Homeward Bound

So, we left Utah yesterday and spent about 9 hours in the car driving to Las Vegas. Kensley is a trooper and travels pretty well. I bought a little dvd player and she watched "The Incredibles" most of the way and "Signing Time". Thankfully, it was dry roads and sunny skies the entire way. A welcome change from the drive up. When we arrived in Las Vegas, my in-laws decided that they wanted to go to Applebee's for dinner. We were all happily eating our meals and Kensley was sitting on her Grandma's lap. All of the sudden she stopped eating and had a funny look on her face and said she wanted me to hold her. So, we made the transfer and she promptly threw up all over the table not once, not twice, but three times! I am sure the other patrons at the restaraunt weren't happy about it. I ran her to the bathroom while they paid the bill and boxed our food as fast as possible. What a pleasant end to the evening!!

Makeup Artist

Thank you Aunt Sarah for the makeup kit for Christmas!

Santa Pinata

It has been a tradition in my family to have a Santa Pinata every Christmas Eve and it has been something we always look forward to. The Santa was painted by my mom and we would help curl strips of paper to glue on for his beard and hair. The pinata was always full of candy and one present for each family member to open on Christmas Eve. I have tried to carry on the tradition with my own family, but my mom's painting puts mine to shame. Obviously, this Santa was made by my mom! Kensley is posing with her cousin, Kaliana.

Let It Snow!

I decided to make the trek to my mom's house for Christmas through the driving rain and snow and wind. It was a scary 16 hours, but I finally made it and here we are! This is Kensley all bundled up and in the snow for I think the first time in her life.

Beals Family

Early Christmas

Since Stephen will be in Kuwait for Christmas, we celebrated early this year. We didn't want to miss being together as a family for Christmas, so we created our own Christmas while he was home. We did everything we would have done if it were actually December 25. We are sad to have Stephen gone again, but are looking forward to him coming home for good in April.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Breakfast

Our first traditional breakfast of orange sweet rolls and hot chocolate. Never mind that it was still in the 70s outside and I was clad in my new fuzzy and so warm pj's (thank Lois! I love them and they are so comfy) and had to change because the combo made me so hot! Typical Christmas in Arizona!

Mock Christmas Eve

Since Stephen is leaving for Kuwait on Tuesday, we are celebrating Christmas before he leaves. Tonight was our Christmas Eve and we decided to have our traditional Santa pinata. I cheated a little and bought a bag with Santa's face on it instead of painting a Santa. It was a project I knew would end in tears if I tried to tackle it.

After the pinata we went to the Mesa Temple to look at the lights. Kensley fell asleep about 30 seconds after we got in the car. Once we got there, she woke up and loved all the lights and wouldn't stop running everywhere.


Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Beals for the new nightgown!

Look What the Cat Dragged in

The other day Kensley went down for a long nap and almost three hours later she was still asleep! Just as I was wondering whether I should wake her up or not, I heard a noise behind me and this is what I found!

Song Practice

Turkey Cookies

We spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with Stephen's family and for a Thanksgiving activity for the kids, I brought stuff to make sugar cookies so they could decorate them to look like turkeys. Kensley loved decorating cookies with her cousins and was very proud of the end result!

I've Been Tagged! Rules: Post rules on your blog. Answer the six "8" items. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.


8 Things I did yesterday:

1. slept in late (9:45!)
2. took a shower
3. went to Church
4. Taught Sharing Time in Primary
5. Talked to Stephen on instant message and videocam
6. watched TV with Kensley asleep on my lap
7. Had a bowl of ice cream that I shared with Kensley
8. Went to bed at 12:30AM

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Stephen coming home tomorrow!!!!!
2. Thanksgiving Dinner
3. Thanksgiving Desserts
4. Visiting with Family
5. Losing 20 pounds
6. Organizing my house and getting Kensley out of my bedroom!
7. Kensley sleeping all night in her own bed
8. Paying off the Mortgage!

8 Restaraunts I Like:

1. The Cheesecake Factory
2. Costa Vida
3. In n Out
4. Sweet Tomatoes
5. Olive Garden
6. Oregano's
7. Sonic
8. Applebee's

8 Things On My Wish List:

1. Stephen coming home for good
2. Vacation to Austria (Singing the Sound of Music on the hilltops!)
3. A nice new home with a yard, a garage, and a play room!
4. Vacation to Boston and everywhere else there is to go.
5. A whole year of Savings in the bank.
6. Losing weight while eating as much ice cream and brownies as possible!
7. A million dollars!
8. A Maid

8 Favorite TV Shows:

1. The Amazing Race
2. NCIS
3. The Biggest Loser
4. Army Wives
5. ER
6. Life
7. Law & Order
8. Rachael Ray

8 People I Tag: (You're It!)

1. Lorna
2. Kari
3. Stephanie
4. Amber
5. Kelsi
6. Lindy
7. Bobbi
8. Hannah

Sharing Time

I had to do sharing time in primary today...ugh! I hate it. I like to come up with ideas where I don't have to do a lot of talking or "teaching". The less I have to do, the better. So, I decided that since it is Thanksgiving in a few days, we would talk about the things we are thankful for. I drew and cut out a tree, which was a huge project in itself due to my seriously lacking artistic skills and then cut out a million leaves for the kids to write what they were thankful for on the leaves. I think it turned out pretty good even if it was pretty wild for a while. I also made them little books called "my gratitude book". An idea I can't take credit for. Hopefully I am done with sharing time for a few months and I am sure glad this day is finally over so I can stop stressing about it.

Tummy Tuck

Earlier today I was watching an episode of the new show "The Doctors" where people ask a panel of doctors with different specialties their medical questions. One lady had quintuplets or whatever it is called when you have 5 babies at once. :o) She had A LOT of loose skin on her tummy as a result and no amount of excercise would get rid of it. So, the plastic surgeon gets out a sharpy and starts marking up her stomach and explaining what he would do for a tummy tuck to fix the problem. While all of this is going on, Kensley is watching the show with her complete attention and afterwards keeps pointing to her tummy and my tummy. She proceeds to strip off all her clothes to get a better look at her tummy. While I wasn't watching, she runs to get a pen and then marks up her stomach for her own tummy tuck! Should I be worried that she is already having issues with her image?

To Hell in a handbasket...that is all I have to say.

Naughty Girl

I was checking my email today when I realized that Kensley was out of my sight and being very quiet. A definite red flag. So, I called out "Kensley, what are you doing?" She immediately ran back into the room and I asked her again what she was doing and her reply was "being naughty girl". At least she is honest, right? Upon further investigation, I discovered that she had dumped some laundry detergent on the carpet. I immediately hauled out the vaccuum to clean it up and she freaked out, of course. She is deathly afraid of the vaccuum and I have been trying to explain to her that if she makes a mess then I have to use the vaccuum more often. So far, she doesn't really get the point. She ran upstairs to the bedroom and shut the door until I was finished. All day I have been hearing her say words like "vaccuum" and "make a mess". One of these days she will get the connection.
On another note, Kensley has also been throwing up on a regular basis lately and a common phrase out of my mouth whenever she makes any kind of noise that gets my attention is "Don't throw up!" So, she walks around the house all day and everytime she has a little cough or any other such noise, she looks at me all serious and says "don't throw up". She hasn't thrown up since Friday night and I am hoping it will be a lot longer before she does again. Cross your fingers!

Happy Halloween!

I recently bought a sewing machine in an effort to learn how to sew. My first big project was making Kensley's Halloween costume this year. I never would have been able to make it myself so I took advantage of my visit with my mom last month by hauling the sewing machine to her house and she helped me make it step by step. Here is the finished product! I think it turned out pretty good. :o) Operation Wonder Woman is a success! I was so excited when I found the pattern. I loved Wonder Woman when I was growing up and always wanted to be her. As it turns out, Stephen has always had a crush on Wonder Woman so it was the perfect choice.

Kensley enjoying her spoils after trick or treating. Of course, she threw up all over herself before the night is over, but that is becoming quite normal for us. I would think something was wrong if she didn't throw up!

I Am Woman!

I have had a very productive and busy last few days this week. Not the norm for me. Usually life is pretty laid back and uneventful for me and Kensley. I have been nonstop for two days straight and my body is absolutely rebelling and begging me to stop. One major reason for the business has been that I had my own personal food storage party. I put the portable canner on hold a few weeks ago so I could can some things and finally got the call that it was my turn to pick it up. So, my first major accomplishment was going to the home storage center and picking up the canner along with 100 cans, lids and oxygen absorber. Some of you may be thinking that isn't a major accomplishment, but for me it is, and especially when you consider that there are certain members of my family who will remain un-named who would never ever event attempt such a thing saying it is "just too hard". I barely got it all stuffed in my car, along with me and Kensley. Just my luck, Kensley is taking a hiatus from her naps so I haven't had any time to do this without her present. My next accomplishment was unloading my car all by myself...the food storage guy loaded my car for me...and I carried the BEAST as I like to call the canner all by myself into the house. That sucker is heavy! I almost killed myself doing it and almost dropped it along the way. I also forgot to ask them how to use the darn thing so it took awhile to figure it out and understand the directions. I am a dork, I know. I then proceeded to can 400 lbs of wheat, 50 lbs of flour, and 50 lbs of sugar ALL BY MYSELF. I couldn't figure out how to "securely fasten" the beast to my table per the instructions so I had to push my knee against it while pushing the button with my left hand and pulling and pushing the lever with my right. I have a permanent indention in my thumb from pushing the button. I finally finished tonight and the finished product is featured below. I am really tired and have nowhere to put all the goods since I live in this microscopic townhome that won't sell in this blasted economy. So, right now the decision is to leave it in the middle of the floor until Stephen gets home next month and can move it himself! I am through being Wonder Woman for the moment.




P.S. Another exciting thing is I went to Fry's today and spent $34 and saved $81.56! I am seriously considering framing the receipt. It makes me very happy.

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Car Wash Blues

Kensley is deathly afraid of the car wash and being the good and compassionate mother that I am, I decided to get it on video instead of comforting her. Believe it or not, this is a pretty tame reaction from her. She is usually much more hysterical so she must be getting used to it. :o) Just a sidenote, gas was under $3 a gallon today. Woo Hoo! Who would have ever thought that I would be excited about gas costing $2.99/gal?!

Home At Last!

We finally arrived home this past Monday night after a long, long 12-hour drive. Kensley did well considering. I couldn't sleep the night before, so I finally just got up around 4AM since I was awake anyway and I figured that would give me more time driving with Kensley asleep. She fell right back asleep when I put her in the car and didn't wake up for almost 4 hours which was very nice. She was a trooper and we are both happy to be home. Our biggest trial right now is getting back into our routine and bedtime has been especially difficult. Kensley got used to sleeping with me this past month and still wants to so she cries every night when I put her to bed. I have been insistent that she sleep in her own bed. I have been hesitant to just let her cry because the night before we came home she wouldn't go to sleep and I finally just let her cry and she did what is becoming a habit with us--she puked all over the bed, her bunny and pajamas. It was really discusting and I have had enough puke stories this past month to last me a lifetime! Every night when I put her to bed, I have to say prayers, kiss and hug her a million times, sing her a couple songs, giver her the bunny and a sippy cup of water. This is how she finally fell asleep last night.



This is the Moses basket that Kensley used to sleep in when she was first born. She found it and thought it was pretty funny to stuff herself in it.

Nothing New Really

Just an update on our lives for the last couple weeks...I am still traveling. After spending two weeks at my mom's house in Lapoint, Utah, we drove to Cedar City for 4 days to visit my brother and his family. Kensley was good at first and then she set in to terrorizing her cousin, Ian, who is 18 months old. She would chase him and push him just to get a reaction. It was very frustrating. We then drove to Las Vegas for a few days to spend some time visiting with my life long friend, Debbie, and with Stephen's parents. Kensley spent her spare time terrorizing Debbie's little girl. We then drove to Lancaster, Calif. (my hometown) for our 2nd family food storage extravaganza. Kensley terrorized whoever crossed her path and we canned lots of food for our food storage. I am well on my way to my year supply and it feels great! The first night we got there, Kensley was eating some oreo cookies, and yep! you guessed it! She puked all over the place. Everyone will thank me for not taking pictures this time. I was told by several people that they didn't appreciate me documenting the last time in photos. So, no pictures, but it was equally gross and no fun. Kensley has always been a good eater and hardly ever chokes or throws up so I don't know what the deal is, but I am not enjoying this new trend. I have had enough throw-up experience to last a lifetime. We are now in Sacramento staying with my sister, Sandi, and her family and will be here for a few more days and then will be heading home, finally. One fun thing that happened in Lancaster, Kensley was throwing a fit because I took a pen away from her. I picked her up and she leaned down and clamped her teeth into my shoulder, breaking the skin and drawing blood! I am ashamed to say that she got a smack on the face for that one. It was a reaction to the pain she caused me and happened before I knew what happened. It is starting to heal, but was all swollen and painful for a few days. Oh, the joys of the terrible twos!

Sensing a Trend?

The young women in my mom's ward called her the other day to say they are washing windows for a service project and wanted to come clean all her outside windows tonight. So, me and my mom think it would be nice for us to make them some chocolate chip cookies for their efforts. I made them earlier in the afternoon, so we were of course snacking on these cookies all day long. I was somehow able to get Kensley to eat a decent lunch and dinner, but in between all these meals she was eating cookies like crazy. I was thinking she had had enough, but I was also thinking that it wasn't very nice for me to deprive her of these little pieces of heaven when I myself was feasting on them at every opportunity. The young women finally arrived and washed windows and left with a plateful of cookies, leaving us with still plenty to eat. Things were winding down for the night and I finally decided that Kensley had had enough. She was yelling "cookie, cookie" all day long, but I told her they were all gone. She then started demanding chips. I said no again and then offered her a piece of string cheese which seemed to pacify her. We settled on the couch with Kensley on my lap eating her cheese and drinking milk from her sippy cup. We were watching the season premiere of The Biggest Loser and there was only 5 minutes left. She suddenly gets a funny look on her face and starts crying. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, but she was obviously in distress. So I turn her towards me to give her a hug and she starts throwing up all over me. It was all in my hair, down my back, creeping down my shorts, and all over the couch. It was quite possibly the most discusting experience of my life. It scared her and she started crying, but I couldn't do much to help her as I was now covered in puke. I drug her off to the bathroom where I stripped and jumped in the shower with her still crying in the bathroom next to me. I had considered putting her in the shower with me, but she is deathly afraid of showers. As I quickly rinsed off, she resumes her puking all over the bathroom floor. I grabbed her as fast as I could to try and get most of it in the toilet, but failed miserably. It was spattered all over the floor, all over the toilet, and some even got on the wall! I put her in the tub and all our clothes in the washer and my saintly mother cleaned up all the throw up. The end.

Naptime??

So, we made another trip to Vernal the other day so my mom could meet my Aunt Carol for a temple session. Rather than drive two cars into town, we went in together and me and Kensley had a few hours to kill before they were done. There isn't a whole lot of things to do in Vernal, but we managed to fill the time for the most part. We made a trip to the D.I. to drop things off, a grocery shopping trip to Wal-mart and a quick stop at Smith's for the dwindling supplies of the case lot sale. We also went to the park where there was a spirited paint ball tournament going on. Kensley had a fun time swinging and going down the slide. The fun ended when another rotten child threw dirt in her face and it was in her eyebrows and down her shirt. After my mom and aunt were done with their temple session, we ate lunch and dropped Aunt Carol off at the Senior bus that would take her back to Rangely. Kensley was worn out and fell asleep immediately on our drive back to Lapoint. She of course woke up upon arrival and refused to go back to sleep. So, she took another 20-min nap and was done. I was trying to get her to lay back down to no avail. Suddenly she decides to go lay in her bed all by herself and goes in the room and shuts the door. All is quiet and I am thinking I should check on her, but and secretly hoping she is falling asleep so I choose not to. I should have known better. A couple minutes later she is knocking on the door for me to let her out of the room and this is what I find. She has gotten into my makeup and has mascara all over her hands and face and all over the tube. The wand is now so mis-shapen and rendered practically useless.

Styrofoam Chairs

I recently bought a sewing machine in a grand endeavor to learn to sew. I decided to take advantage of my time in Lapoint with my Mom and lug it all the way here so she could help me with my latest big project, making a Wonder Woman costume for Kensley for Halloween. So Cute! By the way, we are well underway with this project and it has been a very frustrating process and I am finding I don't have much of a talent for sewing. I am plucking along, however, and it is coming close to being finished. She is going to be the cutest little Wonder Woman ever! I dare anyone to suggest otherwise! My sewing machine was still in the box and Kensley took all the package stuffing and used it as a little chair. She spent the afternoon sitting in it and reading books.

Dinosaur Musuem

Robert and his kids went home this past weekend and Robert wanted to take them for a night on the town before leaving. The logical place to go was the Dinosaur Museum in Vernal followed by a feast at the local Golden Corral. This picture is of Kensley in front of the lovely Wooly Mammoth. She is feeling quite frightened and abandoned during this picture taking, but it had to be documented. Dinosaurs used to frequent the Vernal area during their reign on the earth so it was a fitting end to the kids vacation.

A Day at the Park

We drove into Vernal the other day to give the kids something to do. Kensley was so excited to play at the park, we practically had to drag her away. She dozed off on the drive over and I was all prepared to sit in the car and let her sleep, but the second we drove up, she started yelling "get out! get out" and ran straight for the swing. Her cousin, Kali, was so nice to spend so much time pushing her so that I didn't have to. :o)

Ice Cream! Ice Cream!

We all scream for Ice Cream!

Emergency Pit-Stop

My mom recently returned home from her mission in Nauvoo, so I am taking a last-minute trip to Utah for her homecoming and to spend some time with her. After furiously packing and getting ready all day yesterday, we headed off this afternoon for the 12-hour trek. Kensley started getting fussy because she was sick of being in her car seat so I gave her a little bowl of dark chocolate peanut m&m's. They worked like magic and she was happy and content for several minutes. Next thing I know, she has thrown up all over herself and the carseat. I had to drive like that for another 15 minutes because we were in the middle of nowhere with no place to stop. I am paranoid about pulling over on the side of the road. She was sad and miserable until I pulled out the camera and then she was all smiles.

I used almost an entire package of baby wipes getting her and the car seat clean. It was a very discusting process with throw up in every nook and cranny imaginable. Now there is a faint dark chocolate m&m throw up aroma in my car. Yuck!

Kensley's Two-year old photos

Here are a few highlights from Kensley's 2-year pictures. They turned out so cute, I don't know how to choose a favorite!! If anyone needs pictures taken, check out forgetmenotbyjana.com. She did a great job!



I love this sad face. Kensley was upset because she wanted to get in the water!

Chillin' on the Phone

Stephen called last night and Kensley wanted to talk to him and then refused to give the phone back. This is part of their conversation.

Kensley & Conner

Kensley watching a video of her cousin, Conner, on Aunt Sandi's blog.

Toy Box

I bought this container to hold all Kensley's little toys with little parts. Her favorite thing to do is dump out the entire contents on the floor and then climb in! She is very proud of herself.