GRADUATION VIDEO

GRADUATION PICTURES

KIDS AND ORANGES

Owen always goes nuts over oranges. If I let him, he would eat them all day long. Today the kids wanted a snack and I knew dinner was getting close so I decided to give them oranges. This was Gavin's first time eating oranges so I knew it would be cute to watch. He loved sucking the juice out of each slice.

FEBRUARY SNOW STORMS

February 6 & February 7

Saturday morning Owen woke us up at 4am complaining that the power had gone off. By the end of weekend, we had endured 27 inches of snow and 29 hours without power. I am so grateful we had a gas fireplace. I don't know what we would have done without it. It kept us warm in the basement as well as the main level. The kids had a great time the entire weekend. They loved playing in the snow, running around with flashlights, looking at the billion candles I had lit at night and getting to sleep in the basement in Owen's tent with sleeping bags. What a treat! I'm glad they enjoyed themselves even if I didn't. I hate it when the power goes out for long periods, but I did try to remain positive.

Sunday, I took Owen out into the neighborhood to do a little exploring. He loved running around and climbing the "mountains" of snow.

Later on, we got a call from my sister-in-law asking if it would be okay to stop by with Jeremy and our friend Linda. They offered to help dig out our car and clear off the front steps. With over 2 feet of snow, I was happy to have the help. They made everything go so much faster. At one point, Linda had suggested to let Owen get on the car to help clear off the top. Jeremy lifted him up and Owen just loved it! Thank you Jennifer, Jeremy and Linda for your act of kindness! We love you guys!

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FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Last Tuesday night, it began to snow. We woke up to 5 1/2 inches (I think?) of snow on the ground. Owen, Gavin and I played all day. We had so much fun. Owen liked throwing snow balls at me, Gavin liked stomping and running around in the snow and I enjoyed making a snow men while dogging Owen's snow balls. All of the snow men I made either got destroyed by the kids or attacked by our friendly squirrels. I forgot squirrels like seeds and I had decorated my snow men with seeds. Oops! I love to watch my kids play with each other. They are such good friends! It's what I always hoped for!

Later on that day, we met up with Jason's youngest brother and parents at PF Chang's. One of my favorite restaurants! I couldn't believe how much chicken Gavin scarfed down. Owen refused to eat meat until he was 3 years old. Just another example of how different each child can be.

THE KIDS FINALLY GOT THEIR HAIRCUT!

BEFORE............

DURING.............

AFTER................

Owen had been overdue for a haircut for quite some time, but Gavin never had a haircut and was in desperate need of one. The problem is that Jason has been working a lot in the evening and Owen refuses to have his cut without his dad and I assumed that Gavin would be difficult. So one day I just made an appointment and hoped that Jason would be willing to go. Lucky for me, he was happy to help with the kids. Owen was fantastic, he sat still and didn't cry. I was very proud of him. Gavin was another story. I held him first, but the only way he would let our friend, Donaca come near him was if I was standing with him. Jason eventually took over and I took pictures. After Gavin realized we weren't giving him to someone he didn't know, he was fine so long as we continued to stand with him. My 2 boys are absolutely adorable and I can finally see their eyes! LOL!

JENNIFER'S BIRTHDAY

Last week was my sister in law Jennifer's birthday. We met up with the family at Outback to celebrate and we all had a good time. I felt sorry for the waiter having to deal with such a large family, but he did a fantastic job. Happy Birthday Jennifer!

LOOK ALIKES

Jason brought home a picture of his youngest brother, Jeremy when he was little and the similarities between Jeremy and Gavin surprised me. I thought for sure that Gavin looked more like me, but after seeing this picture, I'm beginning to have my doubts.

THIS IS GOING TO BE A REALLY LONG POST

I realized recently that I haven't posted anything in a couple of months! I can't believe how fast time goes by. The holidays are always crazy for us. Shopping and family functions make a Busy Mom! This year we hosted quite a few family gatherings because Jason's Mom was bouncing back and forth between the hospital and the nursing home, but she is finally healthy enough to come home in a couple of weeks - just in time for Valentine's.

Thanksgiving, Jeremy and Jennifer came over for dinner. I made a craft turkey for Jason's parents using 2 styrofoam balls, yarn and card stock for the feathers. We all wrote things that we were thankful for on the feathers. Then, after dinner we visited Mom in the ICU and brought dinner and the craft. She loved it!

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December was INSANE! I think Jason made a turkey almost every week for a month. I am not a fan of turkey, so for someone that doesn't even like to eat it once a year, a month of it shows the love I have for the Kemps! LOL!


The beginning of the month, we got to see our friends the Graham's. They made yummy homemade pizza and the kids helped cut out some holiday cookies. We had such a good time!

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A couple of days later, we went to Pennsylvania to celebrate Kaylyn's birthday. I was so glad I could be there and see her open her presents. Even though I don't get to go up as often as I like, I always love going to see them.

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The next week, we did our annual Ornament Party with Justin and Joy and the kids. That was fun, but MEEEEEESSSSSSYYYY! I didn't think that project through very well. It was suppose to be a Balloon Ornament, but I don't think the kids even finished it! We ended up focusing on the Advent Calendar instead. That was a huge success! Easy (because I prepped everything ahead of time) and everyone wanted to participate.

THIS WAS WHAT THE BALLOON ORNAMENT WAS SUPPOSE TO LOOK LIKE, BUT MARTHA'S VERSION IS MUCH, MUCH BETTER THAN MINE SO I WON'T DARE POST MY ORNAMENT

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A couple of days later, we got our Christmas Tree. This is probably the earliest we've ever put up a tree before, but Owen really wanted one (the earlier the better is his philosophy). Gavin and Owen were so excited!

GAVIN GRABBED ORNAMENTS OFF THIS TREE UNTIL THE DAY WE TOOK IT DOWN. I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW PERSISTENT HE IS

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Jason had to work a couple Sundays so in order for me to continue to go to church, I asked my sister-in-law if I could borrow a couple of her kids so they could watch Gavin at church while I gave my lesson. It ended up being a great weekend! On Saturday, we went to an Art Studio at the Rio and the girls and Owen did some crafts. Kaylyn and Owen worked on mosiacs, while Chessa made a night light out of cut glass. It was so much fun! Then on Sunday, I was so impressed with Kaylyn and Chessa. They were so helpful. Not only did they help with Gavin, they helped teach my Sunbeams because I had just started to get sick and had lost my voice.

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A few days before Christmas everyone came over to our house to exchange gifts and eat turkey..........again! Even though I wasn't thrilled about the menu, it was great to have everyone together!

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Christmas was so much fun! The kids were actually really nice to us Christmas Morning. We slept in and didn't get nagged to open presents. Although, Owen was super excited when we finally got up! He could barely contain himself. Both of them loved all the presents Santa brought them. No one went overboard on Christmas like in the past. It was the right number of gifts and the kids were happy.

Later that afternoon, we went up to Pennsylvania to Jason's older brother Jeff's house. Everyone had already arrived. Not surprised, we're always late. The kids were playing games by the Christmas tree and the football game was on. Jeff and Sue had ham and mashed potatoes. It was a great meal! Before everyone left, I was able to give our gift to Justin and Joy's kids. I made a photo album online of them from 2000-now. They loved it! However, it was opened for maybe 5 minutes before Owen grabbed a page without thinking and ripped it! Right down the center of the page. I couldn't believe it! Obviously, it was an accident, but I was so devastated. Justin, Joy and the kids were so great about it.

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Here is a video I made capturing some of our family get togethers of 2009.

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We had Jason's family over on New Years Day to have turkey for the last time, but Jason was nice to me and made a ham as well. It was great to see Jason's Mom out of the nursing home, even if it were just for a couple of hours.

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The middle of December, Jason and I found out that Jason's partner made a decision to close their jewelry store. It will be final at the end of February! They have had a really hard year and Jason's partner thinks it would be best just to close doors and try to sell jewerly online instead. This news is stressful to me for so many reasons, but I keep praying and I have faith that Heavenly Father will take care of us. Jason started his own company a few years ago, so his plans are to work on his own. He is so talented and such a perfectionist that I know his customers will follow him.

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