Is Jared employed this upcoming school year???

YES!!!!! After a 3rd interview with the district he wanted to teach at the most (McKinney-- where he grew up)... he got the job!! He will be teaching choir at a middle school starting this fall! We are so excited, though I secretly knew all along he would get it. I kept telling Jared that when each of the head honchos met him, they would toss the other applicants aside because he truely is just AMAZING! So if you have a middle schooler whom you'd like to have a great choir teacher, move to McKinney!!

Jared Updates:

1. Jared is currently working his bunnions off selling pest control. My brother sells with him, so he's got a sweet selling buddy to help him get through the hot, humid, and long door knocking days!

2. A couple weeks ago Jared found a marathon to run that isn't on Sunday and that is somewhat close. It's in Arkansas. Like a 6 hr. drive. Ever since, he has been training to run it. It is in November! Kailee, Allie, and I are excited to go cheer him on as we burn our calories giggling and chomping on ice cream!

3. Not only is Jared running to prepare for this marathon... but also lifting weights. I know, you're thinking... WHY? I thought the same thing...He doesn't need to... he is already buff stuff. Believe it or not, his biceps and pectoralis major muscles have gotten even BIGGER... if you can imagine. He can finally beat me at arm wrestling, lol.

4. Jared spends his free time (in the mornings) playing with Kailee and I, reading the unabridged version of Les Miserables, and playing the piano. He LOVES having a piano in the house. He practices classical pieces daily to help with his technique and plays all sorts of fun music (like the music from Mario Brothers and a piece from Lord of the Rings).

5. Jared has done ZERO sun baithing, yet still manages to have a very nice tan. It's because he is knocking doors all day. I keep telling him to put on sunscreen because I'm starting to feel like I'm married to a Lamanite.

Kailee Updates:

Kailee often runs to the fridge and says "apple." She holds it herself and always eats at least half! I'm so proud! Kailee loves to crawl up and sit on the couch. It's so cute when she crawls up and then scooches on over to lay on me. I could cuddle her all day!
Kailee's Auntie Michele got her these glasses a year ago and she finally is appreciating their value. She always brings them to me and says "pea, pea, pea" (please, please, please). She gets so excited when they're on. Sometimes she manages to put them on without help. I have found her sunglasses in the trash can twice now. She loves to throw things away. She is always bringing a toy or some clothing article of hers to the trash can and I have to tell her that we can't throw it away, lol.

Kailee still only has 4 teeth and is almost 16 months... is this normal??

She LOVES to sit in my pink chair that is out on our small patio. She also enjoys playing with sidealk chalk!
I just love this cute outfit she's wearing.

One of Kailee's favorite things to do is to take out pots and pans and get inside our cupboards. Sometimes she shuts the door and waits for me to say "where's Kailee... there she is!"
This cupboard has practically nothing in it, so she gets in here almost daily!

*Kailee's newest fascination is with birds. I tell her about birds all the time when we are on walks and one day last week she pointed at one and said "bir" really loud. It was so cute. She really does listen to her Mommy! She points at EVERY bird we see. She barks at every dog we see too!

**Kailee can match colors, but cannot say them all. She says purple, boo (blue), geen (green), has said red once, and can kindof say orange and pink. She used to say yellow, but doesn't even attempt it anymore.

***Kailee LOVES to dance now. For a while I thought maybe she had no rhythm because she would never attempt it, but now when I turn on the music, she goes to her special dancing spot and turns in circles with her arms moving too. It is pretty darn cute! That was our family home evening activity last week... DANCING! Even my brother couldn't deny she was the cutest dancing baby ever!

****Last, but not least... Kailee loves to HIDE things. She somehow got Jared's amenity card (what we use to get inside the gate, the gym, etc) and hid it. We couldn't find it for like 4 days. Jared even searched through a whole bag of trash, but to no avail. He finally found it under the door mat, lol. She also hid his wallet the other day in her toy box. She hides our keys all the time and we usually find them in one of our drawers in our bedroom. I found her missing sippy cup in our laundry basket with yucky orange juice in it last week too, lol.

*****We feel so blessed to have Kailee in our life. She brings our family so much joy. Babies truely are gifts from God. They are so precious. We hope Kailee doesn't grow up too quickly. Life wouldn't be nearly as fun without her.

Shannon Updates:

1. I enjoy the mornings when Daddy is home, though I mostly spend them preparing food. I make the guys dinner (sandwiches, etc) and put them in a cooler...for them to eat at 5ish. Since they're never home for "dinner," I make "dinner" for lunch, which we normally eat around noon before they leave. I make Kate Ballard's famous crock pot burritos weekly because they're so yummy and so easy!

2. Sometimes Kailee and I strollerblade (I rollerblade while pushing her in the stroller) alongside Daddy while he runs. There's a nice loop around the park near our house. I thought Jared would have trouble keeping up with me, but must admit I have trouble keeping up with him. I feel like a cow on skates. We always end our exercise by letting Kailee play at the park. She could swing ALL DAY if I let her.

3. Kailee normally goes down for her 2-3 hr. nap soon after Daddy leaves, which is when I often nap too. I always get to bed late waiting for Jared to get home and Kailee gets up at 7am, so I normally get 7 hrs. at night which just doesn't cut it most days. Sometimes I'll spend my nap time looking for houses online, talking to family on the phone, reading blogs, cleaning, watching a movie, reading, or sometimes showering.

4. Daddy takes the car every other day, so 3 days a week Kailee and I can go places after her nap. We either go to a different park, the library, or the grocery store. Even if it's only to buy 1 thing... we are just grateful to get out of the house. All of these places are conveniently right down the road too! On the days we're stuck at home, we normally fold laundry, color, read books, play with toys, play her matching color card game, or playing with plato. Some days we go to the pool, which she LOVES! I love Kailee's bedtime routine because she loves it. She LOVES bath time, brushing her teeth, reading her special baby night night book, saying her prayers, and snuggling her Mommy while I rock and sing to her. I hate putting her in the crib because then that leaves me bored for 2 hrs. til Daddy gets home. I usually spend my nights cleaning and talking to Jared on the phone while he drives home.

5. Oh...GOOD NEWS...I have made some friends. Not many, but I'm getting there. There's 2 girls my age in my ward. One with a newborn, and one that is pregnant who both live very close. There is playgroup once a week, which is good for me and Kailee. We actually have something to do!! It is normally at a park.

6. I have like 7 1/2 weeks left til Allie's due!! Yay! I can hardly wait to not be pregnant. I have projects I could be working on, but just don't feel up to it right now, like finishing Allie's blanket and Kailee's 1st year scrapbook. Any motivating words to encourage me??

Learning to talk!

FUNNY

This is a fun picture we found on some website!

We need MOVIE recommendations!

We decided to sign up with Netflix since we have a total of like 5 movies (3 of which are Baby Einstein). It's a pretty sweet deal, I should be getting an Everybody Loves Raymond DVD with a few episodes on it and a Elmo DVD in 2 days! We are VERY open to your movie recommendations. We're looking for any recommendations we can get (we normally don't watch PG-13 because most are so bad these days, but if you thought it was clean...please recommend). Even if it's a favorite movie from 10 years ago, we're open to anything. I love chick flicks, Jared loves comedy, we both love family and kiddie movies, and Kailee loves probably anything for her age (baby einstein, barney, etc.) I expect everyone that reads this post to comment and give us at least 1 recommendation... or 5!!

“God could not be everywhere, and so He gave us mothers.” --Thomas S. Monson

A week ago today we celebrated our first Mother's Day together. Yes, Kailee is well over a year old, but I was on tour with Singers last year in Africa on this special day, and Shannon was left without her hubby. This time we were all together. I made Shannon her favorite breakfast, sausage biscuits with egg and cheese, we opened presents, and I tried to give Shannon a break from her regular rigors of mommying--even if that meant changing poopy diapers several times that day. That is a big feet for me! I know that I have said this before on this blog, but Shannon is truly one of the best Mothers and people that I know. She is so involved with rearing Kailee and helping her to learn good values. Kailee is a particularly cheery little girl and that is because of her Mother. Shannon will often scrunch her shoulders and smile at Kailee. The other day when I walked in the room, Kailee scrunched her shoulders and gave me her most cheezy smile. Like mother, like daughter: that is how I want Kailee to be. If our little girls turn out like their Mom, I will feel that parenthood will have been successful--and all the credit goes to Shannon. Happy Mothers Day Shan!

Shannon got to sleep in until 8:30! When she got up she found Mother's Day festivities on the table.

For Mother's Day, Shannon got a card from Jared and Kailee, the "Angel of Mine" statue from the Willow Tree collection, a picture that she has been asking for, and some dumbbells. You are probably thinking that the dumbbells are such a "guy-thing" to give. But the night before the big day Shannon said, "Jared, I need some bigger dumbbells." Flexing her muscles she said, "Look at these guns; the 5-pounders just don't do it for me any more. But you don't have to get them for Mother's Day if you don't want to." I took that as, "I am expecting some dumbbells on Mother's Day." She was thrilled and not-so-surprised when she opened them.

Kailee and Mom do everything together.

Kailee really does copy everything that Shannon does.

A Visit to the World's Most Famous Ranch!

Howdy folks. Jared, here. Most of us who view this blog are not old enough to remember the TV show "Dallas" with J.R. and the Ewing family. It was a huge hit in the 70s and early 80s. When I was in high school I was a tour guide and tram driver at the ranch where the TV show was filmed. When we got to Texas I wanted Shannon, Kailee, and Jacob to get a true Texas experience, so I took them out to my old stomping grounds. We saw the famous Ewing mansion and even got to see real longhorns. We had a blast and I feel like Shannon was officially baptized into the Texas community. It brought back a flood of memories with good friends and good times.


And this woman to the right is the one who made it all possible, Mrs. Southfork Ranch herself, the famous Sally Peavy. Sally was my boss for four years and now she is one of the head-honchos. She was so kind in taking two hours out of her day to treat us to lunch, dessert, and a tour of the whole place. As I mentioned, I wanted Shannon to feel baptized and immersed into the Texas community. Sally's boisterous spirit and loveable and unique Texas accent gave Shannon and Jacob a chance to know how great true Texans can be. Thanks Sally!


Shannon, Kailee, me and Jacob in front of the fireplace with Jock Ewing hanging over us.

Kailee loved all the space of this huge Texas ranch.

Kailee and the Komputer

Kailee has learned at a young age to follow mama's footsteps. Someday she'll be a great blogger! When Shannon and I arrived in Texas we didn't have any furniture moved in for the day except the piano bench. We put the computer on the bench and as soon as it was set up Kailee darted toward. We got a good laugh at her skills with home-row finger positions and her ability to switch from the keyboard to the mouse. She's on track to start her own blog by age two!

With some BAD luck... we made it!

The night before we left, Jared ran over a screw and we got a flat tire, so after dinner we got that fixed at Walmart (our tires were under warranty!) Then, we left at like 5ish the next morning with Jared driving the U-haul and me, my cousin, Ben, and Kailee in the car. We had only gone 30 miles when we got ANOTHER flat tire...different tire. My thoughts... "You have got to be kidding me." So, Ben put on the spare, and we drove about an hour going 45 mph in a 70mph zone to Price and waited there about 20 mins. for Walmart to open and we actually needed a new tire (still under warranty... YAY!) Then we were on our way! Kailee did great. She took her naps in the car and was pretty patient which was surprising. Normally she get so ancy after like 20 minutes in the car. We had lots of books, toys, and snacks to keep her busy! We did the trip in 2 days and arrived in Texas safely!! I was so glad my cousin Ben came with me to help me drive and entertain Kailee. Kailee adored him. About an hour after we arrived at our new apartment, which we love, Jared's sister, Jamie, and brother, Colby, and Jamie's 2 girls arrived at our place to help us unpack on Monday. They drove 4 hrs. just to help us; talk about a great family! Jamie's little girls are adorable. Ocean is 3 and Eden is Kailee's age. Jamie even brought stuff to make us dinner Sunday night. We like to call her the bomb.com!
Ben, Kailee, and Jared in the back of Jared's Dad's car at Walmart while we waited for our tire to get fixed....we actually went across the street to Cracker Barrel for dinner!
MORE BAD LUCK...Believe it or not... we purchased a washer and dryer and upon delivery discovered we had the wrong dryer cord, so the delivery guys left Jared to install the dryer by himself after he went to exchange the cords. So, after Jared hooks up the cord, as he goes to stand up, he gashes his knee on the round, metal dryer duct thingy. He calmly says... "Shannon, hurry, call 911." Of course, I freak out. I'm in the other room playing with Kailee and I run in to see his knee gushing with blood and I'm scared and I remember, our BYU insurance just expired and we hadn't gotten Jared new insurance yet. Just our luck. So, we decide I'll just drive him to the hospital, don't want an ambulance bill too. I was also worried because I was just about to put Kailee down for a nap and we know NO ONE here who can help me watch her and so I'm worrying that she'll be super cranky at the hospital. We were there 3 hours and she was actually really good. She finally fell asleep in my arms for a half hour and then we went home and she went back to sleep. Jared got 15 stitches and was in a knee immobilizer and on crutches for 5 days. Today he is walking around without either and finally started selling pest control. He was a little bored being a stay at home parent with me for 5 days, lol. He said while folding laundry with me, "it is not good for man to be at home," lol Also, as you can see in the pic, he decided he wanted to go short, so I kindof buzzed his head this morning! Doesn't he look great!

And to top off the great news that we made it to Texas and we love our 1300 sq. ft. apartment... my brother, Jacob, who just got off his mission arrived Monday night! He's staying in our 3rd bedroom for the summer and is selling pest control with Jared. He's awesome. If you're wondering why his hair looks so good too, it's because I cut it! Kailee adores him already! In conclusion of this long post, I still have ZERO friends, lol. Last sunday was a tri-stake conference that we didn't know about. We knew from looking online that our church was at 12:30, but saw tons of cars at church Sat. night, so we thought it might be stake conference. So, we went to our building, the stake center, at 10 and 12 on Sunday, and both times the parking lot was empty. We found out later there was a tri-stake conference at some college. So, we didnt' make it to church last Sunday and therefore I still haven't made any friends. I have yet to see one baby in our apartment complex. :( Hopefully I will find some friends soon... I miss Wymount. Kailee misses having friends to play with. Hurry up and come, Allie! OH yes, last good news to share... Jared made it through 2 interviews and has his 3rd interview with 2 principals for the school district he would like to teach at. Just not sure when the interviews are. But he made the 2nd cut!! Yeah! Wish him luck.

GRADUATION!!

Jared's sister, Amie and Kailee can say her name!
Jared's parents at graduation. Yep, that's my mother-in-law... hot stuff, huh!

Jared and his PROUD parents!
Kailee drawing in Amie's coloring book during graduation.


Jared's "bad to the bone" pose!
Jared's fam... half of it.

Jared's sister, Amie! Isn't she cute :)

More Pics!

Kailee was just as excited about moving as we were; she loved climbing on boxes and pulling stuff out of boxes I was trying to pack, lol!
Precious sleeper
Here is Kailee trying to get inside the fridge while my friend, Lindsey, was trying to clean it out!
Kailee was quite excited that she was able to get inside the laundry basket!
We had one last sleepover with Jared's siblings, Kevin and Amie! We had pizza, ice cream sandwiches, and watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks"... good times!

Here they are pretending to be asleep.
Kailee loves to try and put clothes on and she is lucky if she manages to get something even kindof on.
She is pretty proud of her accomplishment!
I love this shirt... "What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's"
Yep, still hates wearing headbands :(

This is Kailee wanting to drive Granny's car!

Justin Gardner (middle guy) served a mission in my home ward when I was like 11 or 12 and has been good friends with our family ever since. He's married to Steph and they have 4 awesome kids! They are a fun, crazy bunch. We went to Louis and Sophie's soccer game and then we all went out to lunch. It was good to see them again before we headed out to Texas!