WHO NEEDS THANKSGIVING

Okay - I am completely bypassing Thanksgiving and I am shooting for Christmas. That way at least I will be current for a month on my background. I am TRYING to get some time to post - but this may be the only thing you get till after the 4th of December.

IT'S MIGHTY FINE - TO BE TURNING 9

Yesterday was Kenzie's 9th Birthday; therefore it was a family affair and yet, being the con-artist she is, she somehow managed to get a friend invited to go with us.

She spent the day doing ABSOULTELY NOTHING - because when it is your birthday you have complete immunity from work at our house. No one can call you to go get a diaper or help someone tie a shoe because - as the birthday queen you don't have to lay a finger to help or clean up anything for 24 hours. (Believe me she really took advantage of this - in fact she started to try and pull it the day before the actual day).

The first gift of the day - a new purse complete with a pack of gum, lip-gloss, new earrings and bangles and a HSM wallet with $40.00 cash to spend.



We took her to lunch and to the mall to spend the money that was burning a hole in her pocket. Her little friend came along with the other 7 of us and we had a great time trapsing through Limited Too, Bath and Body Works and the Gap.







The rest of the day she was floating on air.

She scored at Target and found some good bargains.

She played with her friend and her loot;

And She at pizza, Sprite & cake till she about popped

She commented several times yesterday and I quote "THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" Well, I guess it goes to show - the little things are what matter the most - because it was certainly one of the "EASIEST BIRTHDAY'S EVER!" for me.

We sure do love our little Kenzie and we are so grateful for the spunk and life she brings to our family. We would certainly be a boring bunch without her.



LOVE - LOVE - LOVE YOU KENZIE! Happy Birthday!

JASON BIRTHDAY

Jason's birthday this year, fell on a Sunday. So - what did I do - well I tried to embarass him. I told all his priests and they made him a big crown and a set of ripped abs (drawn on a poster that fastened around his waste) They sang to him and tried to humiliate him all day at church. It was great. I even took little treats to his class and they had a little party for him.

We had a dinner (salad - he is no fun these days - hey 67 pounds and counting) and he did splurge with a texas sheet cake.

A scavenger hunt prepared by the kids lead him to a little birthday gift. All in all - he had a fun day (I hope) and got to relax a little. We sure do love him!

HERE COMES TROUBLE!

I think the pictures speak for themselves

WHAT IS THAT? - HAIR GEL - He thought he would rub it all over himself!

After his bath and 10 Mintues later - a tube of lipstick - sure why not . . .

what's in his mouth - who knows - I must of gotten it out before he choked.

But after the third bath and with pajamas on - who can resist that smile.

That's our KEATON! Wouldn't trade him for the world!

LUNCH LADY LAND

Okay so as you may or may not know - I was recently the activities chairperson for our ward. So, we decided to have a BACK TO SCHOOL activity for the entire ward.

Well, being the fun loving person I am - I decided it would be hilarious to have a lunch line for everyone to go through complete with lunch tickets and of course - the LUNCH LADIES

Do you recognize this beauty?

The next item of business was a little assembly for the ward. Jason and I both partcipated in Adam Sandler's skit - LUNCH LADY LAND - (a must see for anyone that hasn't seen it.)

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?vid=33379

I think everyone just about wet their pants laughing at Jason

I WAS SLOPPY JOE - We got married and we had 6 kids and we're doing just fine!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Here is my attempt to play catch up - please bear with me as I give you a months worth of NEW POSTS!

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

I haven't posted for so long, because frankly, I just don't have the time. My days are full of tasks and they keep me going well into the night. So, with that being said - I wanted you all to know I was still alive, just running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Will is ever end? Probabaly not and that is okay, but someday I'm going to have to come up for air. When I do - I hope all my friends and family will still be there.

Please forgive me if I haven't talked to you recently or if I have forgotten a birthday or some other important event. My intentions are good and hopefully very soon you will see an update on what the Checketts Bunch is up to.

Here is your Kenzie Funny today:

Gabbi going to the bathroom this morning with the door shut -

"MOM - I ACTUALLY HAVE 3 WIGGILY TOOTHS."
"What" - I said
Kenzie replies - "SHE SAID SHE HAS 3 WIGGLY POOPS!"

That was my chuckle for the day.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

I know that I should have done this yesterday - and I had every intention of doing so, but time slips by like sand through my fingers and I find myself wondering - Uh - what day is today?



But as the saying goes - Better late than never.



I am thinking of a person . . .



A person that is one of my greatest and truest friends . . .



Who laughs with me in all the right places and cries with me at just the right time . . .



Who has a HUGE passion for books and reads faster than any weird super hero could ever hope to . . .



A person that takes upon herself to remember everyone and everything better than their own mothers . . .



One who will listen intently and then give her heart-felt opinion if asked . . .



A person that can never be replaced . . .



Who turned 28 yesterday . . .



And deserves to be insanely happy . . .



If you haven't guessed - it is my dear sister Kristen.



I love you Kristen - I hope you know that. I hope that you had a wonderful day and that you have an even better year.



You are the best!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY (YESTERDAY - at least I called you . . .) This is the only picture I had - SAD!

I'M BAAAACKKK!

Well, kind of . . . I am back in my house but my heart is still in Mesa eating delicious Mexican Food. Seriously! DELICIOSO!

We got back Sunday night and I must say we had an enjoyable trip - although Jason and I vowed we will never be seperated for that length of time ever again. It was just to miserable for two soul mates. :0)

So, it is back to the grind - I have a list a mile long and only 10 more days till school starts. Bitter-sweet for me - Battling - Can't WAIT and is it really OVER! I am not a morning person so the thought of getting up at 6:30 a.m. again is rather painful. But structure is good and quiet time for mom even better. So, here's to August 18th. THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

More to come including pictures once I get my life in order again . . . is that possible?

BATTER-UP

Here is a shot of Mikala's last game on Thursday. She is a pretty good little player but needs to learn confidence behind her swing.

She did catch a really hard-hit ball that came out at her at third base where she was positioned and made a straight-shot throw to second base which the girl caught and then tagged the runner out. It was really exciting.

And although - baseball to me, is SLOW - unless you are playing it - it was fun to watch her doing something she loved and that is what it is all about.

DRUM-ROLL PLEASE

Well after 3 months of long awaited anticipation . . . my couches have arrived. Here are the RIGHT couches. I guess I should have taken a picture of the WRONG ones so that you could have seen the difference, but nevertheless - I LOVE THEM and they are HERE and they are already being THRASHED by my children. I guess by the time they are all in junior high I will be ready for some new ones and they will have destroyed these. I threaten them with their very lives to not eat, sleep, or drink on them, but alas, we have already had a mishap with a bottle of milk and a bottle of paint. Oh well, I guess you take your chances with 6 children.

NEW BOXING GLOVE

As most of you know, Gannon fractured his wrist/arm last Sunday. Of course, being the parents we are, we made him suffer for a little while before we took him in.

He was out playing Sunday evening and quote "jumped up really high and fell down like this". We are guessing he just landed wrong on his wrist and since there are no credible witnesses to the act, I guess we will never know.

So, we just put an ice-pack on it and he cried about it for the next 12 hours. Finally Monday morning, I realized - hey, maybe something really is wrong here. I took him in to the doctor's and 5 hours later - we were back home with this handy dandy Spider-man blue cast.

It really hasn't bothered him other than the fact that he can't go swimming and bath time is a bit of a challenge. And 21 days seems like an eternity to a 5 year old.

How many more days today mom? 16 buddy, 16.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Well, today was a good day - for Jason that is. He got the royal treatment of breakfast in bed and presents and cards. He got a little mid-morning nap and didn't have to get anyone ready but himself. He did have to help in sacrament meeting a little, but guess who changed all the poopy diapers?

He got a steak dinner followed by Grandma Anderson cookies for dessert and again - I changed ALL the diapers.

I just have to publically state that Jason is a great man. I love him more and more everyday. Don't get me wrong - we have had our fair share of time in the ring but, he always takes care of us BEAUTIFULLY and We sure do love him!

Jason's favorite present was his frame for his office. I had to post these GREAT shots we got of the kids at a nearby park. They melt my heart. Of course, I am a little biased . . .

AND THE LITTLE ONE SAID - ROLL OVER . . .

When we first moved into this house - we decided to put all three girls in the same room because although this a 5 bedroom house, there are only 3 bedrooms upstairs (including the master) AND being the WORRY WART that I am, I didn't want my precious children two stories down in the basement all by themselves, with no protection. I mean come on what if there was a FIRE or a BREAK-IN or something worse. So, we put the two twin beds in a bedroom and made them share. I figured if Joseph Smith was good enough to share with his siblings - so are my kids.

Well, after a few tearful nights (okay it was more like a few tearful MONTHS) from Mikala saying - I want my own bed; and other comments from appalled family members :0) we decided to go ahead and get bunk beds.

This should fix everything right?

Well, yes and no . . .

Here we are a year later and I walked into their bedroom this morning and discovered this . . . (Mikala's Bed)
And this . . . (Kenzie' Bed)

And this is - Gabbi's Bed - with all 3 of them squished in there like SARDINES! Is this the first time this has happened? OH NO! This is a nightly occurrence. Usually it is just two of the them but probably about once a week I will find all three of them together. And Yes, that is Kenzie under Gabbi's legs. Apparently, Kenzie has not discovered Gabbi's legs yet. Inevitably a fight will most likely occur once she realizes she has been a foot rest all night. (Maybe I should go remove the evidence).

You would think it would be the other way around; that the little one would have climbed into her big sister's beds for comfort and SNUGGLE time but it is usually Gabbi's bed that they all congregate to. So, although they tell eachother daily "I HATE YOU" - I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN" - and my favorite "YOU ARE BUGGING ME - QUIT TOUCHING ME" - I am beginning to wonder if this is a LOVE/HATE relationship that will last till the end of time.

Till then - I will cherish this picture of my little girls and when they could all fit in the same bed . . .

KENZIE-ISM

So, we are sitting around the table the other night for dinner. There is long standing joke between Jason and I because he was always told his eyes were hazel - but they are not. They are just as green as mine are. So, I said something to him about them being green and he laughed and said they were hazel. I asked Kenzie

"Look at your dad's eyes - what color are they?"

"well" she said - "They are green on the inside, but around the niple - they are brown"

Jason and I busted up - She thought she had said something funny so she started laughing too.

We were all laughing and I told her that the black part of her eye was called the iris not the niple.

She just shrugged and grinned and said - Oh - Okay!

I WISH

So, I decided if summer won't come to me - I will bring summer to my blog. It is cold today - raining - and the high - a whopping 57 degrees. There is a snow advisory in the mountains. If this is somebody's idea of a cruel joke -it isn't funny! I am about ready to pile my kids in the car and drive to the sunshine. I feel like I haven't been completely WARM since last summer. I think we are going to skip summer all together and head right back into winter. So, while all of you are down there - think of me - soak up some rays for your friend Maren. So much for getting tan this summer.

IT'S BEEN TO LONG

It's been far too long - it's time to get this stuck in your BRAINS again!

3 FOR 3

My last May birthday for the month (HOORAY). And boy was it a fun day - even I was excited for SPIDER-MAN.

Saturday was Gannon's 5th birthday. He woke up to streamers and Spider-man all over the kitchen and a great big Spider-man fortress (tent) that we had all set up for him complete with a new spider-man costume. Boy was he excited. He got all dressed up and struck a few web-shooting poses for the camera.

His friends arrived at 2:00 p.m. for the festivities and the fun began. We played outside in the tent, shot Spider-man guns, conducted an experiment with the incredible growing Spider-men, and sprayed webs with our cans of silly string.

Presents were next on the agenda and doesn't everybody love PRESENTS! Gannon couldn't wait to tear into all the fun stuff his friends and family had got for him. He LOVED everything. (thanks to grandmas & grandpas and Aunt Lori's gifts).

CAKE anyone - OH YEAH! They each had 2 cupcakes and some ice-cream too. And OBVIOUSLY the incredible Sister Crocker did not make the trip up to help me with a Spider-Man cake so PLEASE don't laugh at the LAME attempt to come up with something creative without spending 30 dollars on a Wal-Mart cake.

Gannon had a great day and told me about 3 times AND I QUOTE - Thank you so much for the wonderful birthday mom - I just love you. And that is what it is all about! This boy is going to go far in his life if he keeps saying those things to the women he meets - I felt like going out and buying him 10 more presents.

What a sweet little blessing this first highly-anticipated little boy has been since the day he was born 5 years ago. After 3 little girls the testosterone was much needed! Each Star Wars figure, car, and train set is a treasure! The only thing I could do without - the uncontrollable flying pee in the bathroom. But - I will take it for a smile like this! Happy Birthday Gannon - WE LOVE YOU!

KEATON THAYNE

Saturday my baby turned one. My LAST first birthday for one of MY children. (I am already looking forward to grandchildren)



REFLECTION OF THE DAY: Although Keaton was a complete surprise - we couldn't imagine life without him. He has been a blessing and bright spot in my life lifting my spirits with each one of his single-toothed smiles.



He is pratically perfect in every way and we all can't get enough of his gushy cheeks and big blue eyes. I think he gets about a thousand kisses a day - AT LEAST!




His birthday was pretty uneventful - poor boy. He didn't get a nap because we were so busy and he burned his little hand on his candle - again we ask - where was his mother -

behind the cameras - DUH! We had to open his presents on Sunday because he

was so dead tired by the time we got done with dinner and consoling him of his little injury.

He looked alot happier the next day anyway.

Keaton's accomplishments: He can walk, feed himself, play with the other kids, crawl up the stairs, and bring joy and delight to all who have the pleasure to be near him.

We love you Keaton - Happy Birthday!

MOM VS. DAD

Some of you may know how much I LOVE the humor of Anita Renfroe - She CRACKS me up because she explains how I feel about motherhood perfectly.

She has her well-known MOM-SENSE - which if you haven't seen - see the movie below



And if you have seen it - well here is the version for Dad's - all I can say is AMEN!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

THE CURSE

Is it one of those un-written laws, or a bad curse that was cast on my great-great-great-great grandmother, somehow, somewhere that no matter how hard I try and no matter what I do - the day I mop the floor, I mean REALLY mop the floor - is the day someone "accidentally" spills their apple juice or a plate of spaghetti all over it.

I got on my hands and knees with Jason's toothbrush yesterday and SCRUBBED my floor. I mean really pulled out the can of elbow grease and got down and dirty with my tile. And what do you think happened. Well, Jason decided to make a pan of brownies and what do brownies do - they crumble. And who crumbles brownies better than anyone else - children from the ages of 3 to 10 - which I have 5 of those. You can imagine my face after they all went to bed and I was able to access the damage (YES - I called Jason in and made him clean it up) Then, to top it off - Rigdon gets the can of Pledge today and starts spraying it all over the kitchen floor - I guess he thought it needed a good polish.

AHHHH - what is up - am I the only one or is this pretty much Murphy's law?

TAGGED!

Melissa tagged all of us from her blog and I have yet to see anyone respond - so I thought I would take a 5 minute break and do this:

5 Things I am Looking Forward TO:

1) School getting Out! YAHOO!
2) No more diapers
3) 4 Kids in School Next Year! YEEHAW!
4) Somebody coming to visit me in Utah - somebody - ANYBODY!
5) Keaton's Birthday - smashing cake all over his face

5 Things I would do with OODLES OF Money

1) Get out of Debt
2) Get a maid
3) Get a new wardrobe
4) Share it!
5) Stop world hunger

5 Things I wish I could do:

1) Be an aerobics instructor
2) Play the guitar
3) SING really well
4) Stop Time
5) Grant Wishes

5 Things I am Grateful for:

1) I am not pregnant
2) No Hemorrhoids
3) Health & Life
4) My Incredible Family
5) The Restored Gospel

I TAG anyone who feels so inclined to reflect for 5 minutes!

WHO REALLY OWNS A LLAMA?

TWO LITTLE GIRLS

I always wished I had a doll house like that!

SOMETHING FUNNY

Well, Jamie convinced me I had to put this on here. I wasn't going to - but she laughed and said I should - so here goes.

As you all know yesterday was our anniversary. We decided that we weren't going to get anything for each other because of the new couches and all so we said - NO GIFTS. One of us - usually me - always goes back on this promise and does a little something. Well, this year I was sticking by our promise.

Jason came home from work and came upstairs where I was finally getting my shower for the day so I wouldn't stink if we decided to kiss or something - :0) And he got under the bed where I keep the wrapping paper box. He rummages around and grabs a box, some tissue paper and wrapping paper. I am panicking inside because I think - great - he got me something and now I am going to feel really bad when he gives it to me and I don't have anything for him.

So, I act like I didn't notice and finished getting ready.

He has the box sitting on the kitchen counter when I came down to make the kids dinner. HMMM - it was in a shirt sized box and it kind of felt like clothing - maybe it's some lingerie - which then I wouldn't feel so bad, because it would actually be a gift for himself if that was the case.

I decided I better not open it because the kids were around and I really don't need to explain that to them, now do I.

Well, I come into the office to check the e-mail and Jason brings the box in and says why don't you open your present . . . I thought we weren't doing anything for each other I say - well, I lied - he said.

I began to un-wrap the box because no kids were around. I open the lid and there is tissue paper - I pull the tissue aside and lying there within the folds of tissue are two new Wells Fargo shirts. I started laughing - HARD!

Okay - now there is a story behind the story. A week ago, I made the girls clean-out their pajama/play clothes drawer. It was full of holey, stained clothes and I was sick of the "STUFFING" that was going on into this drawer. So, we threw out two garbage bags FULL of old clothes. It was great. I was telling Jason about this when he got home from work and I said "I am so sick of holey, stained clothes and I am just going to start throwing this stuff away."

"Yes," he said - "We just hate holey, stained clothes don't we Maren - pointing to the shirt that I was wearing, which was an OLD Wells Fargo shirt size 3X with 4 holes across the front in various positions and spots of various sizes and colors all over the front. I just laughed and laughed and told him that I was due for some new ones.

Thus my 13th wedding anniversary present - 2 NEW Wells Fargo Shirts for me to add to my rotation of grubbies. :0) HE DOES STILL LOVE ME! :0)

THE INCREDIBLE SINGING ORANGE

13 IS A "LUCKY" NUMBER

Today is Jason and I's 13th wedding anniversary and although the number 13 has often been called an UNLUCKY number - for us it is just another year of MAGIC!

Here are 13 reasons why I love him more today than I did on May 20th, 1995.

1) He still SINGS to me! We have a song that Jason used to sing to me when we started dating. I had never heard of it at the time, but he said it was my song. And to this day he still sings it (not as often as I would like. :0)

2) He is a FABULOUS father!

3) He is the hardest WORKER I know (other than my dad). Both at work and in his yards.

4) He will change DIAPERS and give BATHS.

5) He COOKS!

6) He makes things HAPPEN. When I want something done - Jason makes it happen.

7) He makes me LAUGH.

8) He can FIX things.

9) He has a way of COMFORTING me like no one else can. With just the sound of his voice and his arms around me, he can put my biggest heartaches at ease.

10) He does what is RIGHT.

11) He's HOT!

12) He is my BEST FRIEND

13) He COMPLETES me!

We have no special plans. We did not get each other anything, but EVERY one of those 13 years is a gift and is PRECIOUS to me because they got us to where we are today and that is in a good place To quote Diamond Rio - "What a Beautiful Mess I'm in." We couldn't be happier.

I LOVE you Jason - with all my heart! Here's to 13 more years of

CRAZY BLISS!

ALLIGATOR KING

A DAY OF REST

You know, I was contemplating the "SABBATH" and what it is like for our family. By definition Sabbath Day - is a day of rest. But I do not believe this is the case. Indeed I may say that the Sabbath day is probably one of the more busy days of the week.

By the time we get up and get breakfast it is time for church. And I don't know about you, but getting ready for church is like running a marathon. I am running up and down the stairs trying to get people in-line to do hair - running back and forth from the bedrooms making sure everyone is getting dressed. Running in and out of the house trying to keep everyone inside free from grass-stains, mud-stains and bicycle tire tracks on their pants. Then trying to feed them again right before we leave so they aren't crying the whole hour and ten minutes of sacrament that they are STARVING! Add Jason scout/YM meetings and my Activity/Ward Council meetings to that + two home teaching visits and what do you have left - 2 hours to make dinner which - Where did that tradition originate from - Sunday dinner. What moron thought of that?

We spend 2 hours making a dinner that takes 10 minutes to eat and then we spend 40 minutes cleaning it up. This is the day we should be allowed to go out to eat at a restaurant. Why not pay ahead eating. You go the day before to pay and then you aren't spending any money - of course then there is the factoring in of the people that have to work to serve you, but they are going to be there anyway - right?

And is it really such a crime to tape your kids mouth shut for sacrament meeting? My kids are SO loud. And I guess it just seems like they sound like they have their mouth right up to a megaphone and are shouting - I have to go to the bathroom - Kenzie's leg is touching me, I need a drink - WHEN IS THIS GOING TO BE OVER? Can I go to class yet?

Okay enough with the complaining - but seriously -

SABBATH - isn't it about time?

SESAME FLASHBACK #3

TWEEDLE-BUGS

A $400 DOLLAR VACUUM OR A SHOP VAC

Last night we were cleaning the basement as a family. I put Kenzie in charge of vaccuming. But, I guess I must preface this story with another story. Last Sunday night we had a storm. It was a crazy wind storm and things were blowing around everywhere. I was up reading the HOST and it was around 2:00 a.m. (I know - I know). So, I went downstairs for a drink and walked by the basement door and felt a strong draft. I opened the door thinking maybe there was a window open down there. I went down and discovered someone had left the basement door open and the room down there was COVERED in leaves and debris. I was not happy - but going back to the present. I put Kenzie in charge of vaccuming this room and picking up all the leaves. The next thing I know Gabbi comes in and tells me Kenzie is vaccuming outside. I run into the room and sure enough - Kenzie has my $400.00 Dyson vaccum sucking up the door-well full of leaves, dirt, bugs, trash etc. - the vaccum is completely clogged up and dirty and I am left to wonder - am I asking too much of my children? Do I really need to explain to my 8 year old that we do not use the indoor vaccum to "CLEAN"-up the great outdoors. I guess next time I will need to be a little more specific - just the leaves in the house, sweetie - not the ones outside.

TAKE ME BACK

Okay this is the first in my series of the GOOD OL' DAYS! I want to post all my favorite's from Sesame Street for the next week. Check it out everyday to see if I get one of your favorites.

LAST POST FOR THE DAY - LAST GAME

Gannon had his last soccer game yesterday - Yes, it was a crazy day. He is so cute I just had to post these pictures. I love to watch these little guys as they run along trying to kick the ball away from the mass of other children sticking their feet in - like seagulls flocking to one crumb of bread.

It's Mine, It's mine they all seem to chirp as they crowd around the ball sometimes by complete chance kicking the ball into the goal. Way to go ROCKETS.

MOVING ON UP!

Yesterday was Gabbi's Kindergarten Graduation. They still have two more weeks of school but their teacher decided to get this little program out of the way - can't say that I blame her - and it was quite the production. The kids put on the play of their lives - The Little Red Hen. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. I pretty much remained teary-eyed through the whole thing.

Gabbi was a "little chick" and boy was she a CUTE little chick.

Her little song went like this - "MAMA, MAMA, MAMA, I'm hungry as a hog, MAMA, MAMA, MAMA, I'm hungry as a dog, Hungry as a bear, Hungry as a horse, but we're not those creatures, we have little chicken features, we're you're little chicks of course - PEEP PEEP!

She then walked the line and recieved her diploma - more tears -

They sang a few more songs and then it was over. Short and sweet and DARLING! Here is a picture of her with her cute little kindergarten teacher that Gannon gets next year.

All of this is kind of bitter-sweet for me. I can't wait for her to move up and progress - to have 3 ALL DAY in school - YIPEE - but Gabbi is my last little girl and I feel the changes coming swifter and faster with every day. Puberty, PMS, and Passion are just around the corner and I am not sure that I am ready for the that step. It will be fun but part of me wants to hold on a little longer.

What can I say - my cup runneth over. We are so blessed . . . Congrats Gabbi!