The Gines Family

Spring Break Continued

2011-04-19T15:21:00.003-06:00

We were really spoiled and got to have an extended Spring Break this year. Jed's brother and his family drove down to San Diego for the weekend because their Spring Break was the week after ours. So we let Olivia play hooky from school (and Jed from work - don't worry, he deserves it) on Monday and we all went to Sea World!! It was so fun listening to Lexi "ooowing " and "aaawing" at all of the dolphins and whales. She's still talking about Disneyland and Sea World.

Watching the Sea Lions

Jed and Lexi on the spinning starfish. I did it first with Lexi and thought I could handle the "little kids" ride, but boy was I wrong! Here she wanted to ride the flying Elmo over and over:)

While the older kids and adults (besides me) went on the "Journey to Atlantis" ride, Lexi and I hung out at the huge fish tank. She couldn't take her eyes off all the fish and sting rays.

Jed's brother's family then drove to Palm Springs and stayed with us for the rest of their Spring Break and we had a lot of fun! We even got to enjoy an adult date night to PF Changs - yummy! We hope you guys come back to visit soon!

Spring Break

2011-04-19T14:51:00.002-06:00

Let me start by saying that for Christmas this year I would like a nice new camera!! I know it's a little early for a Christmas list, but my Birthday has already passed and I'm tired of looking at my fuzzy pictures!! I want the crystal clear pictures on my blog that I see on everyone else's blogs :)
So I apologize for the quality of my pictures in advance. Anyway, despite the horrible camera, we were able to have a really fun Spring Break! The girls and I went to my parents for the whole week (yes Jed had to stay home and work - surprise!). We went to the beach, swam in the pool, played at the park, went to the movies and took Lexi to Disneyland for the 1st time!!!! There is nothing better than seeing the excitement of a child at Disneyland for their first time - so fun:)

Chris, Cassy, Shaina, Chaz and my parents joined us in all the fun! The weather was perfect that day until about 6pm when it started getting TOO cold and raining - so we decided to call it quits a little earlier than planned. It was a really great day though - and I got to ride on rides that I hadn't been on since I was a child:) (they were the only ones that I could ride while being pregnant - the submarine, the train, Small World - you know, the really exciting ones;)

Lexi LOVES horses, so the first ride she chose was of course the Carousel with Mimi :)

This being her first experience, Mimi had to also buy her some of her very own Mickey Mouse ears and she chose these ones!

Poor Lexi kept on asking to ride the elephant ride, but the line was way too long - so I'm really glad that she settled for a picture in this Dumbo :) Such a fun day! We'll have to do it again soon (one of the perks of living in Southern California and having annual passes:) But hopefully next time Jed can make the traveling team and be part of the fun - we missed you babe!

Cousins and Best of Friends!!!

2011-03-15T12:22:00.004-06:00

Livvy and Shaina (Thanksgiving 2010) taking a break on the rocks during our Torrey Pines hike in San Diego ( I miss their long hair)!

Olivia and Shaina (my brother's daughter) are cousins, but also great friends! They have been lucky enough to live by each other off and on throughout their lives and to build a great friendship. I love watching them together because they remind me of myself and my cousin Tenley when we were growing up. Tenley is two years older than me, like Shaina is with Olivia, but she always looked out for me. I see Shaina doing the same things for Olivia that Tenley would do for me - helping me choose outfits, doing my hair and make-up and just spending time together! Brings back great childhood memories :) I haven't seen my cousin since she moved to Florida, but I still love her the same - I miss you Tenley!

Shaina's birthday was in December and she was the cousin who did the 10 things for her 10th birthday (where Olivia got the idea for her 8th birthday). We were lucky enough to be with her for part of her birthday activities - one of which was Livvy and Shaina cutting off their hair together!! Aren't they so cute in their matching outfits and hair! Olivia cut off 10 inches and donated it to "Locks of Love" - she was so excited! I'm just glad that Shaina still finds it fun to have a cousin who wants to do everything she does and wear everything she wears :)

After the haircuts we went to the Irvine Spectrum where they had manicures and pedicures and painted their toes and fingers like candy canes - so cute!! Lexi had to try to get her feet in the picture too :) I hope their friendship lasts forever and continues to grow stronger with each year!

The girls on Christmas Eve at Mimi and Papa's house in their new matching Christmas Pajamas

All 3 of the girls on Christmas Sunday in their Christmas dresses from Mimi - so beautiful :)

More Birthday and Baptism Pictures

2011-03-15T11:38:00.003-06:00

Activities #1 and #2 - Circus Vargas and going out to dinner with mom, dad and Lexi

So for Olivia's 8th Birthday she got the idea from her cousin that she wanted to do 8 things for her birthday instead of having a party with friends. At the beginning I thought that this would be a great trade, but by the end I think it turned out to be twice as expensive! I think we will definitely be having a party with friends next year for sure :) But it was still a lot of fun!

There weren't a ton of people at the circus, as you can see, so it was even more fun - we had great seats!! (more people did show up later - we just got there really early too:)) I had forgotten just how much fun the circus can be and the girls loved it!

Then Mimi came into town and we had 3 more days of birthday fun and activities. Activities #3,4,and 5 - shopping (new outfits and books), homemade pizzas and spa night (Jed was out of town) - Mimi gave Livvy a manicure and pedicure and Lunch at Panera (Olivia's favorite) before the movie!! Can you say SPOILED!!!!!!

Activity #6 ? (we kind of lost count, we were having so much fun) We went to Gnomeo and Juliet with Mimi before she had to go back home. We discovered that it really pays to go to the first showing of the day - it's almost half price!! My two cute girls are getting so big and becoming best friends :)

You can see what Lexi was doing while we were eating pizza and having cake (Activity #8) - she really slept through the whole thing - singing and all!! She was done after all of the fun that we had been having for days, plus she was a little sick too :( This was after Activity #7 - Bowling with her friend Rachael.

Olivia requested her favorite, rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting! (turns out that this is one of my husband's favorites too and I didn't even know) Jed and and Olivia are really so much alike, it's scary sometimes! All in all, I'd say she had a pretty memorable 8th birthday!! I know I won't forget it :) Love you Olivia!

Olivia and her great-grandparents - Grandpa Doug and Grandma Betty Gines :)

Olivia with her parents and both sets of grandparents. We are so blessed to have such a wonderfully supportive family!!

Olivia and my cousin Christina's girls Jaycee and Kylee

Good News Comes in 3's?!?!

2011-03-11T15:20:00.002-07:00

I don't know about you, but in our family it seems that life's events, whether good or bad, come in groups of 3. This has definitely been the case for us! After Olivia's Baptism, and my Birthday, we also told the family that we were expecting our 3rd child. But what makes this even better news (especially for my husband) is that we are having a BOY!!!!!!! We are all so excited to add another Gines family member in August. The debate has already begun between Jed and I with choosing his name :)

Olivia's Baptism and my 30th Birthday Weekend

2011-03-11T14:42:00.003-07:00

February was such a crazy month!!!! Olivia turned 8 years old on the 12th and then the following weekend (President's Day) a bunch of our family came into town to help us celebrate her Baptism and my 30th birthday!! So she was actually baptized on my Birthday - what a great present huh? At least I won't ever forget her Baptism date:) While the family was here we decided to take the Tram ride in Palm Springs up to the top of the mountain and it was snowing! This was really fun for us "Californians" but not so much for the family that had come from snowy Utah - they wanted to get away from the cold :(

I think all of the kids really enjoyed playing in the snow though. Here's my brother Chris - the biggest kid of all:)

Lexi and my nephew Chaz in the snow

All of the Romney and Gines' family at the Baptism. This was such a special and wonderful day!! I didn't really know what to expect, since this was our first child being Baptized, but everything went really smoothly. I wouldn't have changed a thing - it was that great! The spirit was so strong and we were so proud of Olivia. She truly is such a blessing in our family - she makes us all better people. Her sweet and kind spirit, her quiet obedience, and her capacity to love others around her amaze me each and every day. Thank you to all of our family for your love and support!! You really helped make this such a memorable day for Olivia (and me) :) Better yet, I was able to focus more on Olivia than on the fact that I was turning 30 :(

Olivia with her uncle Chris, Aunt Cassy and cousins, Shaina and Chaz :)

My birthday cake - yummy Double chocolate chip "Nothing Bundt' cakes" (I know I've posted these cakes on my blog before - they are the best cakes you'll ever eat!!!) Overall I had a great Birthday (except for the dinner - we'll just try to forget that part). I received so many incredible gifts (thank you family) and it was so fun just to be with those people that I love so much! Thanks again :)

I was actually really bummed when I was going through my pictures, because I realized that I had barely taken any pictures of the whole weekend!! Sorry I'm so lame - we were just too busy having fun!

Halloween Fun

2010-11-01T22:18:00.004-06:00

A really cool and different plant that my mom gave me as a "Fall" present:)

Aren't they cute little lanterns - and they're real!

Livvy and Lexi with their decorated pumpkins - no carving this year! Can you guess who is who's?

Gifts from Grandma Lori and Grandpa Tim - thank you:)

Lexi wanted to be Minnie - her favorite TV show is Mickey Mouse's clubhouse and Livvy was Mulan - I love these cute girls!

The girls eating MORE sugar at the ward Trunk-or-Treat

Livvy and I making our "Mummy Hot Dogs" for our Halloween dinner - BOO:) The girls actually really enjoyed staying home and passing out candy this year:)

The finished "Mummies" - they were really yummy!

Pumpkin Patches X 2

2010-11-01T21:30:00.005-06:00

The Romney (and Brett) family at the Pumpkin Patch

Livvy is finally getting a little more adventurous - like her younger sister;)

Lexi and Mimi on the train ride

The poor goat was scared of Lexi

After Bryce and Lora's wedding, while the family was still in town, we went to another Pumpkin Patch in Del Mar and they had a lot of fun rides, blow-up slides and a petting farm.

Lexi's favorite part of the trip was riding the pony:)

Livvy and Lexi got to choose their own pumpkins

The pumpkins were huge!

Earlier in the month of October, Mimi and Papa took me and the girls to Bates Nut Farm and Pumpkin Patch and we had a great time - even though it was way too hot! It just doesn't seem like fall when the weather is so warm. I miss the changing of the leaves, cool breezes, sweaters, hot chocolate and snuggling up with a blanket:)

Bryce and Lora's Colonial Island Reception

2010-10-25T14:58:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the picture overload, but there were just so many incredible things - and my camera doesn't even begin to do it justice! But you can kind of get an idea of how beautiful it was - and it was even better at night when everything was lit up:)

Their colors were pool blue and guava - so pretty together.

The flowers and decor were GORGEOUS!!!

All of the guests got to take home a mango and an authentic fan from Fiji as the gifts - so cool!!

The happy couple

That is a real oyster shell that weighed over 200 lbs.! The guests were invited to write their "Pearls of Wisdom" for Bryce and Lora and place them in the oyster shell.

Bryce and my mom designed the cake. It had a lot of designs and patterns from Fijian artifacts that Bryce loves from his mission. I'd say they did a pretty great job - and it was sooooo delicious!!

My New Sister-In-Law!!

2010-10-25T14:36:00.005-06:00

My baby brother, Bryce, married Lora Light (from Virginia) on Friday October 22nd, in the San Diego LDS Temple. The ceremony was the best I have been to, and the reception was something out of a dream - unforgettable! It was such a fun weekend, spent with family and friends whom I haven't seen for quite awhile - so it was so much fun. I absolutely love Lora and of course she looked amazing:) She has a wonderful family that we enjoyed getting to know as well. I know that they will be so happy together. Welcome to the family! We love you both so much!

Lexi adores Bryce and Lora - or as she affectionately calls them, "Byce and La-La." She did so well this weekend! She was so loving - giving everyone hugs and kisses. She only had a few meltdowns - which wasn't bad considering the amount of sleep we all got:(

The Romney and Light families at the Temple with Bryce and Lora, the day before the wedding. We went to Peohe's for dinner after-wards, where Jed and I shared a "Volcano" drink and they brought it to us WITH alcohol on accident. OOPS! Good thing I didn't really taste the alcohol - as for Jed, I'm not quite so sure;) - oh, don't worry, we sent it back and got a new one!

PALM SPRINGS - Our New Home!!!

2010-09-24T12:32:00.007-06:00

As you can see from our new header picture, we have moved to PALM SPRINGS California!! The move actually took place over Labor Day weekend, but its' taken me until now to catch up on my summer posts, and get all moved in and organized. I should be a pro at moving by now, but I still get way too stressed! This picture is actually the view from our backyard:) Yes...I broke down and we are renting a home on a golf course. Jed was beyond happy when we found this home, even though he never has time to see his family, let alone golf!! We have a little mini pool too, but there is also a really fun community pool and clubhouse right down the street from us. I must admit, we are pretty spoiled:)

Having a pool is really nice when it's still 105 degrees outside!! This has definitely been one of the drawbacks - it's so incredibly hot!! I think we jump in at least once a day:)

This is such a typical Lexi face:) It's usually when she's doing something that she knows she shouldn't be doing!

Olivia's 1st and 2nd day of school (2nd grade) - so far she loves picking out her "uniform" everyday. We owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Mimi for taking Olivia shopping for all of her school clothes:) We now own a ton of navy blue, white and khaki colored clothes;)

Our location is perfect. Lexi and I walk Olivia to school every morning, because it's right around the corner, and it's an incredible school! So far I have been extremely impressed and she LOVES it! She even likes the fact that she has to wear a uniform (I must admit that I do too - it makes our mornings and getting ready much easier). We are also in a wonderful ward. We went to a ward party last week and met a lot of people who we already have connections with - or are related too - distantly:)

Moving to California was a huge surprise to us, especially since we thought we would be moving to Houston or Dallas, but as much as we miss Texas and our friends there, I think this is going to be a great move for our family:) We are really enjoying being closer to family and friends!

So to all of our Texas friends - WE LOVE YOU DEARLY!!!! You really made our life in Texas wonderful, and you were more than our friends - you truly became our family! We miss you, but know that we will keep in touch and hopefully see y'all soon...Vegas is only a 4 hr. drive for us;)

Lexi Turned 2!!

2010-09-22T15:01:00.004-06:00

On August 31, 2010 Lexi turned 2 years old!! We had a super fun party for her at my mom's when the family was in town. And of course the party had a cowgirl theme which had to include horses and all of Lexi's other favorite things:) The party favors were cowboy hats, filled with Lexi's favorite foods - chips, Kid Cliff Z bars, licorice, and other candy!

Words cannot describe how much I love this little girl! She keeps us on our toes everyday, but she is definitely the spice in our family - so vibrant and fun and full of life. I love you baby girl:) We are so blessed to have you as part of our family!

We played a lot of fun games, including pin-the-tale on the donkey. (Jed was totally trying to cheat)

Another game - Bean Bag Boot Toss

We also set up some big tubs and had the kids run the barrels while we timed them. They used "Lexi's Coda" - her stick horse:) I think the boys enjoyed this game the most!

It was so fun to be able to spend time with Brooke and the boys. We don't get to see them very often:( We miss you already - best of luck in Michigan!

Cassy out-did herself again with making Lexi's horse cake!!! She LOVED it:) Thanks Cassy - you're amazing!

Papa and the grandkids - he came out all dressed up and ready for the party (so did Mimi, but I didn't get a picture of her) Looking good dad:)

Summer Re-cap (Back to San Diego)

2010-09-22T14:35:00.005-06:00

Cassy and I took the 3 kids to Disneyland and it was so much fun. It has actually been quite a few years since I've been there, and I finally got to go to California Adventure! I loved the Tower of Terror!! Chris and my mom came later in the evening and joined us for the fun - the advantage to having season passes - how lucky:)

It was really nice to have a whole day with just Olivia:) We rarely get this opportunity - so thank you mom and dad for watching Lexi for me. I Love you both!!

One night at my parents during our family reunion, we had an outdoor movie night and it was a blast - complete with a concession stand and the kids in their pj's, cuddled up in blankets and sleeping bags on the grass!!

We also got to go to the Wild Animal Park with the family (we were just missing Jed). It was an extra hot day in San Diego, but it was still fun:)

Summer Re-Cap (Utah)

2010-09-22T13:45:00.005-06:00

We went to Utah for about 3 weeks in July and stayed with Jed's parents. Jed and his parents surprised me and the girls and flew him into town. He actually ended up staying for two weeks, because he was able to finish his training at a facility in Ogden. It was so much to be able to see him more - or at least for a few hours in the evenings:) One thing I really miss about Utah are the gorgeous summer nights!! When I'm there I'm constantly reminded of all of our Heavenly Father's beautiful creations:) The beautiful sunsets, the large mountains, the cool mountain breeze and air - wow, I'm missing it now just thinking about it! And if I haven't said this before, I truly have the world's greatest in-laws. Jed's family has made me feel loved and welcomed since the first day I met them:) They really are the most incredible people - I love and miss you all!!

We discovered this summer that Lexi LOVES horses! She calls them the nay-nays:) She couldn't wait for grandpa Tim to come home at night so that she could go out and see the horses while he did the chores. She also loves Teton (the dog). She would kiss him and hug him and talk to him - so cute. Oh, and pull his ears - not so cute. P.S. I'm not pregnant in this picture - horrible angle I guess:( Lexi loves Coda - the horse:)

Olivia loved spending so much time with all of her girl cousins! Jessa just turned 10 - these girls are growing up way too fast!

Lexi and Tycee definitely had a love-hate relationship. I think this picture says it all:)

Grandma Lori and her granddaughters (minus Ella). The girls wanted to go on the 4-wheeler any chance they could get!

Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dough gave Lexi a stick horse for her birthday that said "Lexi's Coda" - she plays with it all the time!

My little model in action. Tim and Lori gave Lexi her first pair of jeans, boots and a belt for her birthday. It's become kind of a right of passage with the Gines granddaughters - such a fun tradition.

Also while we were in Utah, my mom, sister-in-law Brooke and I threw a couple's shower for my brother Bryce and Lora at my aunt Becky's house. It was so much fun and we had such yummy food!! We already feel like Lora's part of the family - we love you guys!

And this is the best cake ever!!!! I was looking forward to the shower so that I could eat this cake (ok so that's only partially true, but still they're AMAZING!) "Nothing Bundt Cakes" - chocolate and pumpkin are the best. They all have a divine cream cheese frosting. Check them out if you haven't - you'll thank me for sure:)

Summer Re-Cap (San Diego)

2010-09-20T22:36:00.005-06:00

Lexi went from one injury to the next this summer. As soon as one would heal she would get the next one! She slipped by the pool and put her tooth through her lip, but the worst was her fall down the stairs:( You can't see it very well in the picture but she had a good bump on her forehead with a bruise and her nose was swollen, giving her a black eye. I guess this is what happens when you have an adventurous child:) She truly has no fear and wants to see and experience everything! It's actually really fun to watch her, when she's not getting hurt.

We also took a day and went to the Del Mar Fair. This has become a tradition of ours when we're in San Diego in June and the kids always have so much fun! Olivia really loved getting her face painted. I was just surprised that she chose the dragon - but I must admit it looked pretty cool once it was finished:)

Jed flew to San Diego for Father's Day and we had a great weekend with him and my parents and Chris and Cassy and their kids.

Summer Re-cap (Texas)

2010-09-20T22:02:00.007-06:00

Okay, so you may have thought that we fell off the face of the earth, but we've actually just been moving around the country instead! So I promise that I won't be too long and boring in my summer re-cap - or at least I'll try not to be;)

Our first move took place over Memorial Day weekend, when we packed up our house and put everything in storage as the girls and I moved to San Diego to stay with my parents while Jed finished his training in Houston. Before we moved we were only seeing him on the weekends - so being at my parents made the summer go by a lot faster! It was really hard to leave San Antonio and all of our friends, but I refused to say "goodbye," just "we'll see you later!" We left thinking that we would definitely be moving back to Texas, we just weren't sure where?! The night before we left we went to dinner with our best friends, the Biorns!! I was also able to go to lunch with my girlfriends. Oh we miss y'all so much!!

I never posted anything about Mother's Day, but I found this picture and had to let everyone know how amazing my husband is!! One of my favorite meals in San Antonio were the Panchos Enchiladas from Canyon Cafe - yum! So Jed got the recipe from my friend Kristina and made me an unforgettable Mother's Day dinner - a true highlight:)

Dos Cumpleanos!!

2010-05-05T13:14:00.003-06:00

Do you love my Spanish attempt? Well it is Cinco de Mayo today, but that's not the only reason we're celebrating! We have two Birthdays in our family today - My Dad and Lora:-) HAPPY BIRTHDAY you two - we love you so much!!!!

I'm getting a new Sister-in-law!!

2010-05-04T13:39:00.004-06:00

Bryce, Lora and her sister's family

It's official!!! Bryce is engaged to Lora Light and we couldn't be happier:) They are so happy together and we absolutely love her. Congratulations!

Ella and Bishop's Birthday

2010-05-04T13:26:00.004-06:00

We tried to talk Bishop Addams into wearing his pin to church, but I guess he didn't like that idea - wonder why? :-)

We spent last weekend celebrating Ella's birthday and our newly called Bishop's birthday at the Biorn's house - always a good time:)

Graduation Day

2010-05-04T13:16:00.004-06:00

Bryce finally did it!! He graduated from BYU and we were so excited to be there celebrating with him. It is now official that the entire Richard Romney family has graduated from BYU - go cougars! Way to go Bro - we love you:) I must admit that it was really fun being back on campus again. Things have really changed since I graduated 6 years ago - WOW I'm getting old!

Trip to Utah

2010-05-04T13:04:00.004-06:00

Congrats Bre!! The second baby boy will be joining the Gines family in August 2010:)

Olivia and Jessa

Two weekends ago the girls and I took a quick trip to Utah for my brother's graduatio. While we were there we also got to spend a couple of days with Jed's family. Livvy and Lexi had so much fun with their girl cousins - thanks Gines' - we love you:)

Easter Fun

2010-05-04T12:44:00.004-06:00

The sister I never had:) Love you Mandy:)

The Biorns - Livvy, Maren, Dallin, Brianna, Lexi, Madison and Ella

I know it's way past Easter but life has been pretty chaotic around our house lately - so thanks for all of the comments which helped motivate me:) We spent Easter weekend with our Texas family, the Biorns, coloring Easter eggs, eating tons of yummy food and candy, and taking beautiful pictures in a field of blue bonnets (oh and we also watched conference too). Lexi thinks that Mandy is her second mom - or maybe her first:) Either way, I'm just happy that she's finally deciding she likes my friends and will go to someone else besides me!

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-29T20:57:00.003-06:00

On St. Patrick's Day we all dressed up in green and hit the bowling alley:) That afternoon Jed took my dad to the Base to try his hand at the Flight Simulator. We ended the day with a wonderful green dinner and a very funny movie!! Thank you mom and dad!!! We always have so much fun when you come to visit - not to mention all of the incredible food that we get to eat too:) We're really looking forward to this summer!

Spring Break with Mimi and Papa

2010-03-29T20:40:00.006-06:00

We had so much fun over Spring Break with my parents! They were able to see Olivia score her first goal at her 3rd soccer game - we were all so excited for her. She is really enjoying playing soccer and she even has some natural talent for the sport (she definitely takes after her mom:)) We finally made it to Sea World too and had a really fun time watching the shows, riding the rides and pushing Olivia around all day in a wheelchair (yes, she hurt her leg on her scooter and couldn't walk - just our luck)!
We had so much fun that we completely wore out Papa and Livvy! Good thing they had each other to sleep on:)

Jenni turns 29!!

2010-02-25T13:12:00.004-07:00

Okay, this will be the last year that I announce how old I am! In fact, after this year I may stop celebrating my birthday altogether:) For some reason I'm really feeling a year older this year:( But thankfully I have an incredible husband who even though was out of town on my birthday, managed to pull off one of the best birthdays ever! (with the help of a few of my friends - thanks girls!) There's way too much to tell every detail. So basically he put together a scavenger hunt for me where I received different clues throughout the day, from the time I woke up until I went to bed that evening! (oh and all of the clues were different poems that he had written) I had also gotten sick the day before and so my friends took extra good care of me:) My day included: lunch with the girls - thank you ladies for the fabulous gifts:), a new purse, an hour massage (thanks to Kristina and the Biorns for watching my girls), movie tickets.......! We were even still celebrating my birthday the next day! It was so great! And even better, my friend's son shares my birthday. So she had a dinner that evening with more food and cold stone cakes. This truly was an unforgettable birthday! Thanks babe - you really are the best:) I love you!

San Antonio Rodeo

2010-02-25T12:24:00.006-07:00

On Saturday Tim and Lori took us to the Rodeo and it was a blast! This will definitely have to become a family tradition every year:) Jed and his dad actually left early in the morning to hit the horse shows before the girls were even up! The long days were catching up to us:) Then we all went to the swine races and ate some fair food before we went into the Rodeo (the food was actually really greasy and not the greatest - but oh well, it's the experience that counts) Olivia was chosen as one of the "cheerleaders" during the pig races and then she and Lexi took their picture with a brand new baby pig. Livvy really wanted to take the pig home - I couldn't blame her - it was pretty cute:) After the Rodeo we walked around the fairgrounds, through the different vendors and then Livvy and Tim went on some carnival rides. We ended the day with a trip to "Chuy's" for dinner and it was so good:)
It was really sad to see Tim and Lori go! On our way to the airport we stopped by the Temple and took some pictures and then had lunch at Panera - yummy!! We are so blessed to have such wonderful parents and grandparents that give so much of themselves:) It was a much needed break from reality and the stress of every day life - so thank you Tim and Lori for everything:) We love you!

Olivia's 7th Birthday

2010-02-25T12:06:00.003-07:00

We had so much fun for Olivia's 7th Birthday!! Tim and Lori came into town and we played non-stop for the whole weekend! On Thursday we drove to Fredricksburg and did a little window shopping and had a German lunch. Lori's father and step-mother served their mission there. It was a very quaint town with a lot of history. We even found a little shop named "Beulah's" (this was Lori's mothers name:) Then on Friday we had Olivia's birthday party and it was crazy fun! We were supposed to have it at the park, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so instead we had 11 kids in our house:) We played soccer in the garage, red rover, pin the tail on the donkey, musical plates, a guessing game and then ate pizza and cake! Olivia was so spoiled and received incredible gifts! Thank you so much to our wonderful family and friends!!

Cattle Drive & Parade

2010-01-30T13:19:00.004-07:00

Jed thought that it would be really fun to take the girls downtown this morning and watch the Parade and the Texas Longhorn Cattle Drive that they have to kick-start the Rodeo! It was a definite success:) We arrived just in time, on a freezing San Antonio morning, but luckily we were prepared. First we got to see the Samba dancers, then the trick ropers, some other wagons and horses and then the longhorns! Olivia and Lexi really enjoyed it - Jed said that it made him miss his horses:( Now we can't wait to go to the Rodeo!!

Christmas Dresses

2010-01-20T16:09:00.003-07:00

For Christmas this year, Olivia and Lexi received some really cute dresses from their grandmas!! Grandma Lori sent the cute red and black polk-a-dot dresses and Mimi got black and white ones (Olivia and Shaina were matching too). We are so lucky to have such fashionable grandmas that keep my girls so well dressed. Thank you and we love you:)

New Year's in San Diego

2010-01-20T15:43:00.005-07:00

We were able to spend a whole week in San Diego with my family for New Year's!! My entire family was there and it was so much fun to see everyone:) It had been way too long since we had seen some of them! For New Year's Eve the adults went out to dinner and to the play, "It's A Wonderful Life." And then we went back home to put the kids to bed and celebrate. We were all pretty tired, but most of us managed to stay up until midnight:) While we were there we also managed to have our usual beach trip, filled with sand sledding and smores:) This has become a really fun tradition for the Romney family! My mom also held one of her famous tea parties with the grand-kids, while the adults went to see Avatar. Thank you Mimi for teaching our children such impeccable manners! Thanks Mimi and Papa for such a fun trip:)

A Texas Christmas

2010-01-20T15:21:00.005-07:00

Christmas was a lot of fun this year! We spent Christmas Eve at a friends house for dinner and then came home and acted out the Christmas story (Lexi was a very uncooperative baby Jesus), opened our pj's from Mimi and Papa while they watched on the web cam and then sent the girls off to bed so that we could await Santa's arrival. Jed an I stayed up until 1am watching "It's A Wonderful Life!" I just love this show:) Christmas morning was very relaxing. We slept in until 8am and then opened our gifts while Grandpa Tim and Grandma Lori were watching through the web cam - thank goodness for modern technology:) Santa brought Olivia a razor scooter and a guitar and he brought Lexi a tree tent, and a rocking horse! Lexi was scared of most of her presents in the beginning and was completely content with the wrapping paper and bows! She has since discovered though that she is in love with Elmo:) I think we watch it almost every day! That afternoon we went to the Biorns house for an amazing BBQ brisket dinner - it was so yummy:) We actually spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Biorns this year! They have truley become part of our family - as so many of our friends here have:)

Gingerbread Houses

2010-01-20T15:06:00.005-07:00

On another December night we went over to the Biorns house with some of our friends and decorated Graham cracker Gingerbread houses! Olivia decided that she was going to just decorate the front yard of her house - the actual house was in her imagination - it was definitely very unique:) And of course Jed had to show his artistic skills with his little Gingerbread house:) It was pretty cute! Later that night, we found the younger kids upstairs relaxing and watching "The Grinch" - it can't be Christmas without the Grinch - it's Olivia's favorite movie:)

December Fun

2010-01-20T14:47:00.004-07:00

During the month of December we had a lot of fun with our friends, celebrating the Holidays!! One Saturday we decided to take a trip to the Bass Pro Shop where they were having all kinds of fun Christmas activities for the kids. Little did we know that after an hour long drive, the activities consisted of decorating broken sugar cookies, and having to stand in line for 3 hours to take a picture with Santa:( So we decorated the cookies, took our own pictures around the Holiday decorations and on some ATV's, toured around the rest of the store (it was pretty cool) and then headed out for dinner! Once we got passed all of the disappointments, it turned out to be a pretty fun day:)

"Bedtime Stories"

2010-01-19T15:28:00.005-07:00

Olivia had a wonderful music teacher at school this year (mom you would love her) and she put together an amazing Christmas performance. They sang songs, told stories and all of the kids had an opportunity to play instruments too! Olivia also had a fun Christmas play in her class that we were able to attend along with her Christmas party!!

Jed turned 30!!!!

2010-01-19T15:13:00.003-07:00

On December 15, 2009, my amazing husband turned 30!!!! He didn't want me to make a big deal about it so we just had a quiet night at our house with his favorite dinner and cake and some presents. Plus, he and my dad and brothers had already had a big celebration with a boys weekend in Park City, along with the BYU game in September (my brother was also celebrating his 30th birthday)!! I did come home late one night from mutual though, only to find him watching all of his high school basketball, football, and rodeo videos (aren't they supposed to have their mid-life crisis at 40? He still has a few years:)

New Moon

2010-01-19T15:07:00.002-07:00

Some friends and I took advantage of a Friday night off from our families and went to dinner (yes, Chuy's again) and then went to see "New Moon," to help celebrate Monique and Kristina's birthdays in November. It was so much fun and I must say that I may be a Jacob fan now:)

Halloween

2010-01-19T13:40:00.004-07:00

We had such a fun Halloween in 2009!! We couldn't believe that we had to actually wear t-shirts instead of snow clothes though and we had a really fun filled day with our friends!! We started out by going to our favorite restaurant, Chuy's, then on to the Ward trunk-or-treat and then ended the evening with more trick-or-treating on base (courtesy of the Biorns:)
Olivia was Cinderella at school and then she wanted to be a scary witch with a green face for trick-or-treating. Lexi was an adorable ladybug (thanks Mimi for the costume)!! I know I'm biased - but really - could she get any cuter? (if you were wondering - I was an angel) We have such incredible friends here that make being away from family a little more bearable!
The only bad thing about Halloween? Waking up the next day to 15 bug bites all over Olivia's legs - gotta love the bugs in Texas!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US?!?!

2009-09-30T10:30:00.004-06:00

Is it okay to wish ourselves a Happy Anniversary? Well I'm doing it anyway, even if it's not. Anniversaries never get remembered (at least by other people) unless you remind them. Although I do have some wonderful family members that did remember - but I'm not going to name any names, because I don't want to make the ones that forgot feel bad! hahahah:) (It's okay I don't remember anniversaries either)

Anyway, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my wonderful husband. It has been 8 unforgettable years and we both wish that we looked like we did 8 years ago! It was very low key - but I did make Jed all of his favorite meals yesterday, including a strawberry mud pie last night - yummy!!!! I LOVE YOU MORE TODAY THAN THE DAY I MARRIED YOU!

P.S. Our Anniversary was September 29th

Olivia our Jack-o-Lantern

2009-09-30T10:26:00.002-06:00

Just in time for Halloween!! Actually it happened about a month ago, but mom has gotten lazy on her posts. Anyway, Olivia finally lost one of her top teeth and she was so excited. Jed keeps on telling her that she should definitely be a jack-o-lantern for Halloween this year - she's not so sure:)

Lexi turns 1!!!

2009-09-30T10:07:00.003-06:00

Lexi turned 1 year old on August 31, 2009. Wow how time flies! It feels like it was just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. She has grown up so quickly. It took her a while to crawl, but it seems like since then she has taken off! She even took her first steps last week (while Jed was on his hunting/boys weekend trip in Utah)!! But that's alright because we were at our friends house when she did it and so at least a couple of my girlfriends were there to get excited with me:)

One of her favorite things to eat is oatmeal and so instead of a cake we made her some oatmeal cookies (hers didn't have any chocolate chips in them) and she absolutely devoured them! I've never seen her so excited - I guess sugar will do that to a 1 year old:) Since then she is discovering that she loves all kinds of table food - squash, zucchini, broccoli, whole wheat pasta, any kind of fruit, and definitely anything that's sweet! We are so grateful to have Alexis as part of our family - she was truly a much needed and appreciated addition:)

I have a 1st Grader!!!

2009-08-24T10:21:00.003-06:00

Today was Olivia's first day in the 1st grade!! I can't believe how old and mature she is getting. It feels like 16 is just around the corner. She even picked out her outfit for today (last week). She has been waiting very patiently to wear this shirt. I think I may have a future fashion diva on my hands - sooooo not like her mother:) Hopefully she'll be much better than me. Again, I think this was much harder on me than on her. It's only been a few hours and I don't know what to do with all of my spare time! (I know this won't last very long - I'm just procrastinating all of the work I really have to get done). Oh, I love being a mom and I love my girls:)

Final Summer Days

2009-08-24T10:09:00.004-06:00

Olivia is finally starting to make some really good friends here in Texas (hopefully more once school starts). One of those friends is Robert. He came over the other day for some final summer memories and I had to take some pictures of them. First they were playing hop scotch in Olivia's slippers. Then after lunch they decided they wanted to make some sugar cookies. They wanted to do everything from rolling out the dough to cutting out the shapes. What great helpers they were - aprons, flour and all!!!!

Utah Home Sweet Home?

2009-08-15T10:57:00.005-06:00

I hope I don't offend any of my friends in Texas, but I still kind of consider Utah my home. We just got back from a vacation to Utah this past week and it felt really weird coming home to Texas. It's probably because we have only been in Texas for 5 months and we were in Utah for 10 years and a lot of our family lives in Utah, but it was still a little strange.

Anyway, the girls and I had a wonderful time and got to see so many family members and friends. So thank you to all who were so generous in letting us stay and play with you!! We love you so much and of course miss you already:) We started off the week with a family reunion for my mom's family in Salt Lake. We had parties, went swimming, went to the Childrens Museum at the Gateway (Uncle Bryce taught Jace to make paper airplanes, while Val and Olivia played with the magnets) and of course did not get enough sleep at all! I got a priceless picture with Lexi and Grandpa Bear. I just love Lexi's smile with all of her teeth now - we almost have 6. (Thanks Mimi and Papa Romney)!

Then for the second half of the week we went up to Kamas to stay with Jed's parents and we went to his family reunion up in the COLD mountains (it was about 55 degrees - this was the first time I had worn pants or a sweatshirt in months) I had to put Lexi in the Baby Bjorn and then zip her up in a coat with me so she could stay warm - it was so cute!! It was so nice to have some cooler weather, where we could actually enjoy being outdoors - it was so beautiful and green. Thank you Gines family for all of the relaxing fun!

Those of you who know me well, know how much I love to sing and so as part of our trip I had the opportunity to participate in a Jenny Phillips music workshop with my mom, my aunts and my friend Julie and we had a ton of fun - it was really wonderful:) I also got to record a demo in a studio with Tyler Castleton (writes a ton of amazing music) and it was incredible - I loved every minute of it! I also got to meet Hilary Weeks - one of my favorite LDS artists. Altogether, the experience was unforgetable. Music has always been a passion of mine as well as a blessing. I just hope that one day I will have the opportunity to share with others the joy I feel when I sing!! We miss you Utah:)

Yes, she did!

2009-08-15T10:51:00.002-06:00

Everyone keeps on asking if Lexi cried when we got her ears pierced and yes, she did! Jed took this picture with his phone right after the piercing. The crying only lasted for a second. We wanted to do it when she was younger, but 11 months was the magic age for Lexi (we pierced Olivia's at 9 months). Now I won't get anymore compliments on my cute "boy"! (Don't worry Lexi - you don't look like a boy - you're too pretty!)

Sleepover with the Young Women

2009-08-15T10:29:00.003-06:00

Okay, so some of you may think I'm crazy, but at the end of July we had a sleepover at one of my counselor's homes for all of our young women and it was so much fun! Not a lot of sleep took place, but there was dancing, singing, nail polishing, and who can have a party without food? We indulged with a chocolate fountain and tons of goodies to dip in it! Yummy!!!!

Olivia and Alexis got to come with me for the first couple of hours while Jed was still at work and so Olivia got to have her nails done by Alyssa (one of our Laurels). Olivia was in high heaven and did not want to go home! Can you really blame her?

The youth here in Texas are pretty incredible - especially our young women!

Gotta get it off my chest!

2009-07-23T19:31:00.003-06:00

Okay, I don't usually post on our blog, but I have something I need to get off my chest. Some of you may know that I have been working a second job (Selling Pest Control door-to-door) in the evenings from 6-9pm. Now I sold for 4 summers during college and didn't mind it. I swore I would never knock another door again, but here I am! Anyways, Some funny stuff happens every year when I am knocking and this year was no exception.

It all started on Friday night, July 10th. I was out as usual knocking, it was hot and humid (103 @ 6:30pm) and everything was going great. I had just made a sale two doors prior to the following incident. I rang the doorbell and waited, but there was no answer. Now after a few seconds it is routine for me to then knock on the door. I did that and waited some more. I could hear people in the house, so I waited some more. Finally a man answered the door and said: "What do you want!" I said: "Hi, I am with Romney Pest Contr..." (Interrupted by the man) "I don't need it!" SLAM!!! Now this happens all of the time, so I just brushed it off and went on my way around the corner. After a few doors, I had to head back and knock the other side of the street and much to my surprise, guess who was waiting for me on his porch, Yep the guy that had just slammed the door in my face.

Now I did not say anything to him, just kept doing my thing when he walked out to the end of his driveway and started yelling at me. He was telling me how I am not allowed to solicit in his neighborhood and bla, bla, bla! I said: ''Sir, I don't know why you are attacking me, I did nothing to you. You slammed the door in my face and I left, so stop bothering me at my workplace! (you like that?!?!)" He kept threatening that if I didn't leave, he was going to call the cops. I told him to go right ahead. He pulled out his cell phone and hit a few numbers and then proceeded to give my description (which he was not very nice, I would consider myself heavy set, not fat!) anyways, this has happened to me in the past and I know that when this type of situation happens, Is all they want you to do is leave. I didn't! I just kept on knocking and basically waited for the police to arrive. They never did. (I think it was a fake call)

Well to shorten things up, I for some reason got really bugged (pardon the pun) by the whole situation. I could not let it go. I vented to my wife and a few other people, hoping someone would tell me to go back and beat the you know what out of him. No one did. The next day as we drove up to Walmart, guess who walks out with a cart full of beer? Yep, the guy. I tried to get my wife to pull over so I could have a talk with him, but she wouldn't. Good thing she is the bigger person! I let this whole thing fester over the weekend and got so worked up about it that it was all I could think about. Then Sunday rolled around and much to my dismay guess what the lesson in church was. Yep, Forgiving others.

I had been thinking of all kinds of ways to get back at this guy (My favorite was to give his address to a spam company or egg his house) and then on Sunday I hit a crossroads. I could continue to let this affect me, cause you know he has forgotten about it and it is not affecting him, or I could move on and forgive him of his shortcoming. Well part of the purpose of me posting is so I can get it off of my chest and move on.

Final Thought:
Heavenly Father has a funny way of teaching us all the lessons we need to learn in life. You never know what the next "door" in life might bring. I hope everyone can learn from my mistake and not get worked up over the little things in life. Life is too short to let these kinds of things hold us down.

Regards,

Jed
P.S. I would still like to hear some of your thoughts on what would have been a good & legal way to get back at him. :)

4th of July

2009-07-06T12:13:00.006-06:00

Our 4th of July was not at all what we are used to doing - but it was still a ton of fun! Stephanie and her girls came back down on Friday and stayed until Saturday night. The girls played for almost 30 hours straight and amazingly enough there were no melt downs - even though they didn't even go to bed until almost midnight. They built a tent (fort) and slept in it in the front room. Stephanie and I weren't any better - we stayed up until 1 am chatting like old friends - it was so great to catch up!

On Saturday we were all so tired that we had a very relaxing day - INSIDE!! We didn't even go outside until that evening when we lit some sparklers (It was still about 95 degrees). It was actually really enjoyable, but I have to say that we did miss all of the fun activities in Oakley - the parade, the kids activities, and the Rodeo - maybe next year:)

Even though we didn't go out anywhere we still had fun celebrating! The girls got all dressed in their patriotic outfits (including the flag tattoos) and we had a wonderful BBQ (thanks Jed) that ended with star brownies and red, white and blue ice cream. Thanks Arnell's for the fun memories! We will miss you tons!

Summer Fun

2009-07-06T11:51:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures of what we've been doing so far this summer. Jed's cousin, and my friend, Stephanie has been living in Austin for the past month with her family. We lived next door to each other when Olivia and Taylor were toddlers and it's like the girls haven't skipped a beat. They play so well together. Adi is their middle child (sorry about the spelling?) and then they also have a baby, Leah, who is a month younger than Lexi. We were just so excited to see some more familiar faces down here in Texas - even though it does make us a little home sick.

Olivia has been busy reading her books that we've been checking out from the library - hoping to keep up her reading skills.

Alexis has finally started crawling. It's about time - Livvy was crawling at 6 months so we were beginning to think something was wrong with Lexi. The Doctor informed me though that 9 months is a fine age to start crawling - she also told me to never compare my children! Parenting lesson #1 million learned - aren't we always learning new things every day:)

Father's Day

2009-06-20T12:11:00.005-06:00

Tomorrow is Father's Day and so I thought I would give a little shout out to all of the incredible Father's in our lives. First and foremost, we love you Jed!! Livvy and Lexi are so lucky to have such an amazing dad - you're the best!! I also feel so blessed to have such a wonderful father and father-in-law - they are truly one of a kind (each). My brothers and brother-in-laws aren't so bad either (jk). They are all pretty awesome too!! We hope you have a memorable Father's Day - we love ya'll and think ya'll are great dads:)

June Fun

2009-06-20T11:57:00.003-06:00

June has been a pretty busy month for us. We had Olivia's Kindergarten Graduation (Mrs. Harrison) one week and then the next week I was off to Girl's Camp with the Young Women. Mimi and Papa came into town to take care of the girls (and Jed) while I was gone. Mimi planned a music camp for Olivia and then she had a performance for us at the end of the week - it was adorable - there was music, choreography and even costume changes. Way to go Mimi! How lucky are we to have such incredible parents and grandparents!!

Memorial Day Continued

2009-05-26T21:10:00.002-06:00

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T20:54:00.003-06:00

Jed and I both really needed a break from everything and so we decided that for Memorial Day we would take the girls and drive to Corpus Christi. We made the trip, there and back, in one day and spent about 4 hours at the beach, and it was wonderful! Olivia did not want to get out of the water because it was so warm and clear and Lexi was content playing in the sand (well she really just ate the sand). We packed a lunch and drove right onto the beach and camped out of the back of the car - it was great. We are all burned (except the baby) because it was the first time our bodies had seen sun for awhile, but we've also learned that you need to re-apply sunscreen every 1/2 hour instead of every couple of hours:(

Chef Jed

2009-05-26T20:45:00.003-06:00

So if you didn't know, Jed is an amazing cook. I hate to admit it, but he is better than me. On Sunday night he was really wanting Sunday chicken from Cracker Barrel, and since we don't go out to eat on Sundays and it's the only time they serve it (plus we are trying to save money right now and not eat out), he decided to make his own Southern meal. We had home made fried chicken, corn bread, green beans, mac and cheese, and some kind of cinnamon apples (he downloaded all of the recipes from Cracker Barrel's website). It was incredible!! We just can't eat it very often.

I'm Losing My Mind

2009-05-26T20:39:00.002-06:00

I love my new calling as Young Women's President, but it sometimes makes me feel like I am losing my mind. I constantly have about a million thoughts running through my head, and even more things to get done on my "to do list." The other day I almost burned our house down because I put Lexi's binkys on the stove to boil for a couple of minutes and then started another project and completely forgot about them. As you can see they were a complete loss. I've tried to not do so much multi-tasking since:)

I Love You Mom!

2009-05-26T20:29:00.003-06:00

Olivia has been leaving me a lot of signs lately that say "I Love You Mom." She has been having a hard time lately, and is really missing her family and friends in Oakley. She has really relied on me a lot more, which I love, but it also makes me really sad for her. It's a good thing she loves her sister so much. Only 7 days of school left and we're counting down the days! We can't wait for summer vacation so we can spend more time together! I love you too Olivia - all the way to the moon and back!

Gotta love the heat!!

2009-05-26T14:22:00.003-06:00

When people told us that it was hot down here, I don't think that we could really understand what they meant - you just have to experience it yourself. So we try and spend as much time in water as we possibly can. Don't you just love our teeny pool! This is why it is also great to have friends who have real pools!

We finally have some family by us!!

2009-05-26T14:15:00.003-06:00

I know that I always do this - I don't post for awhile and then I post a ton. So please forgive all of the pictures - I know there's a lot! But since I last posted I have had my cousin Meridith and her cute family move down here to San Antonio too! She just had her third child and they are adorable children. Olivia loves to have her cousins over to play:)

Lexi, Olivia, Phoenix, Romney and Paige

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!!

2009-05-05T09:47:00.004-06:00

Today is my dad's Birthday and I thought it would be fun to start a new tradition of posting some fun pictures of him! Here are the top 5 reasons why we love our dad and papa so much!! 1. He is so fun to play with (thanks for the input Livvy) 2. He's a great listener, full of great advice 3. He is very caring and Christ-like 4. He is extremely intelligent 5. He's so young at heart. We could go on forever, but these were our favorite! Happy Birthday dad!!

I love Bath Time!!

2009-05-05T09:36:00.004-06:00

I don't know about any of you other moms, but I love bath time. Maybe it's my OCD about cleanliness, or maybe it's just that I love the smell of clean baby!! Really....is there anything cuter?

Swine Flu Update

2009-05-05T09:29:00.004-06:00

So here we are still at home this week. Is anyone else ready for this swine fly to be over? Church was canceled on Sunday and school was canceled until May 11!! Needless to say we are really going crazy this week. We have been trying to find as many fun things to do at home as we can, but we're starting to run out of ideas. I never thought that I would be excited for Olivia to go back to school - but she's definitely ready too:) At least we have been somewhat successful in keeping them busy enough so that they're tired enough for bedtime (or maybe just Lexi)!

AWESOME VOICE!!!!

2009-05-01T13:39:00.004-06:00

OK, if you want to hear something amazing scroll down on my blog to my friends list and click on Kyle and Julie and listen to her you tube video. Julie is one of my friends from high school (in San Diego) and we used to sing together a lot - but as you can see on her blog she surpassed my singing voice a long time ago! I could listen to her all day! Watch for her CD because I'm sure she'll make it big sometime soon:)

Fiesta (Continued)

2009-04-30T11:01:00.002-06:00

The girls dressed up for the parade!

Fiesta

2009-04-30T10:47:00.003-06:00

Last weekend our ward primary had their own Fiesta party! (Fiesta is kind of like Mardi Gras in San Antonio) The kids played carnival games, hit pinatas, danced around in the cake walk, walked in the parade, had their faces painted, and did I mention they had a ton of SUGAR (candy, cupcakes and snow cones)! I took my girls and Adyson, one of Olivia's friends from the ward. The bigger girls had a great time while Lexi slept in her car seat for most of it!

Swine Flu - Yikes!

2009-04-30T10:37:00.004-06:00

OK, so I am sure by now you have all heard about the swine flu outbreak in the US, but did you know that our school district was where the first cases were confirmed? Last week we had been receiving calls from our superintendent and from the county health department about the swine flu that infected some of the high school students and so we would be closing the high school. Then the next day they decided to close the whole district. So we have been asked to stay at home as much as possible this week and not take our children out. A lot of public places that host large gatherings (like Olivia's tumbling class) have been closed, including all of the parks. It is now Thursday and Olivia is already deciding that a week off of school wasn't as fun as she thought it would be - especially since she can't really go anywhere or do anything (and mom's starting to go a little stir crazy too!) Thank goodness for fun close friends!

The Zoo

2009-04-19T22:17:00.003-06:00

Olivia had only been at school for 2 days and then she had her first field trip with all of the kindergartners to the zoo! Lexi and I joined her there and we had so much fun. My favorite was the jaguar and Livvy's favorite was the Grizzly Bear in the water. It was a wonderful day until we came home that night and Livvy got sick. She ended up with strep throat too!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-19T22:08:00.003-06:00

Easter Sunday was a little different for us this year because it was just us! We're not used to being without family on a holiday so it was really weird, but a good weird. The Easter bunny brought lots of candy and I made Livvy a little box for her rock collection (yes, I made it myself). The lovely Easter dresses were brought by grandma Mimi! The people in the ward called them the Neapolitan girls!

April

2009-04-19T21:55:00.003-06:00

After the Gines Family left, the Romney family came. My parents came the second week we were here and they helped us finish the unpacking. They ended up saving the day because while I was down and out with strep throat, my mom took care of the girls while also doing all of the cleaning and cooking! My dad also helped entertain Olivia - he sure loves to play with his grandkids! My parents got to see the Alamo and Riverwalk and we also visited the Temple and my dad and Livvy went to the underground caves too! Thank goodness for parents! What would we do without them?
On conference weekend our ward had a Easter breakfast that included an Easter egg hunt that Mimi and Papa were also able to attend.

We're finally Texans!

2009-04-19T21:42:00.002-06:00

We successfully made it to Texas (San Antonio) on March 25th! A huge thank you go's to Jed's parents and brother who made the LONG drive with us and all of our stuff! Not to mention the fact that they helped us move everything in and they fixed a lot of things too! Thank you so much Gines family - we couldn't have done it without ya'll!! While the family was here we had a little bit of time to tour the Alamo and the Riverwalk - it was loads of fun!

I also want to send a huge thank you to all of our wonderful friends in Oakley who helped us move and clean!! We owe ya'll big time!

I Miss my Young Women

2009-04-19T21:34:00.002-06:00

Another hard goodbye was to my awesome young women!! Before I left they had a going away party for me and it was so much fun. Oh, how I miss all of them. I really loved getting to know all of them and the other women that I served with - they will all never know how much I truly learned and gained from knowing them! I love you!!

March

2009-04-19T21:29:00.002-06:00

This was a very hard and sad month. We found out at the very end of February that we would be moving on March 23 - so we had 3 weeks to pack and find a place to live in Texas! It was really hard to say goodbye to all of our amazingly wonderful family and friends, but the hardest goodbyes were definitely to the grandparents!

2009-04-19T21:19:00.000-06:00

2009-04-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

February

2009-04-19T21:01:00.003-06:00

February - Olivia turns 6!!
Jenni turns 28!!:(
We went to San Diego to celebrate our birthdays and
Met up with my best friend since kindergarten - Niki (this was so great to see her) Had fun at the Wild Animal Park
Took Lexi to the beach where she felt the sand for the first time and loved it!!
My cousin Christina came down for my birthday with her kids and joined all the fun!

3 month rewind

2009-04-19T16:48:00.002-06:00

OK, so here it is, almost the end of April and I haven't blogged for about 3 months. I know that I'm full of excuses, but really, the last 3 months have probably been the most stressful months of my life!! So I'm going to do a super fast 3 month rewind - all of the highlights in the past 3 months.

More matching Dresses

2009-01-06T23:15:00.002-07:00

Yes, they're in matching dresses again and these were dresses my mom gave them for Christmas. Aren't they adorable? And I love Lexi's boots. I wish I looked this good in a sweater dress. Great job mom!

Christmas Eve

2009-01-06T23:08:00.003-07:00

It's our family tradition to open a new pair of pj's on Christmas eve and I found these matching pajamas for ALL OF US at Children's Place this year. I couldn't pass them up but it took a lot of convincing for Jed to wear his:) He'll be so happy I posted it on the blog! We spent Christmas eve at our home as a family and it was very nice and quiet. We watched Miracle on 34th Street as we made cookies for Santa and ate popcorn and hot chocolate. Christmas morning was the same, except Grandpa Tim and Grandma Lori came over (in a blizzard) to see what Santa had brought us. This Christmas was a very humble Christmas because of Jed being laid off two weeks before Christmas, but thanks to both of our amazing parents and families we still had a wonderful Christmas where we were truley able to focus on our Savior and his birth. Much love and thanks to our families!! We love you all!

Olivia and the Dentist

2009-01-06T23:00:00.002-07:00

Okay so I get the worst mother of the year award because we took Olivia to the Dentist over Christmas break and she had to go back 4 more times because of her cavities! Fortunately our dentist is our friend and Olivia knows him really well and so she didn't freak out. In fact she was a true champion! But one of the times she came home it looked so funny when she smiled because part of her mouth was still numb! It reminded me of when I had my Bell's Palsy - I got to see how funny I looked. Arrrrr! Our little pirate.

Christmas Sunday

2009-01-06T22:50:00.003-07:00

My mom bought the girls matching Christmas dresses and they were so adorable (thanks for your skirt mom). What's even cuter is that my sweet brother Bryce bought Livvy this white shall that she absolutely loves! She says she wants to be a model - she loves it when we take pictures of just her - boy are we in trouble?

Lights at Temple Square 2008

2009-01-06T22:36:00.004-07:00

This year we went to see the lights at Temple Square with our friends Becky, Jared, Kyler and Emmalee and it was so much fun. We had dinner first and then went and saw the lights and then afterwards came back to the car and had hot chocolate while the kids had races up and down the sidewalk (which was good because it kept them warm). It wasn't until afterwards that we thought we should have brought more hot chocolate and sold it there on the street - we probably could have made some good money that night. Maybe next year! By the time we got home the kids were fast asleep!

2009-01-06T22:31:00.002-07:00

My younger brother Bryce with Lexi and yes ladies he is still single and quite a catch I must say!

Mimi and Papa

2009-01-06T22:28:00.001-07:00

My parents with the grandkids (minus Lexi)

What a cute couple!

2009-01-06T22:20:00.003-07:00

My cute brother Chris and my sister-in-law Cassy at the beach!

Only in San Diego

2009-01-06T22:06:00.003-07:00

The day after Thanksgiving we all headed to the beach!! It was a warm day filled with sand sledding, soccer in the waves, kickball, and roasting marshmallows for smores. We couldn't have planned a more perfect day. Only in San Diego!

Thanksgiving 2008 at the Romneys

2009-01-06T21:55:00.003-07:00

This year we were able to go to San Diego for Thanksgiving - it felt so good to be home again because we hadn't been there for awhile. Dinner was delicious and all of the girls pitched in this year for an unforgetable dinner with a lot of new and yummy recipes. One of mine was a pumpkin muffin stuffin'. (Cassy, Lexi, Aunt Kelly, me, mom, and Brooke)

Olivia and Shaina eating their dinner!

Funny Girls at Home

2009-01-06T21:48:00.002-07:00

These pictures are a little old but I had to put them up because we think Alexis looks like she may be a red head with blue eyes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2009-01-06T17:10:00.003-07:00

Okay, so here it is the beginning of January 2009 and I've already fallen a month behind on my blogger pledge! But what better time than the new year to start fresh and try again right? This is always a hard time of year for me because I get the post Holiday blues. And it doesn't seem to help matters when I'm living in below zero temperatures and snow.

It's also at this time that I like to look back at the previous year and see all that we've accomplished and all that we have to be thankful for as a family. The number one thing that we have to be grateful for is our new Alexis. She was by far the best part of 2008. She is definitely a challenge but she gets a little better every day. We can now confess that Olivia was our little angel child sent to us by a loving Heavenly Father who knew how much we would need her sweet spirit in our family to help us through life's surprises and challenges over the past six years. I also now understand the fact that all children come with their own personalities and that this can make life extremely interesting. I'm so blessed to have 2 wonderful daughters and an incredible husband who I love more than words can describe. Jed is truly my better half. He's a spectacular father and is always willing to lend a helping hand whenever I need him. He is so caring and kind and a positive influence in my life. I know that I don't tell him nearly enough how much he means to me and how grateful I am that he is my sweetheart!! (so I hope he reads this entry sometime:) - I Love You!

Okay so now on to some pictures after all of this boring writing. I have to apologize because there will be a lot of pictures because I am so far behind on my blogging. ENJOY and may all of you have a wonderful new year full of lots of love and laughter!!

2008-11-02T17:58:00.002-07:00

We had such a wonderful Halloween and hope that you all did too! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year with the leaves changing, the smell of the cool breezes and the upcoming holidays! We can't wait for Thanksgiving! Love to you all!!!

Halloween Spooktacular!

2008-11-02T17:38:00.005-07:00

Our fun Halloween week continued on Wednesday night with Olivia's Spooktacular dance recital. They performed as dead ballerinas - every mom's wish right? Livvy is such a wonderful little dancer. You can tell that she always pays close attention to her teacher.

Livvy and her cousin Kinley at the recital.

Livvy and her dad waiting for the dances to start! Aren't my little look-a-likes so cute!

2008-11-02T17:31:00.004-07:00

Livvy and Lexi's pumpkins that they decorated. Doesn't Livvy's remind you of the guy from the movie Goonies? "Hey you guys!"

2008-11-02T17:23:00.003-07:00

Our little family!

Mine and Livvy's matching legs - Note to self: Don't ever wear this costume again - it's hideously unflattering!

2008-11-02T17:18:00.004-07:00

Matt and Bre came as the Beckhams (David and Victoria) and Ella was a cat. Ella was a little scared of some of us in our witches costumes and wouldn't come close to us.

Loved the tattoos Matt!

2008-11-02T17:10:00.004-07:00

And Jed or should I say Larry, was Larry the Cable Guy. He is always being told that he looks just like him, and I've never really thought so, but the resemblance was a little scary that night. It's kind of funny though that Jed's the one with the farmers tan! Get 'er done!

2008-11-02T17:07:00.004-07:00

Lexi was a cute pink leopard and her costume was so warm that she slept most of the night.

Sweet Olivia?

2008-11-02T17:02:00.003-07:00

Livvy was finally tired of being a Disney princess and wanted to be something scary and she was! By the end of the week we decided that she was the scary vampire bride.

2008-11-02T16:55:00.005-07:00

Luke was a lunch lady, Dallas was a witch and Jessa was a volleyball player, Kinley a belly dancer and Devree a butterfly.

Is this really what a girl would have looked like in the Gines Family? Nice legs!

Family Halloween Party

2008-11-02T16:43:00.005-07:00

We started out the week with a Gines Family Halloween party at Tim and Lori's with the rest of the fam and it was so much fun! The highlight was definitely the costumes, but the grandparents had also planned a lot of fun activities for the grandchildren. Grandma Lori was the wicked witch with her dry ice porridge followed by pin-the-nose on the pumpkin, then guess how many candy corns (which Lexi won), dinner, and at the end - a mysterious treasure hunt. The treasure hunt was outside with a lot of prizes that ended with the pumpkin patch in grandma and grandpa's yard where the kids got to choose their pumpkins and decorate them. Thanks again everyone for the fun memories.

Grandpa Tim was the funniest old man ever! And Grandpa Doug was the prettiest grandma while grandma Betty was a great road worker. We obviously have some serious issues with cross dressing in the Gines family!

2008-10-26T19:37:00.003-06:00

My blogger pledge: I promise to be a better blogger and post pictures at least once a month. In the near future I also hope to be able to be a little more creative with my blog so it's not so boring. But baby steps - it may take me a while as I'm still new at all of this. Thank you to all of you who have KINDLY motivated me to start blogging - this will be fun!

2008-10-26T19:26:00.002-06:00

Carving the pumpkins at Becky's

2008-10-26T19:20:00.003-06:00

Our beautiful Alexis! She's already smiling and talking! Thank you Emily for the last two pictures - you're also a wonderful photographer - is there anything you can't do?

2008-10-26T19:02:00.005-06:00

Just this last weekend we headed to a pumpkin patch with some of our friends. The kids had a great time playing on the pirate ship, running through the maze and picking out their pumpkins. After that we headed back to Becky's house where we continued the fun Halloween party by having dinner, carving our pumpkins and then having some delicious desserts made by Jared (Becky's husband). It was such a great time - the only thing missing was Jed! We love you and missed you tons babe! Unfortunately he was down opening up the new building.