the imagination and creativity of our children at work.  It's a beautiful thing!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

To celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday we enjoyed a yummy dinner of green eggs & ham and truffula fruit (aka mangos & pears).

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day!!!

Crepes for dinner = Extreme Yumminess

Wanna Twist?

Nothing brings a family closer together than a good 'ol fashion game of 

TWISTER!

January's Family Reading Party

Family Reading Parties are the BEST!!!

I can't think of a better way to start off the new year!

Just another night at the Kemp's

I thought y'all might enjoy a good laugh and so I share tonight's adventure...

Okay, so we put up the Christmas tree on Friday.  Life was good. 

Today we realized the tree had a significant lean.  Odd but nothing to be concerned about right? 

The boys and Bryan were trying to arrange the train tracks under the tree when we heard a crack and our slightly leaning tree started to keel over.  Yikes!

Yes, the tree stand of our artificial tree broke.  So, what is an engineer & his boys to do?  DUCT TAPE to the rescue!!!  Bryan and Daniel duct taped the tree stand together and to the tree.  Thanks to a little scrap of wood and a serious amount of duct tape our tree no longer leans.   Hooray!!

I sincerely hope it will last until the end of the season when the trees go on clearance because I'm too cheap to buy a new one!!

Quote of the day:
"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache." ~Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Coloring Easter Eggs

The kids had a lot of fun decorating their eggs.

Pickles!

At the end of January a friend called and asked if I'd be interested splitting case of cucumbers and getting together to make pickles.

Oh yea baby!!!  
Here's my portion of our canning.

  Yum!!

Our little fishermen

Daniel's catch

Jared patiently waiting for a bite

Sara learning to cast

Sara reeling it in

During the school break we did a little urban fishing with some friends.  Good times!

Good times

The kids have had a lot of fun with the connector set Chris gave them. Boy, we sure do miss that guy! We're glad he is were he's suppose to be and know he will greatly bless the lives of the people of the California San Bernardino mission.

Thanks Chris!!

Peaches & Pears Galore

A friend told me about a great deal on fruit. So, I called my pal Charlotte and together we decided to hop in on the deal. We bottled, we jammed, we buttered, we wanted to cry but didn't, we laughed & joked, and overall had a good 'ol time. Our kids loved the play dates, our husbands supported our crazy idea (& even helped!), and now we get to enjoy the yummy 'fruits of our labors'!

Day 3: Peach Jam & Pear Butter

(I forgot to get a picture of what we did on days 1 & 2 at Charlotte's.

Hey Charlotte, wanna do it again next year?

Trip to the Gila Valley

Grandpa & Grandma had to head home on Monday. Since it was Labor Day, we thought it might be a good opportunity to take a day trip down to the Gila Valley. While we were there we drove by the temple site, drove up Mt. Graham for a picnic, and visited a lovely orchard with all kinds of yummy apples. What a great Labor Day!

checking out the progress on the new temple

at the orchard after picking apples

4th of July Flag Raising Ceremony

We love the 4th of July!! In the morning, Daniel participated in the flag raising ceremony at the church. Then we enjoyed a yummy pancake breakfast and chatting with friends. In the evening, we drove over to the radio controlled airplane airport to see the cool planes light up the night sky. Good times!!

Daniel looking sharp

Girls Camp

I LOVE girls camp!!

What an unforgettable experience.

I can't wait to do it again next year!!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!!

You are the greatest dad!!

WE LOVE YOU!!

When friends come to town

We enjoyed a nice evening with Jerry & Amy at Gavi's.

The food and the company were great!

Picnic lunch/dinner up Mt. Lemmon

It was so nice to see the Biang family again.

We certainly miss them!!