ROCK WALL and TRAMPOLINE....oh MY!

So what does a bunch of pearl jewelry buy in todays market?? Turns out a ROCK WALL and A Sunken TRAMPOLINE!! Much to the bird kids happiness! We discovered our house was 'sliding' and we needed to put a REAL retaining wall in (the previous owners were losers and had not done a wall at all) so after realizing there was no way we would have the cash to do it, we found a company that would trade for some pearl jewelry. So we now have a secure home and an awesome sunken tramp! The kids have LOVED playing out on the tramp...brings back the good ole days from our old Lehi house!

Read more...

THE GREAT DALMUTI

We have dinner with the Holbrook family once a month. On this particular Sunday we played the Great Dalmuti. This game involves great skill to be able to work your way up the ranks to the leading role of the Great Dalmuti. (Another famous Utah name for this game is 'Scum'). If you are not the Great or Lesser Dalmuti, then you are a merchant (red hats) and if you are not qualified as a merchant, then you are a Great or Lesser Peon. (joker hat and kid on table). THe reason I am posting about this most amazing and fun game is because on this particular day after starting out with Wade and Wyatt as Great Dalmuti, I won like 5 hands in a row and was the Great Dalmuti for the rest of the game!!! It was fantastic phenomenal fun! After the first hand, the Great Dalmuti can request the Great Peon to do a 'favor'. In previous games, People have had to go do snow angels barefoot in the snow, bring food and drinks, do dances and sing. In this photo, Wyatt had to do a solo of Popcorn Popping on the Apricot tree while dancing on the table.


Mckenzie turned 18 and had her favorite Strawberry Cream Supreme cake. She was taken to the Zermatt Resort in Park City and enjoyed a day at the spa getting her nails and toes done. Great introduction into adulthood...hah!

Read more...

Jenner's First DATE!!

Jenner was invited to the SweetHearts Dance by Amber. In fact, he was invited by 4 girls total, but Amber got him first! We had a lot of fun responding (getting caught) and 'prepping' for this 'first date'!

Jenner did great with matching his date, and we chose to go with flowers (a dozen roses) rather than a corsage because we weren't sure what the current trend was, turned out we were supposed to do a wrist corsage..sigh.

But they had a fantastic time with lots of fun dancing and some great photos with their group. Jenner is still a picky eater and had to 'hide' half his dinner in his napkin...geesh Jen...get OVER it already, it's JUST CHICKEN!!






Jenner made a purple duct tape coat for Purple Pride week at Lehi High School. It was the hit of the week and started a huge raid on purple duct tape!! Everyone loved his coat, wanted to wear it, and etc. He even duct taped his shoes (background) and that started a trend as well. This crazy kid!!

Read more...

Catching up With Jenners 16th B-day

So its been a LONG time since I've posted a blog update. But that doesn't mean stuff hasn't been happening! In February Jenner turned 16, Mckenzie turned 18 and I aged as well!












Jenner invited over a bunch of his friends and they all went Lazer Tagging and came back for food, folks and fun! Mck and her friends all dressed up as Chineese girls and went around the mall acting foreign. (yes, they do this often...sigh!)





Jerica had to do a Science Project for her 5th grade class. She chose to see what would happen if pearls were soaked in various liquids such as bleach (not good) hydrogen peroxide (faded the pearl) and coca cola (disintegrated the pearl). Her report turned out really good and she got an A on her project!

Read more...

Holy Hannah It's March

I cannot believe the time and events that have lapsed since my last entry of "if I don't make it on here before the New Year, have a great leap into 2009" !! What was I thinking? I had no idea January could be more busy than all the holidays combined! Whew...bizarre! So here are the highs and lows of everything to date: 

Jenner has turned 16! He had a great friend party, a fun family party, and by the end of this week will be legally licensed to drive! He even has a car...he has inherited Jordan's old Toyota Corolla...1988...and with thanks to the Holbrooks...it STILL RUNS!! (But it has a hard time starting in the cold!) 

Jordan is still working at TelePerformance and also Best Buy. During the day (6am to 3pm) he troubleshoots Dell issues over the phone for very confused Dell owners. Then, in the evening he sports a lovely blue polo and aids people via the Geek Squad at Best Buy...so pretty much a computer and electronic geek to the nth!! He is enjoying saving money and is looking forward to moving out sometime in the spring to have his own apartment. 

Mckenzie has PHENOMENAL NEWS!! She has been accepted to BYU Provo, BYU Hawaii and University of Utah!! And now she is TORN of where to go! So we are all doing our research and pondering trying to help her figure out what to do when she lands on that 18 year old birthday next week (28th). She is loving the fact that she is almost done with her senior year and cannot wait for graduation and her 'real' life to begin. 

Zach is simply amazing! He has finally decided to graduate from 7th grade. His grades have reached passing levels in all but one of his classes...mom and dad are so relieved!! He has made several friends and every day after school our house is filled with random groups of the kids friends that are just hanging out and doing homework and eating after school snacks! He is becoming a very proficient drummer and piano player and has really taken to the practicing which has made him advance a lot quicker on the songs and et.

Jerica is so awesome! She is the Straight A Super Star in her class, totally loved by her teacher and classmates, she has auditioned for a talent show which will run this Thursday and she is doing a dance with two other friends, she is still in her dance class and is lovin that and is also doing amazing with her piano...somehow I will figure a way for us to record her playing her songs and then upload them on here! 

Me...well...I am aging gracefully (so I hope) and have enjoyed a really amazing birthday day today filled with lots of love. A great lunch with mom, flowers from mom in Cali, cards from family and friends, and calls, lots of phone calls, and then tons of well wishes on my facebook wall!! Thanks to all for making me feel great in 2009! 

Read more...

11 Days Before Christmas

Here we are with 11 days to go before that amazing day arrives. It's been a whirlwind year. Especially a whirlwind Nov/Dec.
I had a show to do in Boston this past week, which had a layover in Baltimore. So I arranged to meet with Rick at BWI. Unfortunately the plane was delayed from Manchester to BWI, so instead of having 2 hours to hang with dad, I had about 2 minutes! The plane landed at 4:50Pm, and I grabbed my large blue bag of gifts for all the East Coast family and started RUNNING! I made it out to the airport/Southwest entrance by 4:55 and called Dad's cell. We met right in front of the security entrance with a big ole hug. Then he asked the magical question "when is the next flight to SLC" "Five fifteen" I replied! AGH! We talked for 5 minutes and I ran back through security with a large box of Godiva Chocolates courtesy of Grammy Speaks, and I raced over to my gate and ran onto my plane with minutes to spare!
What a life! But oh so worth living!

Rich is home from California for the next two weeks, which will be incredibly nice. We have lots of Christmas 'stuff' to get ready for. My employee is off to Mexico to build houses for 2 weeks, and the kids are out of school this coming Friday, so I think the rest of the year will be a blur of busy-ness!

If I don't make it back onto the blog before the end of the year, may you all have a very wonderful Christmas holiday and a fantastic leap into 2009!

Read more...

DREAM...a poem by Jenner Bird

Dreams can Soar
Dreams can fly
Or they can burn up
In the sky
They can be fought for
They can be won
Some people dream
Just for fun
But dreams can burn up
And crash to the ground
It is only your choices
That will keep them around
Dreams can be given
Dreams can be taken
They can also crumple up
Like a burnt piece of bacon.

The End
Jenner Bird
December 2008

Read more...