SEVEN ON SUNDAY

Well there is TOO much to write for only seven, so this will be a condensed version. Me and the kids are moving to the Boise area and Brendan will be in Pocatello(for those wondering the same thing just a different day and I am done). So for those we are leaving behind you will be greatly missed. I just pray that Mackenzie will adjust to yet another change in her life. I love Brendan with all my heart and soul, but until he wants his family to be an eternal one again and can love only one wife this is the end for us. I hope he one day will realize what he has lost to sin and will see himself the way I and Heavenly Father see him, as a son of a loving Father in Heaven. Once we get settled I will post a more updated blog, Until then We love you and will miss our loved ones greatly, Jess

The clan at mesa falls. isn't it just beautiful!

the cousins at old faithful
the cox family at old faithful
the grand canyon of yellowstone

the cox fam at mesa falls

the wolf gang
mackenzie as a wolf in red riding hood
this buffalo was literally arms reach of our window

old faithful is still faithful in the fact that it still errupts high!!!!

yellowstone and mesa falls pictures

Seven On Sunday
1. Okay so I am 2 weeks behind! ARGH!!! First I'll give a quick recap of 2 weeks ago. On Monday June 9, Kenzie tried out for the children's play again this year- red riding hood. She made the tryouts which meant a week of long rehearsals for her and me. She was a good sport and loved doing the play again this year. The weeks ended on Saturday June 14th with Brendan coming home after 16 days(WOOOHOOOO!!!!) and being able to see kenzie's star performance. He missed her play last year. so this week was busy with running here and there, and trying to stay busy so being alone wasn't so lonely:). I did make curtains, clean baseboards, stove fridge, and reorganize all the bedrooms and storage room. So i wasn't lonely at All. Plus it was so nice to have it all done for when brendan came home. i always save my "spring cleaning" for when he is gone.

2. Sunday june15th. Happy Father's Day to all the dads in my life. First to my wonderful husband. "Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy." anne geddes
He is truly a wonderful daddy, and the kids were so EXCITED to have him come home. Especially kyle. He knew that when daddy came home we'd be going camping! and that's what he expected. Brendan has learned to be a great dad from his own father. to my father-in-law who is a great father to us all. He know how to love unconditionally and gives chastisement in a way that is so loving that you almost forget what the talk is all about. To my DADDY. Who has always been my hero. I love him dearly and wish he lived closer. He is the one who taught me how to forgive other so quickly. He taught me it takes more energy to be angry than to just let go. So on this father's day I honor all the dads in my life. I love you ALL!!!

3. June 15th---Brendan's birthday party. Brendan always seems to gone on his birthday so we end up celebrating it on father's day too. He received some fun things for our Yellowstone camping trip. a new stove, lantern, and an axe(for chopping wood). Happy Birthday to my best friend, my partner in crime, my dear husband. I love you so very much and hope one day you will realize how much you mean to me. thanks for all of your hard work and being willing to sacrifice so much so that I can stay home with our 3 beautiful kiddos. You are the best and even after 10 years, I am still smitten when I look at you and my heart still flutters. Happy 32nd birthday Honey!

4. Monday June 16th--pack and lave for Yellowstone. why is it when you think you have all the lists you could possibly need for a camping trip you still fall behind schedule? I thought I was so good had everything packed by 1pm since we wanted to leave at 3, so I go on a short 3 miler run thinking I have all the time in the world to get ready after my run, then I had a vision in the hot sun...i forgot to pack all of our food!!!! GREAT...now we will be late or starve for 3 days. So i sped up my comfortable 10min/mile pace to a 9 min/mile and got a huge cramp at the end and still had to hurry and shower so I could pack our food. Way to go on being prepared. I did have it all ready by 3 after all, but with the cost of it being a pony tail hair day:) It was worth it. we got to the camp around seven got camp set up and dinner done all before 8:30pm. The kids were in bed by 10 and we were ready for our park adventure bright and early Tuesday morning. Thanks again to Brendan for my early morning run on Tuesday. we had a couple of killer hills and he patiently waited with me to make it up the hill. I felt like Casey Jr trucking up the track. we did see a herd of antelope on our run.

5. ILLNESS hits in the park. Brendan got hit with a GI bug while touring yellowstone. I first thought he was being overly sensitive about being ill, but at 8pm when kyle started puking all over the car...I knew it was bad for them both. Kyle ended up puking most of the night and Brendan felt better Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday we toured mesa falls just north of rexburg( i couldn't believe I was the only who had ever been there in our group, and that was 10 years ago at ricks). It was infested with mosquitoes and even with bug spray we were attacked, even the poor little dogs. I have to say this trip was lots of fun. i forget how beautiful our world is until i am back in nature. the kids all did great with all the walking we did.(pictures will come at the end)

6. softball game on Thursday. Well last week I had a parent get upset with me at the game. My assistant coach thought she over reacted majorly and intervened on my behalf. Well this week her 2 girls weren't at the game. So I am assuming she pulled them from the team. i think it is horrible that parents cause problems for their kids and don't allow them to enjoy things. it's pretty pathetic that some people can't seem to outgrow the drama. It left our team short on players. oh well I hope they come back.

7. Pocatello trip turned into a puking fest. Me and went to pocatello to play with my friend Tina and her kids on Friday. It was lots of fun catching up and just letting the kids play. We went to craigos, a ricks favorite, for some pizza. All of my kids seemed fine. On the way home Mackenzie said her tummy hurt, about a minute later she asked me to pull over. As soon as i put the car in park...she exploded everywhere. Then kyle puked because he saw her puking. So here adds another 2 loads of laundry to the list. Then this morning at 330 brevan woke up puking. Now I know Brendan was really sick. Hopefully I miss it. I finally have my car cleaned and it almost doesn't smell of puke. Anyways, we have had a busy couple of weeks and have enjoyed being a family and our mini vacation. so until next week, have a wonderful week and enjoy the warm weather.

This week on Seven on Sunday....................

1. SCHOOL"S OUT!!!! after a long week of helping out with the end of the year projects and play time, it's finally over. Mackenzie had such a great teacher this year, Miss Miskin. She was voted by the other teachers as Groveland's teacher of the year!!! We are so proud of Mackenzie and her accomplishments in school this year. She received the honor roll all year. In order to do receive the award a student has to have all A's and no more than one B. Mackenzie maintained straight A's this year!!! Good Job LOU LOU BEAR:) She also had more than 200 AR points for the year. AR is a reading program where the child reads a book and then takes a test to receive points.

2. Our first softball game. This summer I am coaching softball. The first game was one Thursday. The team made a double play. They were all able to hit the ball too. Mackenzie did a great job. She played third base and catcher. I am glad she is enjoying one of my favorite sports!Mackenzie before her first softball game of the season.

3. The highlight of my week was our short trip to SLC for a friends sealing in the temple. It was so awesome to see Trent and Tina sealed together, and amazing as they brought little Zander to be sealed to them. Mackenzie had fun playing with Makenna and Alexis. they are long time friends. It's cute to see them play so well.

pictures: 1. Trent, Tina, and Zander after being sealed. 2. Makenna, Mackenzie, and Alexis having fun playing. 3. The COLE family on this blessed day!!!!! 4. The infamous group photo op!

4. After SLC we went to Kamas to see cousins. It was so wonderful of my sister-in-law to let us crash at their place for the night. My kids really loved being able to play with their Utah cousin because they don't get to very often. Kyle kept saying all evening he wanted to go back to Toby's house! Thanks Min and Jer we sure do love you guys. Pictures: 1. Kyle and her new favorite buddy Toby. 2. Grandma and some grand kids

5. A Special thanks to my mother-in-law for going down with me to Utah. It was so nice to know that the kids were in good hands and I could enjoy the Temple. She was a good sport since it took a lot longer for the sealing( an hour and a half behind schedule). She also took some adorable pictures of the kids.

6. SURVIVING- So I have to say this past week had FLOWN by so fast. With Brendan gone time usually crawls by so SLOW!!! I am grateful I was so busy this week. He will be home in 6 DAYS!!!! I realized once again how much a NEED him. He is my best friend and I really miss having him to talk to when he's gone. the phone just isn't the same. The kids have been so good which has made it easier. they really miss daddy though. It has reminded once again why the Lord has the family dynamics set the way they are. without a dad and mom things just don't work as well. So Brendan I LOVE YOU! and appreciate all you do for our family:)

7. Well life is just grand.........except for Kyle won't quit asking,"are we going camping today?" He is so excited to go to Yellowstone and go camping that he is beside himself. I am excited as well. these cheap memories cannot be made any other way. Some of my greatest memories have to do with outdoor activities such as camping. So in 8 days we head up to Yellowstone for a few days. So until next week keep the faith and remember life is hard so that we can become our best selves.

Tagged
Stephanie tagged me...

4 Movies I could watch over and over (how about favorites instead......)
1-sweet home alabama
2-the notebook
3-The Bourne serries
4-Charlie

4Jobs I've Had
1-Home health nurse
2-Family Child Care Provider
3-Grocery store supervisor
4-Market researcher...western watts!

4 Places I've lived
1-Idaho
2-California
3-Pennsylvania
4. Texas
5. Maryland
6. Indiana

4 Foods I love
1-Pizza
2-Ice Cream
3-Homemade wheat bread with strawberry freezer jam
4-Pancakes

4 Favorite TV shows
1-house
2-american idol
3-biggest loser
4-svu, law and order

4 Websites I Visit Daily
1-hotmail to check email
2-blogs...mine and friends
3-iccu, bank
4. msn weather(we don't have local channels)

4 Places I've Vacationed
1-Disneyland
2-Korea
3-yellowstone
4-d.c, gettysburg....most of the civil war places on the east coast

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now
1-pennsylvania
2-hawaii
3-california
4-anywhere with Brendan alone!!!!

4 Friends I'm Tagging Now
1-Melissa
2-Jeanie
3-summer
4-tif

Seven On Sunday

1. Brendan and Kyle's conversation...

Kyle,"Hey buddy" Brendan, "hey dude!" Kyle, "daddy you are my buddy and friend."

Now how can you not smile as a almost 4 year old realizes that his daddy is not only his buddy but also a friend. I am so glad that Brendan is the kind of father that his children know that he loves them and is their friend. I love you HONEY!

2. Another tribute to a dear friend who has remained one of my bestest friends even though we are oceans apart and helped me through some of the toughest trials in my life. This is to Melodie Hanners who is now living in Germany and her dear husband Morgan is gone a lot with work. She just had her 4th baby and is amazing at how she can be a mother and father quite frequently. Her husband Morgan has got to be the kindest man I have ever met. He treats his wife and children like precious gems and even though he is gone a lot you he makes up for that when he is home. This family is wonderful and I really miss our trips to the temple, chuckie cheese's, and our late night parties in Cali. Thanks guys for loving us despite it all. Maybe the next time you come to Utah we can all get together. I am sure Mackenzie would love to see her old boy friend Braedan.!

1. Melodie and Morgan in Maryland a few days after Morgan returned from his deployment to Iraq. It was so nice to see them again.

2. Mackenzie and Braedan enjoying the fall leaves that I miss now that we live in Idaho. Braedan has always been Mackenzie's boyfriend since the were 2:)

3. The Hanners Family before baby Grayson was born

4. Baby Gray their fourth baby born in April.

We love and Miss you guys

3. Gardening is one of my new finds. I didn't ever think I'd enjoy it, but after last year(my first time) I have really come to like it. Even the weeding, because it gives me alone time and is a good source to relieve stress. Now my sister is doing her first garden this year in Indiana. You never know who may catch the gardening fever...go KRIS!

4. Husbands/fathers.....

Brendan left on Friday for 16 days for his annual training with the national guard. You don't realize how much you depend on you husband and the kids on their father until they are gone. Yesterday I realized that Brendan really is my best friend, the person I love doing anything with. Seeing others interact with "friends" and feeling alone...I longed to have Brendan with me. I also realized how much I miss our dear friends who are oceans apart or rivers between. Friends are something to treasure. Brendan and my dear friends...you always have a place in my heart.

5. To another dear friend...Tina Cole(cottle, carter). She and Trent are getting sealed in the SLC temple on Friday after waiting for this day. I am so excited for her. Trent treats her so good and she deserves to have this day. So Tina this is for all you have had to go through, know that I admire your desire to some out on top of all the trials.

6. Camping. So we decided this summer we would do lots of camping as a family since it's cheap and build loving memories. Our first adventure will be in 2 weeks to Yellowstone with my brother and his family. We decided this would be a great reunion with Brendan. Well when I made the reservations the lady made the comment about how soon june was and that the snow still hadn't melted. So I HOPE it will be warmer in 2 weeks:)!!!! Well was next to me when I made the reservations and has been asking at least 3 times a day if we can go camping now. So here is to building and strengthening family ties.

7. Coaching softball. Well I am taking on a new adventure of coaching softball. I did it in high school. our first practice went well and we will have our first game this Thursday. it is fun to help children learn new things. Especially ones that I love! BTW we got the dance tryouts results back. Mackenzie will be reevaluated after summer to see if she has developed her technique well enough. I am proud of her any way considering she hasn't been like most of the girls in dance since she was 3. SO GO MACKENZIE!

Have a great week!

okay so I am stealing another Idea from a friend(okay em it's you again!). Blogging can become overwhelming but I love it! Since I found a site that will print it for a minimal fee with pictures, I don't feel quite as bad about not keeping my journal as good as I should. And scrap booking is 4 years behind and with blogging I get to kill 2 birds with one stone. so I am only going to blog once a week....Sundays. It will be called seven on Sunday. so here it goes....

SEVEN on SUNDAY

1. The beginning of may Brendan had drill up in wilder(past Boise). We stay with my brother in Caldwell each month and it's lots of fun....except for the kids start fighting by Saturday afternoon! Darn girls just get along. So we decided this month that on Saturday evening we would have our monthly family date. Especially since there is more to do in the Boise area than Blackfoot. We took the kiddos to Chuckie Cheese's. It was Brevan's first trip and they all had tons of fun. Okay so did mom and dad. here are a few pictures from that trip.









2. Brendan finally fixed the camera for me so I can up load them onto the computer. So here are the pictures of the pooh Mackenzie played in(aka garden fertilizer) a few weeks back.



3. So is it Spring yet? It snowed 2 weeks ago and left a small accumulation. Here is our back yard on May 7.

4. Brendan is finished with this semester of school and is leaving on Friday for 16 days...it's his national guard annual training. I should be used to it by now, but I still hate it when he's gone from home. Even after being apart for a year while on active duty, two weeks still stinks. So I will probably be a grouch for a few weeks now.

5.I was totally bummed that David Archuleta didn't win the AI Finale. David Cook is the best alternative for me. I have to say I wasn't as faithful this year as I have been in the past. We use to turn our phone off on the evenings of American Idol. This year we just hoped to catch the quick playback. Oh well there's always next year.

6. Brendan gets to chooses a new work schedule this week. I will be so excited to have him able to come back to church after a LONG year with 3 kids by myself during Sacrament.

7. So My sucky Idaho attitude is back and I don't know how to get rid of it permanently. The weather hasn't helped. this past year has been AWFUL, but after marriage counseling, a good job that actually pays the bills, no house on the market, and kids getting older I am looking forward to this summer. The hard thing for us is in the past with each new move brought a new set of friends. This time we moved into an area that seems to not allow newcomers into their circles. I am fine with having family as my friends, but I do miss all my dear friends from the past 7 years. I am going be the PTA VP this year and there seems to be a lot of neat people so hopefully we'll make some friends here. If not we only have about 2 more years. On a positive not....our ward is nice. people our friendly...I just wish we had people who had a similar personality as Brendan and I. Oh well i need to get off of my soap box and be more optimistic. oh yea...mackenzie tried out for a dance team. we are still waiting for the results. it's harder for me than her. she has a good attitude that she'll try again. as a mom you hate to see your kids not succeed at something they really want to try. so next week I'll let you know what comes of the tryouts. have a great week.

So I am stilling this idea from another friend's blog. It's about honoring our friends who seem to be miraculous. Since my dearest friends have finally joined the world of blogging I am dedicating this blog to them, Ben and Jeanie Miller of Pennsylvania soon to be Kansas. They are a Army family and he is going to be deployed to Iraq this Fall. What is so amazing about this couple is how they can conquer all Together. They know how to have fun with life no matter what comes there way. You will never meet more devoted parents either. Don't mess with there kids or you will feel the wrath of Mr. Ben! (also you better treat Jeanie with the respect she deserves or you don't want to be around Ben:)) This family is wonderful and full of optimism. When I thought I was dumb for running my first 5K who was there to support me in spirit....none other than the Millers. When my husband has been a bone head who still understands why I Love him so much....my Jeanie. So hear is a tribute to some of the greatest friends I have and ones that I miss dearly....those late night karoke parties were the Best. Now I just hope they read this!!!! Love you guys and good Luck with the move.

Pictures: 1. Kyle and little Olivia holding hands at Codorus. They were the Best of friends! 2. Josh, Kelley, and Mackenzie loved playing together. Truth be known Kenzie kissed Josh once! 3. Jeanie and Olivia 4th of July soon after we all moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania. Those were the good ol' days 4.Ben encouraging Brendan to pick up a Boulder at the lake. Man those men sure turned into boys when they got together, fun times! 5. The kids at 6 flags near DC with the super heroes. Jeanie helped me big time on this trip. I was 2 weeks from delivering Brevan and Ben told her to make sure I took care of myself on the very hot day! and she did...made sure I was well hydrated.

Once again here's to the fabulous five...the Millers!!!!

Once again I HATE Viruses!!!! Brevan woke up Friday morning with Croup. Usually not a big deal for me to deal with when one of the kids get this particular virus. I thought great we need to go out this morning to the breakfast with momat Mackenzie's school the cool air will do him GOOD. Needless to say he progressively declined throughout the day. Brevan spiked a fever of 104.3 and started the high pitch wheezing, or stryder as we in the medical field say, and he had severe retracting in his abdominal region and nasal flaring. THe poor kid was in respiratory distress. We got him to the clinic at 4:30. The doctor(a Moron, I won't tell you who it is) comes in and says, "Oh it looks like he's not breathing very well!" I wanted to slap the man and say DUH! By the end of our 3 hour visit of temp, albuterol treatments, Pedia pred(a steroid) and x-rays, it was decided since he wasn't improving like he should and was still in distress that he needed to be hospitalized. So we took him to Bingham Memorial( I know megan not the best:)). The respiratory therapist was AWESOME! He started the epi treatments immediately. Thanks to my Wonderful Brother-in-law with all of his connections that got us treated so well at the hospital. After no SLEEP and lots of steroids Brevan was able to come home on Saturday. He is doing much better, Especially considering his O2 sats got down to 89% . So now we are playing catchup on sleep. But hey we are home and enjoying each other. Thanks also for the Power of the Priesthood that I know helped Brevan recover so quickly. Thanks for all of the support. We love you all. Mackenzie and Kyle were so cute when Brevan came home, they were both excited to see him home. Man I love my kids and it makes me happy to see my kids love each other so much. Have a Great Day.

For all of the Mothers who can understand the following. A friend of mine sent this to me in honor of Mother's Day. It is SO TRUE! Have a Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's in our lives. I will do an updated blog when we are all well again.

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN 1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy. 2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible. 3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes._____________________________________________________ Preparing for the Birth:1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing. 3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.______________________________________________________ The Layette :1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau. 2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains. 3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?______________________________________________________ Worries: 1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby. 2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn. 3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing. ______________________________________________________ Pacifier: 1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it. 2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle. 3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.______________________________________________________ Diapering: 1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not. 2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed. 3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees. ______________________________________________________Activities: 1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour. 2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner. ______________________________________________________Going Out: 1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times. 2nd baby : Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached. 3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood. ______________________________________________________ At Home:1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking or hitting the baby 3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children. ______________________________________________________ Swallowing Coins:1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child ! to the hospital and demand x-rays. 2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass. 3rd child: When third child swallows a coin, you deduct it from his allowance! ______________________________________________________

So this blog is dedicated to my wonderful in-laws, especially my father-in-law. The phrase"taking crap " from someone literally applies in this case. I literally took 2 loads of "CRAP" from my father-in-law yesterday!!! We had such a great first time garden last year that we decided to make a LARGE one this year and do a market in our parking lot. So to ensure a great crop we got some organic fertilizer from my in-laws. They were both GREAT help with the tilling, raking, shoveling, and spreading the fertilizer. I am so grateful for the help and resources from our loving family that has helped me gain a desire and almost a love of gardening. Now ask me in 6 months if I am still enjoying the garden! I hope you enjoy seeing the pile of left over poo and the size of our spot. You might even see the snow flakes that are coming down so beautifully this fine spring day! Oh one funny thing happened yesterday....mackenzie went outside to play and brought all these wonderful big rocks for me to see. I just laughed like a crazy women and explained they were not rocks they were hard piles of cow poo! She was so grossed out. Kyle went ahead and informed her that he and brevan got to play in poo today! So for those who thought I was a city girl....I am not beyond messing around and getting dirty. It's almost fun. That is one of the things that won my hubby's heart....I can dress up and be feminine, but I am not afraid of dirt. Okay so my camera is being dumb and I can't get the pictures. I will have them later. ARGH!!!!!!!

VIRUSES!!!!YUCK....So I have officially decided that my kids have been sicker since moving back to Idaho than their entire life, ARGH!! We came home from church yesterday and
Kyle kept saying how tired he was., and for Kyle who hasn't napped for about 9 months it was unusual. So I checked his temperature( and Kyle NEVER runs a temp) and it was 103.3! So I have been dosing him with Tylenol and Motrin. He seems better this morning, but still has a temp. So I am making an educated guess as a Nurse that he has some virus.

On a more positive note we are going to plant our peas, carrots, onion and Lettuce this weekend when it's suppose to be 60 degrees again. So after fretting about never getting my garden planted, I realized it will only be a couple weeks later than last year:) We (Mackenzie) wants to do a farmer's market, so we have about an acre tilled for our garden. My fear is that she will get tired and I'll end up doing it! We'll see. Anyways have a great week and enjoy the sunshine!

SNOW!!! is in the forecast again for this fabulous Spring day! It has actually been a good few days of warmth and sunshine. We were able to get our garden tilled up yesterday (BTW we quadrupled our garden size this year i think). Now we get to rake the massive thing this week so that we can fertilize later this next week. I love gardening and I am sure I'll learn tolike it even in the snow:) My kids have enjoyed a good 5 days on the last 2 weeks of playing outside and enjoying mother nature. The more I think about life the more I am convinced that attitude is 90% of it all and the other 10% is FAITH. As I was listening this morning to Glen Rossin(SP) about a young mother who lost her husband at a young age to cancer and was HAPPY, I realized that no matter our situation how awful it may seem through The Atonement of our Saviour we can be Happy. So Bring on the Spring snow and let's have fun and Get to work.

Kids say the darnest things: Brevan was having a little argument with Kyle this week about words. They were watching Kipper a dog show on PBS and Kyle kept saying that they were watching Cartoons and Brevan would say no watching doggie. This went on for a few minutes while I could regain some composure and settle it without laughing. So I go in there and tell Kyle that they are both right. He looked up and said how can we both be right? So I tried in simple toddler language to explain. Finally brevan says Kyle wight as only he can say.....so the moral of the Story was that the older sibling in my house is always right....even if both of them can be right at the same time. It will work well I guess as they get older....doubtful! anyways have a great week.

So I was complaining to my husband earlier this week about Spring NEVER coming to SE Idaho this year. He the wonderful man he is reminded me how much I hated the unusually hot summer we had and couldn't wait for it to cool off. So I decided to change my attitude and go ahead as if it weren't 30 degrees outside and do some spring yard work yesterday. I bundled me cute little boys up and trimmed trees and bushed with the trimmer and they used (kid friendly of course) scissors to trim weeds:). Brendan called in the middle of it all and asked what we were doing and he laughed because it was currently snowing in Pocatello:) So what me and the boys were able to do was clean out the flower beds and tree trimming activities and even some garden CLEANUP! for 2 hours . It was lots of fun watching the boys try to carry the limbs to the burn pile ...especially those from the rose bushes(Kyle discovered the thorns...OUCH!). So the lesson I learned is it's all about the ATTITUDE in life that makes the journey enjoyable. So thanks to my loving husband for reminding me how to enjoy the journey and bring the kids along for the ride! BTW my daisies and bleeding hearts are looking great now that I can actually see them!

Well about 2 weeks ago Mackenzie and I had the privilege of watching our cat Tiger Lilly give birth to 6 baby kittens, of which all have survived! I was talking to a good friend of mine who was in early stages of labor with her 5th, and the cat climbed on me with something coming out. I screamed not realizing at first what in the heck was going on. My dear friend starts laughing at me and says, "Jess she having her babies and she might need some help." I say she's not having them on my LAP! The cat waited until kenz got home so she could see it happen. It was a little fascinating to see how long it takes and what she does after each one is delivered. All I can say is I am glad I am Human and don't eat the stuff off my newborns. The funny thing is that morning on the radio they were talking about the battle of the Sexes and Mackenzie laughs the silly laugh that kids get with the word sex. Then she realized they were talking about boys versus girls. So when she saw the kittens being born it was a while new topic about how she was born! We've had to have the simplified version of the "Talk", but this was more than I bargained for. So I told her what I felt was age appropriate. So when do we tell them the "Whole Thing?" I told her a while ago only about female related stuff, but the other keeps coming up and I have to tell it a little at a time. anyways any advice? so here are the pictures of delivery!!!!

We absolutely love to celebrate Easter. We have all the fun traditions of decorating the Easter eggs just so we can have colored deviled eggs for dinner, the egg hunts, and of course the Easter baskets full of JUNK, that ends up in the garbage 6 months later! Most importantly we love to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and the importance of the Atonement in our family's life. As we contemplate the endless love our Heavenly Father must have for each one of us, We remember that Christ would have suffered it all again even for just One person. We hope that you enjoyed the holiday and seeing our family fun!

Kyle and Brevan(if you look closely you can see princess our dog) enjoy coloring eggs and off course the mess that comes with it. Brevan kept trying to let princess eat the eggs!

Brendan of course LOVES the Easter egg coloring activity, and since he missed out last year, we made SURE he had plenty of Fun. You have Mackenzie in the background concentrating hard on the task at hand. She likes her art to be perfect! And there's no Jess because who would capture the FUN!

Mackenzie wakes up to find her Easter goodies with the help of princess. She got a Webkinz and has loved it ever since.

Kyle has wanted an airplane for months now and wal-mart had them for 3 bucks! So he was EXCITED for his Easter airplane.

Brevan is still not sure why there was Easter stuff on the table for him. He just looked around and started playing like nothing was new. He still loves to make us all laugh.

Hope you enjoyed sharing in part of our holiday.

So I am now teaching the 11 year old primary class at church(since jan) and I am amazed at how much they are teaching me!. Sunday was Easter and we of course were talking baout about Jesus Christ and his Resurrection. A child in my class asked me why when he visited the nephites and his apostles in Jerusalem were the nail marks still present if when you are resurrected your body was to be perfect. HOLY COW!!!! what a deep question and one I had never thought about. This is one of those times that I am SOOOO thankful for the Holy Ghost and its influence in my life. It occurred to me that when the scriptures talk about our perfect form in body at resurrection it's the body that makes US perfect. The scars of the nail prints are what makes Jesus Christ perfect, they are the scars of the Atonement and without them none of us could be made perfect. So He has to have them in his perfected and resurrected form to show us the scars of perfection. Of course I told the class this in a simplified form, but later easter night Brendan and I were talking and I told him about this experience. He said, "WOW, Jess taht is deep!" For him the philosophical geniuos that he is to say that I thought of something deep was a compliment. So think about your life and think of the scars that will make us perfect...Those of our Savior and what he endured for us. This is what Easter is truly about. Have a great weekend, and I'll have a family easter post later when I get the pics downloaded.

Okay so Mackenzie has been tagged. Here are five things you may or may not know about her.
1. She was born on her Ubcle Mic's birthday(19th) oct. 11th while he was in the MTC and Blessed on our 1st anniversary oct 17th.
2. She has been to a foreign country and loves to look at her passport(went to korea while brendan was deployed there for the army for a year).
3. She loves to read and is so excited to have 125 AR points this year( the AR program is new for us so she had to get used to it).
4. She had a head full of CURLY hair until I chopped it off at 3 and she still cries when it gets done...ARGH!
5. She has lived in in 6 states and attended 4 different elementary schools in her short not quite 4 years of school.
one last thing...she is the greatest daughter and big sister ever. without her help I wouldn't get through most days with my hair intact. With brendan working full time at the prison and going to school full-time she has stepped up. hopefully i am not totally messing the poor girl up.
so here is Mackenzie Kay Cox

we tag eli and syd cox, milam boys, and josh groft...of course anyone else who would like to can.

Okay here it is for Kyle. Kyle Wayne Cox was born on September 18, 2004 in Bethesda, Md at the Naval Hospital. He is the stereotypical military conception; daddy was on a hardship tour in Korea and came home for almost a month and you know the rest....nine months later we were blessed with our 9lb 1oz baby Kyle. Kyle was one of those very large babies that is so adorable because he was so chubby. All I can say is I don't think he's gained a whole lot of weight since his one year well baby that was 2 1/2 years ago! Kyle was the happiest baby (after the first 2 months of nap fighting). He has brought so much joy into our lives. As he has grown his personality has developed into a fun loving little boy who absolutely loves to be silly and make people laugh. Sometimes he even reminds me of his uncle Sean which is a little scary!!!!(my brother is 32 and still hasn't matured much beyond 3:)) Kyle fell in love with cars at a very young age and has helped his little brother love them too. Kyle also loves to play football, which shouldn't be too surprising considering who his father is. The thing we try to teach kyle about football and his little brother is that it has to be touch and not tackle. He hasn't quite got the hang of 2 hand touch and not 2 hand push. Kyle has impressed me so much with his intelligence. he can count to 20, knows most of the shapes and can most of the time say all the alphabet(lmop has turned into animal pee with the help of his father), and he loves to "read" books. If only we could get him interested in potty training at 3 1/2...ARGH! Kyle now has chores and every Saturday morning he will ask if it's chore time yet. His chore is to dust and brevan likes to help him too. I just hope this love of chores lasts beyond 4. Kyle is so much like his daddy it drives me crazy sometimes. People who knew Brendan at this age tell me how much he's like him and especially how much he resembles Brendan in appearance. He is finally enjoying primary after 2 VERY LONG months of fighting going to class on Sundays. He loves to sing the primary songs and a new song called apologize that is very popular right now. He'll come up and tell me that "it's too late to apologize, it's too late." We love Kyle so very much and the joy he adds to our little family. I hope those of you who haven't got a chance to meet him yet can someday...even if it means us taking some vacations! hope you enjoy the intro of Kyle......BTW sorry about the pictures. the boys were helping and posted them before i actually had them arranged correctly:)

okay I am going to post kyle in two parts: First photos of his life

from birth until present and second i will tell you about my sweet boy.

Starting from the bottom going up

the first three rows are from kyle's first year. from the time he was born until he turned 1 and had his first farm"cake".

then we have him with all his curls and then his second and third birthdays. enjoy his pictures of the first 3 years of total JOY!