Bob Sinclar - Love Generation

Gotta love this. I don't know why but this video makes me think of how Ken would have taken a bike ride as a kid.

Happy Birthday Girl

Wow! 18 years old. I can't believe my sweet little Katey Mae is 18. When she was small she would always say that she couldn't wait to be really old because old people are really nice. Well Katey girl you are still young but you are another year closer. You are already really nice. We celebrated with a rushed dinner and cake so we would make to the theatre in time to see WICKED. Of course it was a wonderful show and we all had a great time. Love you Katey.

Grateful

I love November. This is my favorite season. Cooler weather (hopefully), beautiful colors, good smells, and reflection on all that I have to be grateful for. My Family, my faith, my good fortune and friends top the list. I am trying not to let the Christmas decorations and advertising that are out way to early get to me. (breathe, breathe) Natalie will leave for Argentina on the 19th. She will stop over at LAX. So close and yet so far. I am excited for this next part of her adventure. If you are interested you may look at her blog that I am trying to keep up to date with news from her letters.

Birthday Boy

It's my boys birthday. A big 22! The years have absolutely flown and he will have officially flown the nest on December 21st. I couldn't have asked for a better boy. What a joy to be his Mom. Love you kid.

Check out how you've grown ... wishing all your dreams come true for the rest of your life.

Leadership Conference

This past weekend we were at Camp Hinckley in Running Springs. It was beautiful. The skies were blue and the leaves on the trees were beautiful colors. The temperature was perfect. (Yes, the same area where fires are now burning). We took the youth in the ward for a Leadership conference. We started with a great dinner, a Speaker (yours truly) and then we went to Ice Castle skating rink.

The skating was great. We had the whole place to ourselves. We had some great skaters and some not so great skaters.

On Saturday we had workshop with more great speakers and some group games to get the kids to work together. This one was really fun. They started out on the ground and had to try to stand up! Yes they did it.

Here is my girl and and her bud. Aren't they cute. We had another wonderful speaker to end the day (Yes, my main man) and then a testimony meeting.

These are the fabulous ladies that made it happen. I love these gals. They are so fun to be with. We went on a bear hunt Friday night and saw the big critter right in front of us. We scared him off in no time. We are all very brave.

Book Look

So I have been thinking about what fun information I might add to my blog. I immediately thought of one of my favorite things -- Children's literature. I love, love, love children's books and picture books especially. So I think from time to time I will do a book look of some of my favorites. Enjoy!



Russell and the Lost Treasure.

Written and Illustrated by Rob Scotton

Russell the sheep finds a treasure map and goes searching for the treasure. The treasure once found doesn't seem like much of a treasure at all until Russell puts it to good use.

A great message about families and a great story for those of us who like to photograph everything!

It's That Time

Yup, It's time to start thinking about that Perfect Halloween costume. I know most people dread Halloween, but not me! I love trying to think of fun costumes. No buying a package full of a pre-made costume. The best part about deciding early what you want to be for Halloween is that then you have lots of time to let the creative juices flow. You may be driving down the road and all of a sudden the perfect accessory for the costume will pop into your head. This picture of last years costume is a great example. I found the wig by accident. When I pulled it out of the unmarked bag at the store and put it on I could immediately see all the other customers salivating and waiting for me to put it down so they could snatch it up. Too bad for them. From there I went to one of my favorite places to find costume clothing - Ross (dress for less). Now I know many people shop there for real. I have found myself most successful there when I am looking for the absolutely outrageous. Hence, the funky shirt, Red Pants, and White shoes. The sunglasses were found at the costume shop a few years previous.

Danielle, likes no costume or a very understated one. The Artist outfit worked out great. She looked normal and didn't have to have weird make-up or embarassing clothing and she looked cute, cute, cute.

Katey is a girl after my own heart. Her idea came from her Evil clown school graduate t-shirt. This was a hand-me-down from Sean. We went crazy from there. She was really scary. I know there are some small children out there who will never be the same.

Below, is one of my all time favorites. These guys never want to dress up. It was some work talking them into it. They totally look the part in this picture. Sean even had the Napolean Dynamite Walkman and boots. Look at those faces. Ken definitely found his inner nerd for this one.



So what are you going to be this year? Better start thinking. Anygood ideas? Share them here. I love giving out ridiculous ideas to spruce up costumes.

COSTUMES FOR THE PAST

I'm Back

It feels like ages since I have posted. My life has been very busy and full of special events. First Natalie was safely delivered to the MTC. It was a difficult thing saying goodbye to her. She has been with us since June and we have had such great time together. She was very emotional (goodbyes have always been hard for Nat)and would stop every so often that morning and wipe away a few tears. We have since heard from her and she is doing fabulous. She said that as soon as she couldn't see us she felt better. I am trying to post info and letters on her blog. If you are interested check it out. If this link doesn't work on your server I also have her blog listed in the right side column under check it out.



We also safely delivered Katey to BYUI. Here she is unpacking. Please note the feet on the end of her bed. I guess someone was tired from the eternal drive to Rexburg. She seems to be doing great. We don't hear from her much. I guess her social life must be great.


While we were in Rexburg we also got to spend time with Sean. He did a Dirt Bike Race on Saturday. He won a tropy and some really gruesome blisters. It was great to be with him on his turf. He showed us his apartment ( I'm so sorry Sean) and took us to a great pizza place. We got to sneak a peek at the ring he bought for Stacey. He proposed after we left town. We are excited for him and Stacey. She is a fun, positive, and a beautiful woman, who seems to love our Sean like crazy. We can't wait for her to become a part of our family on December 21st in Salt Lake City.




Finally, We have our Danielle all alone at home with Mom and Dad. She is taking it well. She quickly arranged the bathroom with all of her stuff and got rid of everyone else's stuff. She is a great girl and fun to be around. Hopefully Mom and Dad aren't too boring for her.


I feel very grateful for all the great moments I have had with my kids the last month. It is hard to be away from them, but at the same time I am excited for them and all the wonderful adventures that lay before them.

Off She Goes

Katey is spreading her wings and flying off to college this weekend. We are making a quick whirlwind trip to drop her off. She is a very quiet girl around the house but now it will be even quieter. I am excited for her to have this experience. This is such a great time in life for a young woman. I know she will be a fantastic student and have a fabulous time getting to know new friends. Another great thing is that her brother will be around to show her the ropes and take her to get groceries. To Katey I say, " Fly Katey Fly".

See Ya

Sean hit the road today. Back to Idaho for him. He was dreading the drive but looking forward to being with Stacy again. His truck was loaded down as usual. It was a blast to have him here with us for a few weeks. I just wish Idaho wasn't so far away. Speaking of which, I will be in Idaho next weekend to drop of Katey for school. Just a quick whirlwind trip.

The pictures are from the trip Sean and Ken took to the Channel Islands. They went Kayaking in all the sea caves. They say the picutures don't do the place justice. The water was clear and everything was beautiful. They said there was all kinds of sea life around the caves. I am sure this will be a trip they will want to do again. By the way, the fuzzy pictures are courtesy of a disposable underwater camera.

Yes, another wedding

We ventured down to Mexico this weekend for the Wedding of Brandon and Cheri. It was a beautiful evening. We also spent some time in San Diego. It was a bit on the warm side but we enjoyed getting out of town. We went to the beach on Coronado Island and ate dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. Enjoy some snapshots we took of the wedding. Hope Brandon and Cheri don't mind us sharing. Once you get to jumpcut select full screen for the best view.

Family

We have had an unusual week. Our entire family has been here together for the first time in quite a while. It has been great. We haven't done anything extraordinary just the usual. We did all go to a beautiful wedding on Saturday night for Scott and Amanda. It is fun to have my kids all together. They are good friends and have a lot of laughs.

Beach Day

On Saturday we all headed down to Oceanside for a day at the beach. It was a bit of a rough start with the crazy parking situation but once that was taken care of we were ready to relax and have fun. We met our fabulous friends there for the day and had a blast. The water was warm, the company was great, and the marshmallows were huge! (Thanks Heidi). Click here to enjoy a few more pictures from our fun day.

Sailing

Sailing That's right. Ken, Sean and Stacey went sailing this week and had a great time. From the pictures I am sure you can see that it was a beautiful day. Ken has definitely caught the sailing bug. Make sure you click on the word sailing at the begining of the post. It will take you to a slide show of all the pictures from their adventure.

25 Years

That's right 25 big ones. If you want to really check out the look, click the picture for a close up look of all that hair and skinniness. These have been 25 great years. I couldn't have picked a better man to spend them with. Can't wait for the next 25.

Welcome

This is the revolving door of the Kirtley home. Our door will be revolving for the next couple of weeks. Yay! Lindsy arrived safe and sound and now she and Katey are heading off to New York. Sean and Stacey will be here this weekend. Natalie is heading off to Santa Barbara for a wedding this weekend. We got word this week that Jill, Rosie, and Dylan will be by sometime the first of August. Of course our door is always revolving with Danielle's friends. So if you have been thinking of a visit now may be the time, while the door is revolving, just don't let it hit you on your way out.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Where have I been? Long time no post. Well I have been to Weddings, Bridal Showers, and Baby Showers. Yes there are still several more to come. It seems this is the summer to get married. I love seeing these happy couples just getting started.

We have also just been hanging around home. Danielle went to EFY in Santa Barbara and had a great time. She made some great new friends.
We had a fun 4th of July Barbque with friends and saw a fabulous fireworks show. Katey is leaving for New York with the OS this Friday. I hope they have the time of their lives. I will try to post more often since so many people frequent this blog and live for all the info that I share.

Time Flying

Well time has just flown by since my last post. It has been a busy and exciting time for the family. Katey graduated from Etiwanda High. She played the whole thing down and acted like she could have cared-a-less until the actual moment arrived. It was a very warm evening and the crowd was one of the most rowdy I have ever seen at a graduation.

Next exciting bit of news... Natalie finally got her mission call. After days of stalking the mailman it finally arrived on a Friday. Ken was at the gym so she called him several times leaving messages that he had better get home by 3:15 because she was opening it as soon as Danielle arrived home from school. She called Sean and told him she would be calling him at 3:15 so he had better be waiting. Of course when she actually called him at 3:15 he didn't answer it the first time just to freak her out. Grandpa Roberts had the video going to capture the moment...
Grandma Paul high tailed it up to our place with World atlas and Magnifying glass in hand. Hey look how did she know South America?
Neuquen, Argentina
Reports to Provo MTC September 19th


Danielle made it through her freshman year!!!! She did have to say good bye to her best bud Corey. What a nice guy and good friend.
Danielle also went to girls camp ( not her favorite) and got her camp name this year. She will now be known as Fox. Here she is after a week of camp o-natural. She hates this picture but I love it because she looks like my little girl.
Finally, Sean had a little accident on the Dirt Bike. A guy side swiped him going full speed and ripped his foot up. Apparently a footpeg went all the way through Sean's riding boot and tore his foot open. When he called he said he had a hole in his foot. I had this picture in my mind of a hole like a cartoon character would have , you know, a nice clean hole straight through. Anyways after 13 stitches he no longer has a hole in his foot. He has been at BYUi 2 years and has visited the emergency room 2 times for stitches. I hope this isn't a trend.

WARNING : THE NEXT PICTURE IS GROSS

Sweetie Pie

Lexie came to visit. She was just adorable and as smart as can be. We enjoyed every moment with her. She swam, and played bouncy ball, computer, xbox and anything else she could find. It was so fun to have a little one hanging around. Of course, we catered to her every whim. Who wouldn't ?

Welcome Katey!

This past Saturday Katey was welcomed into Relief Society in a big way. We were all invited to a special luncheon to welcome the Senior girls in the ward. The theme was A Bridge to Paradise. We had some laughs over that. What was Young Womens? Anyways here we are all ready to go.



Katey about to enjoy her lovely plate of food that was over the top fancy.

All the Graduating Laurels with their fabulous YW Leader Stacy. They are really going to miss her she has been so kind and generous to them all.

Memorial Day

Natalie is home and waiting for her mission call to come. We are all anxious to hear the news. We had some serious damage done to some knees on Memorial day and Natalie lovingly administered first aid (the Band-aid kind). All is well. They were only necessary for a very short time as there was actually no bleeding of any sort.

Watermelon football was the name of the game. The big boys against......

The Big Kids.
It wasn't a pretty game. Everyone put up a good fight. All grabbing, choking, pushing, kicking , and near drowning was allowed.

In the end the Big Boys won.

We enjoyed the company of our dear friends. Good food but mostly great laughs and conversation.

Mother's Day

Another wonderful Mother's Day. My own children were so kind. Natalie sent a very funny Hallmark e-card that was a kick and when you really care you send the very best -- Hallmark. thanks for the laugh. Sean called and I love to hear from my Boy. Keep up all the hard work Sean and don't play to hard. Katey hid post-it notes all over the house in places that I frequent with sweet sentiments written on them. The one on my pillow was a real surprise when it got stuck to my face in the middle of the night. Danielle wrote a beautiful letter to me. You are good girl and I love you too! I scored in the Mom department. I was able to talk to my incredible Mom. She is an amazing woman who is the perfect example of kindness, charity, fun, love, nurturing, amazing cooking and everything else that encompasses the job description of Mother. I love her. We had my Mother-in-law over for dinner. She has the greatest sense of humor and it is always such a pleasure to have her at our home. I love to visit with her. She is a great example in so many ways. I love her, too. This picture is me with my Grandmother, Mom and Natalie and Danielle. My Grandmother is a lovely woman who is a classy lady in every way. And finally, but not leastly Grandmother Helen who was out of town on a great adventure, we missed her at dinner but were so glad she was where she wanted to be. Have a safe trip.