Pre-School Field-trip and Graduation

One great thing about having Kenny home for a few weeks in April is he was able to go with Mckay on his preschool field-trip to the dairy farm. He took Brayden too (while I went to get my hair done)! :) They had a blast checking out the cows, going on a hay-ride, petting the animals, holding a chicken and finished off with ice cream.

Preschool Graduation!
Mckay also graduated from Ms Nicole's Busy Bee Preschool in May. They had a great program where they sang the songs they had learned. Ms Nicole did a great job, I know Mckay loved going to preschool!

New Job and New Calling!

At the end of April, Kenny was offered a new position at McEntee & Associates! They asked him to start May 10th. It's a smaller firm in the Biltmore area of Phoenix. Craig, the owner, seems very laid back and funny, something Kenny has missed in other firms. He seems to get along well with the other people in the office. He will be working on clients books throughout the year, then complete their returns at the end of the year, which he loves. He likes being able to care for the clients financial information all year long, rather than doing the taxes based on information given to them from other people. Many of their clients are from small towns in AZ, who don't want other locals knowing too much about their financial situations. So they hire Craig, who is also a pilot, who flys his small plane into town once a week to meet with clients. We're are excited about the new possibilities!!

It must be time for change around here, because Kenny was also given a new calling this month! He was released from serving with the Deacon's and called as the 11-year old scout leader. He has served the Priests, Teachers, Deacons and now 11-year old scouts, (he also served in Webelos for a short time years ago) so he's working his way through the scout program. I know he really loved working with the Deacon's and will miss them, but he is excited to work with a new group and to be Tyler's leader for a few months before Tyler turns 12 and moves up. He is also excited to work with Brother Incardone and Brother Bellessa.

Gila Valley Temple, Roommate Reunion

With some of Kenny's time off between jobs, we were able to travel to Safford to visit Kenny's family. The timing was perfect for the new Gila Valley Temple open house, and the EAC choir reunion and Spring Sing.
Our ward YM were planning to tour the temple Saturday morning, so Kenny arranged to drive down Friday night with our family, then to meet them at the temple for the tour the next day.

That afternoon I met up with some of my former roommates and went to the choir reunion picnic (I was never part of the choir, but went along for the ride to play with the girls). I actually only lived with 2 of these girls, and 2 are my sister-in-law, but over the years, all of us lived in the same house with different roommates. Afterward, we went to the Spring Sing - which was AWFUL - so we left at intermission and went to tour the temple instead. We went back to Kenny's parents and visited for a while and took pictures before the girls had to head home.


After dinner, I bathed the boys and got them ready to go see the temple. Since it was dark out, we took pictures before we left. We had a talk on the way about what temples are used for and how special it was to get to see inside the temple. We realized in a few months, Tyler would be old enough to do baptisms for the dead! It was fun to see their excitement and reverence. I could see they really were understanding! Before going into the celestial room, the tour guide asked us not to speak in that room. I warned the boys, and as we waked in there was a HUGE beautiful chandelier hanging in the center of the room. The older boys eyes grew big staring at it. Brayden was busy looking around the room, and was about half way through when he noticed the chandelier and exclaimed "OOOHHHHHH, PRETTY!" Before I hushed him, many people smiled and giggled. You can't fault such an innocent reaction. Before leaving we stopped in the sealing room, and waited to be the last ones so we could stand in the mirrors as a family and show how it continues on forever, just like we will. I am so grateful for the opportunity take my kids and have that experience with them. I know they will never forget it!

DISNEYLAND!!!

This year's trip to Disneyland was much anticipated, but stressful with Kenny loosing his job the week before. We debated on canceling the trip, but since most of it was already paid for and the rest of the money was already set aside, we decided to go. Besides, we didn't know when the next opportunity would be to take a trip. It was hard to relax, but it was nice to finally spend some time with Kenny.
Just before we leaving we found out it was supposed to be cold and rainy most of the week in California. I was concerned the boys hoodies wouldn't be waterproof and they would be cold and wet, so Kenny ran to savers and bought a couple windbreaker jackets for the boys. Ryan's just happened to be glow-in-the-dark-orange... and he wore it most of the trip since he forgot his hoody, not my favorite look.

This trip was the first time McKay was (almost) tall enough to ride Indiana Jones. He LOVES everything about Indiana Jones and has been waiting for so long to finally go on the ride at Disneyland, only to find out he was less than an inch too short. So I pulled him off to the side and stuffed a stack of napkins into his shoes, just to make up the difference. Good thing he was wearing skater shoes and long pants because they checked to see if he was standing on the ground and not on his tip toes, and sent us on our way! He was so excited!! McKay is a bit of a dare-devil and loves all the other roller-coasters in the park, but this ride was a little too much for him. Afterward he said "It was fun, but kind of too fast and jerky. I think I will wait until I'm 6 to ride it again." Maybe next year he will be more ready.


Also, Brayden became obsessed with Monstro the whale on this trip. While walking past Storybook Land, I stopped to show him that Monstro's eye opened and closed, and how he would eat the boat as it floated past. He was FASCINATED and convinced Monstro is real. Monstro comes up daily in conversation now. He LOVES watching Pinocchio ever since, and was concerned when Krissy and Taylor went to Disneyland that Monstro would eat Julia and her boat.
A little glimpse into the future about 5 years! Look at that grin!
Our only family picture of the trip.


The older boys stayed late with me on our last night. Before heading out of town, we stopped off at the beach.