Kenzi's Big Day -- 2nd Trip to the Temple

It started with breakfast in bed... crepes with Nutalla.

A great day at school with a Keva for lunch and tortillas at Cafe Rio for dinner.

The highlight of the day was baptisms at the Bountiful Temple. Dave, Lauren, Jacque, Grandpa and I all joined her. They were so sweet to her making this first time very special. She looked so tiny in her little white jumpsuit. I'm so grateful to our great nieces who helped us create this as a Hess 12th Birthday tradition.

It had been 11 1/2 years since we first took her there -- March 3, 2000. A great 2nd trip for all of us. Kenzi you are the best!!!

... Smile on Kenzi's Face Looking at her Tangled Birthday Cake ... Priceless

1 Challenge

Kenzi: Can Aunt Jenn make me a Tangled Birthday Cake

Me: You don't even like cake.

Kenzi: I know, but I want a cool Tangled Birthday Cake

Me: I'll make you one.

Kenzi: You'll just make a flat cake and stick a Tangled doll in the middle.

4 Great Morleys

* Becca for offering to help me and go above and beyond the call of friendship

* Luke and Tessa for letting me monopolize their mom for a few days and being so patient.

* Barrett for not caring Becca did nothing but birthday caking for a few days

3 Cake Mixes

3 large bottoms, 4 middle small (and one cracked middle -- of course it was me making it)

1 Batch of Rice Krispies

For the top 2 towers

Lots of Fondant Frosting and Molds

Research & Design, 2 Hours of Baking, 1 Hour of Fondant Frosting Making & 6 Straight Hours of Becca and Steph Decorating

Fake Yummy/Unattractive Brownies

When Cameron looked at "That is Kenzi's cool Tangled Cake?) Cam and Laren knew I was doing the cake -- but Kenzi had no idea.

Look on Kenzi's Face = PRICELESS!!!

Summer's Last Gasp...

The lake, Cherry Hill, Lagoon (for a few rides and for Cameron to spend his "finish workbook incentive $$ and learn about budgeting and playing games), playing with friends, Kenzi's birthday party, too many late night Monopoly Deal games, a great 2-day visit with Nat and Jacqueline and lots of late night memory sharing/laughing... oh how sad I was to see summer end!!!

Back to School!

8th, 6th and 2nd... how can they be getting so old? All 3 had a first great couple of days of school.

Cameron is so excited about walking home... despite the fact we have had to drag (literally) Zoe home in the heat. Kenzi loves her teacher and being a big 6th grader, and Lauren has picked up right where she left off last spring.

I'm soooo grateful that as of today, all 3 Hess kids love school!!!

Happy Early 12th Kenzi

Kenzi had her "early" 12th bday bash last night. She was dying to do a drive-in movie so we just had to do the "luck of the draw" on what movie we would see and headed to the drive-in.

We had custom treat bags, made bags and bags of popcorn, played some games, did the spanking machine (not one girl had heard of it) and enjoyed a really cheesy Spy Kids 4 movie. Nice Kev & Val helped transport kids -- that is above and beyond the call of neighbor duty.

There is just something fun about sitting on lawn chairs on a warm summer night watching a movie. (And I'm amazed at how much junk a dozen kids can consume in 2 hours.)

Wish we could have stayed for the double feature... just too many girls there to keep track of them until 1:00 am.

Happy Birthday next week Kenzi!

Happy Birthday Scott!!!

My big brother Scott turned 50 this month... wow... that was the age of our parents when I was a teenager!

He happened to be in Utah for a few days the week of his Birthday so we had a little Cafe Rio take-out party for him.

Scott has always been so... well... Scott. He is just him. He has always been fun, caring, hard working and just him. Scott is the perfect big brother -- and I can honestly say making it relatively calmly through my teenage years has a lot to do with him.

* He and his friends thought I was "Fox Lady." Scott always made me feel good about myself even when I was a teenage stick that was 6 inches taller than all of the boys. In 7th grade my best friend made cheerleader and I didn't. I was devasated. When I came home from school Scott and his friends (all cool High school boys) gave me a plaque that said "Foxy Lady." As sad as I was about not making cheerleader having five 17-year old boys tell me I was foxy did a whole lot for my self esteem. I kept that in my room all growing up and whenever I was convinced I was a "loser" or feeling bad about myself I would remember Scott and his friends.

* We fought (physically) a lot. I don't remember yelling or calling each other stupid names. He would just try to tackle or wrestle Jenn and I and we would just scratch him back. (He still has the scars to prove it.) When he would babysit Jenn and I would spend 1/2 of the night locked up in the bathroom or bedroom to stay away from him. Of course we will all best friends again by the time my parents got home. One night he convinced me and Lezlee there was a burglar in the house and he had a butcher knife out ready to stab whoever it was. I'm still not sure if he really believed it himself or if he was trying to scare us.

* He was super, super, super (and one more) super protective. In 5th grade he over heard me talking on the phone about going skating and meeting some friends there. He went to my mom and told her it wasn't someplace I should be hanging out. By the time I went to ask my mom she said "No, Scott said it isn't a good place to be." In high school I met someone he knew and thought I shouldn't date him. It took me almost 6 months of convincing my mom to let me go out with him because of Scott's concerns. He told my mom what I should be doing, who I should be doing it with and probably kept me out of a lot of trouble!

* I loved skiing with him. I couldn't keep up well but it was with Scott I did the cornice at Mammoth, about died in powder and rolled through the moguls.

* After Becki died we would watch "Midnight Videos" on TV and chat about the videos -- Cherish the Love reminded me of him and Becki. He would be at his apartment and I would be home and we'd talk on the phone. I remember one night I could tell he was very sad so I went over to his condo and took him Dr. Pepper and Apple Pies.

* Tipping me and my friends over on the trampoline when they were headed to California, him getting shot in the leg with an arrow by Mike Pope, Scott breaking everything -- his bones, his teeth, moms china and lots of hearts -- he always had girls who loved him.

* My kids all idolize him. He and his rascally sons have convinced Cameron to be a U fan. When he was in town he called to see if he could take Cameron with him for the day. Of course he came home in a U shirt and was torn all evening between Christopher and the Y and Scott and his boys and the U.

Seriously, I couldn't have asked for two better older brothers!