Happy Easter!! He Has Risen!!

What a beautiful day!!!  It was a wonderful sabbath day.  Dad had no meetings today and was able to spend the WHOLE day with us.  What a treat!!

 The kiddos in their Sunday best.

Our little family after church.

Sunday night dinner prepared by Dad & Sara.  We enjoyed a ham, roasted asparagus (especially requested by Daniel), layered jello, homemade bread (special request by Jared) and a veggie tray.  It was a lovely meal!

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

Sunday Night Dinner

Tonight Jared dazzled us with a breakfast casserole, canned peaches from last fall, and a veggie tray.  All very delicious!! 

His favorite part was the bacon in the casserole.  

He loves BACON!!!

Sunday Night Dinner

Daniel helped us celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a themed dinner.  He prepared corned hash beef atop an open faced muffin topped with cheese.  His sides were roasted brussel sprouts, roasted asparagus, and a veggie tray.  For dessert we enjoyed a fluffy lime jello pie.  I especially enjoyed the very clever straws by which to enjoy the root beer and the very green napkins.  Way to go Daniel!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Sunday Night Dinner

Jared was pretty eager to make today's meal, so he opted to make lunch instead of dinner.  He made macaroni and cheese with octopus hot dogs, steamed broccoli, and ice cream for dessert.  Of course, it was a huge hit with the family!

Sunday Night Dinner

Daniel made a great roast 'beast' tonight!  His sides were baked potatoes, green beans, a veggie platter and brownies for dessert.  Yummy!!  There were zero leftovers.  I'm definitely enjoying this new Sunday Night Tradition!!

Family Home Evening

Daniel did a bang up job of teaching family home evening tonight.  The new youth curriculum, "Come, Follow Me" is fantastic!  As a family, we are truly enjoying the more in depth discussions it invites.

Sunday Night Dinner

We've started a new tradition for Sunday night dinners.  Daniel and Jared are going to take turns cooking dinner. So far, it's been a hit! I forgot to get a picture of last week's meal but it was great! Daniel made unbelievable buffalo wings with baked french fries, a veggie platter, and ice cream for dessert. This week Jared made an apple juice and spice marinate for his crock pot chicken, rosemary herb potatoes, a veggie platter, and ice cream for dessert.  Yesterday at the grocery store, he carefully selected shepherd's bread  to round out tonight's meal.  Delicious!!

Academic Jeopardy

Jared was invited to be a part of Cottonwood Elementary School's 4th grade Academic Jeopardy team at Vail Pride Day.  His team did swell!  They earned 3rd place.  Way to go boys!

Missionary Farewell

Tiffany Trejo is a dear dear friend. We meet the Trejo family when we first moved to Tucson.  Over the years our families lives have intertwined.  She was our Daniel's very first babysitter.  In fact, aside from her siblings, Daniel was the first non-relative she every babysat.  Her mother, Malia, taught preschool to all three of our children.  Oh how we love the Trejo family!!  Tiffany is heading to mission field and we couldn't be happier for her.  She'll be an amazing missionary!

Cub Scout Pack Meeting

We love cub scouts!!  Tonight we enjoyed a Magic themed Cub Scout Pack meeting. 

Jared:  I understand you like to do magic tricks. What's your favorite?

Brock:  Sawing people in half.

Jared:  Interesting, and are there any other people in your family?
Brock:  Yes, I have two half brothers and two half sisters. 

 

 Do your best skit

 

The Bear den consulting together to select the winner of the Pack Uniform Trophy

Got Milk?

Daniel sporting his 'new' milk mustache.  

Great silliness!

Who's this?

The Princess aka Sara pretending to be Dad.

  I love the silliness!

Today's Epiphany

An uplifting telephone 

chat with a sister is like 

the balm of Gilead 

for the soul.

10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001

This afternoon we had an opportunity to thank our local first responders.  It was a great community event.  I'm grateful our family could attend and participate in the ceremony. 

 

A day to never forget ☼

 *photo of the scouts holding the thank you banner coming soon*

Battle Hymn of the Republic ☼

Bryan ☼

☼ Photos courtesy of Reyna's photography, used with permission.

Memories

Squeakers the gerbil was the class pet for Daniel's 4th grade class.  At the end of the school year, Ms. Yslas' asked if our family would adopt him.  We gladly welcomed him into our home.  It was a wonderful experience.  He taught us many lessons about love, kindness, gentleness, and responsibility.  We are grateful he was our children's first pet. 

 In order to better hear "Squeakers and The Lego Maze" video clips

please pause the music located on the right hand side

Squeakers and the Lego Maze part 1 of 3

 

Squeakers and the Lego Maze part 2 of 3

Squeakers and the Lego Maze part 3 of 3

Squeakers passed away at home on Monday, September 5, 2011.  He had been ill.  He was laid to rest during a lovely sunset.  He will be missed.  

Thanks for the memories Squeakers!

Swimming

I'm so excited!!!!  

I swam a mile today!!!!!

Actually, it was 2000 yards or 1.136 miles or 80 lengths of a 25 yard pool. 

It took forever (~91 minutes), but I don't care because I did it!!!

Truth be told, my Daniel and Jared inspired me to set the goal and work towards it.  If those adorable little fellas can swim an 800 and run a 5k with a bunch of grown-ups, I can certainly learn to swim a mile.

New Favorite Book

A friend recently told us about this book.  

It's wonderful!  

Sara loves it.  

I cry each time I read it.  

But really, it's wonderful, a new family favorite.  

Thanks Heather Y. for introducing us to it!!






http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewWorkDetail.do?workId=1184823 

Sleeping Beauty

No matter the situation or the circumstance the princess loves to smile.

First Day of Preschool

Ready for a new year of Preschool Fun with Mrs. Malia!

Ready, Set, Go!

Sara carefully picked out her outfit and accessories for her first day.  Doesn't she look so pleased with herself?  It's gonna be a terrific year!!

Our friend, Alexa

Enjoy your college days Alexa!! 

Alexa, Bryan, Sara

We will miss you!!

 

Daddy Daughter Date

Ballet Rincon Academy of Dance Presents 

The Performance Ensemble's Debut

Sara wanted a pic with the dancers after the performance

The princess and her dad

Daddy daughter dates are just the best!!!  They had a great time at the ballet last night. 

Hummingbird Triathlon

THEY DID IT!!!!!

All checked in and ready to GO!

 

getting ready for Daniel to enter the water, in the 2nd heat

goggles on and ready to swim

Check him out!  He's not at all intimidated to be in the pool with a bunch of adults!

Breaking down their transition area, tired but happy!

2nd place in the Male Relay Team Division

Hummingbird Triathlon in Sierra Vista

August 20, 2011

combined time of 2:44.59

Daniel swam the 800 yards, Nate biked the 13 miles, Jared ran the 5K

Nate and Jared just zipped right by that I couldn't get a decent picture of  them in competition.  I'm so incredibly grateful these little boys had a positive experience.  They each hit 'the wall' during their leg of the race, yet they continued to move forward.  They never lost sight of their goal.  They were amazing!!!  My favorite part of the day was watching the look of shock on their little faces when they realized they were getting 2nd place trophies. Such a sweet moment. They were also recognized as being the YOUNGEST competitors in the race. All the competitors gave them a HUGE round of applause and cheered really loud for them. After the awards ceremony, we headed to Golden Corral to celebrate.  Over lunch they started planning for their next team triathlon adventure!  Wow!!  They are amazing little boys becoming amazing young men!!  In my opinion it's all about the process of becoming and they are!  

Way to go Lightning Bull Shark Team!!!

Your families are very proud of you!!

Not Your Typical Recipe

 I thought I'd share a couple of my new favorite crazy recipes.  Enjoy!

At Home Spa Brown Sugar Scrub (Looking forward to trying it)

http://doterrablog.com/at-home-spa-treatments-using-doterra-essential-oils

Zermatt Spa & dōTERRA essential oils recipe

½ cups brown sugar

2 heaping TBS of dōTERRA coconut oil (or almond oil or olive oil)

3 to 5 drops of your favorite dōTERRA essential oil

Mix well.   To apply wet skin and massage gently, rinse with warm water and apply favorite moisturizer

***Homemade Sugar Scrub*** (love it!!)

http://unbailefor5.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-sugar-scrub.html

1 ½ cups sugar (white but you could use brown)

¼ cup olive oil

massage oil for scent

optional add-ins: ¼ tsp vitamin E, 9-12 drops of favorite essential oil

blend together well, gently massage into damp skin and rinse, store in an air tight container between uses

***Mom’s Magic Cleaner*** (love it!!)

From Gabby De Carvalho

14 oz. water

2-3 tablespoons Dr. Bronner’s castile soap

30 drops tea tree oil

place in a spray bottle

shake well before each use

no rinsing necessary, can be used as a general surface disinfectant 

works wonders on little kiddo paw prints too! 

 

Gratitude

I'm grateful for a mother and young women leaders who introduced me to the basics of sewing and pattern making.  Thanks to this skill I was able to help Bryan with a 'special' project. However, I wish I'd paid better attention in geometry.  The pattern sure had some crazy angles!

He's a Bobcat

Jared earned his B O B C A T !!! 

Way to go Jared!  
We are so very proud of you!

 

Jared receiving his very first cub scout rank, the BOBCAT

Jared pinning the parent pin on Mom

Jared our cub scout bobcat

Cookies?

Typical Sunday afternoon at the Kemps...

Daniel: Mom, can I make cookies?

Mom:  Sure kiddo, knock yourself out.

    30 minutes later

Daniel:  Mom, wanna cookie?

Mom:  Wow!  Thanks Daniel!

 I love that handsome guy!!

I'm grateful for self-reliant kiddos!!

Fun with Dad

Sara is having fun styling Dad's hair.  Bryan is such a good sport.  He's a wonderful father.

Sara's deep in concentration

Almost done!

Growing Up

I can hardly believe how fast the boys are growing up.  When we moved into this home, our little Daniel could barely walk and Jared was a hope in our heart.  Look at them now, mowing the lawn and caring for our home.  Where has the time gone?

Jared cleaning up the back porch

Daniel mowing the lawn

When Family Comes to Visit - Day 2

We thought it would fun to head on over to Colossal Cave Mountain Park for some good family fun. All 17 of us headed into the cave for a tour.  We learned all about the Cave's history, crazy legends, and geology like stalactites, stalamites, helictites, and a bunch of other -ites I can't remember how to say.  The kiddos had a great time as did the grown-ups.  When we exited the cave we realized the pouring rain would keep us from exploring the rest of the park so we headed back to the homestead (our home and the neighbors' home).

Since the rain didn't really let up much during the day, after lunch we loaded up the crowded and headed on over to the Children's Museum.  Good times were enjoyed by all the little people!

Have I mentioned that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE when family comes to visit!  Well, we really do.

the 3 buddies: Tucker, Jared, Daniel at the cave entrance

Aimee, Sara, Uncle Stan in the cave

Interesting little story about the neighbors' home.  Our wonderful neighbors who we very much liked recently moved.  Their home is mostly empty and hasn't sold.  When we realized family was coming to visit, we shyly approached the neighbors and asked if we might 'borrow' their mostly empty home to help host family.  They said of course!!!  They really are so very nice and we will miss them.  Thus is the story of how we were able to accommodate all 17 of us.