A good pinch and a bad pinch

Well, for the last year, after Zoey gets changed and dressed, it is tradition for Zoey to climb up onto my bathroom counter each day for our morning ritual. First, she gets her hair squirt bottled and combed while she smells my little bottle of paradise perfume, (I never actually use it, but keep it simply because it smells just like Mom and Zoey always tells me, "Your Mommy has this back home in O'gon." You remember showing her your big bottle, Mom). Then she puts on my chapstick while begging me to put eyeshadow on her and then, she picks out a yummy body spray from my collection. Lastly and her most favorite part, Zoey gets to pick out a set of sticker earrings to match her outfit. Well, for the past month, she has been begging me for pretty dangly earrings to wear like Mama's. Soooo, I told her it was going to hurt and showed her with my fingernail and asked her if she thought she still wanted them and she said, "Yup."

"Thats my good pinch!"

Yup, here they are! Aren't they cute and doesn't she just look so sweet and happy? Brian got to take her to the mall while I was at school. The guy had to pierce them one at a time and told her before they began that if she held perfectly still for him, he would give her a lolipop. So, he did the first one, asked her if she was ready for the second one and she said, "Yup". Then, he did the second one and Brian says Zoey didn't even cry, just looked the guy dead in the eyes and said, "Where's my lolipop!"Can you believe it!? Thats my little soldier, what a big girl! I told her how proud Mommy was that she didn't even cry.

"I'm so cute, so cute, so cute!"

My bad pinch...

One morning, I gave Zoey a handful of jellybeans and then proceeded to get ready for work while she disappeared somewhere down the hall. Well, it wasn't long before I heard a sound and then, crying and I ran downstairs to find her at the bottom holding up her hands which were covered in dirt and mud as well as the rest of her clothes. I couldn't figure out what the heck had happened nor where the dirt came from. I looked outside and was asking her where it had come from when I turned around to see that the lid to the crab cage was open. She had pulled up a chair, climbed up, taken the lid off and dropped her jellybeans in the water and on the sand where they were slowly turning the sand techno-rainbow flavored and taken two of the biggest monster crabs to place on top of her creation when they climbed out and pinched her, one on each finger! I can only imagine the look of shock on her face when it happened. Poor little girl. Well, she learned a very valuable lesson and had some cool battle scars to show to the other kids at her "day care" with Miss Liz.

"Ouch! Poor little Zoe, Zoe."

Labor Day 2008

For Labor Day, I finally had my first day off to spend with my family in a month. We actually did something ridiculous but, fun. We spent hours in Walmart going up and down nearly every isle just for the fun of it, looking at ideas for Brian, Mine and especially Zoey's Birthdays that are all coming up. Zoey sat inside the basket and I collected pillows and soft comfy thing to make her a make-shift bed for the 'cart princess' while we shopped. When we got home, I changed the house seasons decor from summer to the beggining of fall and then, we had a night time barbeque.

Seasons Change...

This was summer flowers...

To fall pumpkins...
Summer seaside shells...

To early fall leaves and pumpkins...

Good bye Summer, Hello Holidays!

Our Night Time Barbeque...

Brian and Zoey outside barbequing.

Yummy Chicken!

"I love you, a bushel and a peck"

Mama Jenn

My hubby, Brian and brother, Bretty Boy enjoying the super spicy salsa and guacamole.
"Its yummy, Mama. My tummy's happy!"
"Smile like ya mean it!"
Good job-Nice smile!
Our turn Zoey, say 'macaroni and cheese'!
Here is Brett smiling for the camera-Zoey took this photo! No kidding.

Zoey with her "Unca Bwit".
Ahhh, So cute!
The after party-full bellys, lying on the couch to watch TV. Zoey climbed into Daddy's pooka.
"I love you Daddy."
"Opps, I am in trouble. This is me sitting on my special time-out stair. Don't I look pleased with myself. I had my fingers into Mommy's candles and she caught me. Oh darn it."
"Okay time-out is over. Come cuddle with me."
Here is Zoey drawing. I swear she is going to be an artist, just like her Mama.

Just look how intent she is on her picture. She spends hours drawing and can even mimick just about anything that I draw for her first by showing her how.
Here is Zoey's bulletin/dry erase board that Bri and I got her at Walmart that day. She spent nearly an hour after dinner, alone in her room, simply drawing and erasing her pictures on the little dry eraser board. Too cute.

Here is video of Zoey drawing.

Good Night "Your Mommy and Daddy"
(This is what Zoey calls her Grandma and Grandpa Bowman in Oregon)

I love you, Happy Labor Day!

August 9th Temple Sealing & Celebration

Endure To The End

Back to innocence, we become like children again in the eyes of God, with the truth and the light restored within us in infinate wisdom and glory. We are all children of Heavenly Father.

Our Temple Sealing

"Families can be together forever"
When we were being sealed and they brought Zoey into us in her beautiful white dress and laid her soft little hand in ours, I cried such sweet tears of joy as I was overcome with the realization that I would never ever be seperated from my beloved child or husband, no matter what may happen in this life. What a feeling of relief and peace to have that knowledge.
After our photos, we had lunch in the cafeteria and then, I went to find Zoey to spend a quiet moment alone with her. As we sat in the courtyard, I told her how beautiful she looked in her white dress and I asked her if she knew what it meant when they had laid her hand inside ours and said the special prayer. She said to me, "No Mama, What?" and I answered her, "Zoey, when we are sealed in the Temple, that means that Mommy and Daddy and Zoey will be together forever and ever." She looks up at me, smiles and says, "Fo-eva 'n eva? Oh, thank you Mama!" It was one of the most heartfelt, spiritually uplifting and emotional moments that I have probably ever experienced and what I understood in that moment was that Zoey was thanking me and her Daddy for the most wonderful gift that we could ever have bestowed upon her, loving one another enough to work towards marriage, baptism and becoming worthy to enter the temple with all the blessings and promises of eternal life together as a family.
Our Sealing was only 2 days after my shoulder surgery and if you look closely, you can see that my right shoulder looks like I have a football shoulder pad in it from all the gauze and tape that I couldn't remove until day 3 or 4. I had to get help getting in and out of my dress and I prayed for strength the night before to not wear my sling and be able to lift my arm up across the alter to hold Brian and Zoey's hand. I know that I had help and I was grateful for my faith. This is our Best friends, Liz and Micheal Kuhn, My sister, Erica and husband Vince and Us. Erica and her family drove all the way from Utah the night before and Liz and Micheal actually had their own first Endowment session the very night before just to be able to make it to our Sealing the day after! Thanks guys! We also had our missionary, Sister Daniels-Brown drive out here and we had members from both of our Las Vegas Wards come to serve as witnesses. We love you all so much and thank you for your support.
Erica and Vince, soon to be celebrating thier 14th year of marriage were remebering thier special day as they sat in the atrium of the very same Temple in which they themselves were sealed 13 years earlier.
Here is little Zoey afterwards hiding under the palm bushes, eating a snack. We had an extremely early 8 am session and so, Mommy felt pretty smart to have remembered to pack some snacks inside of my purse, just in case a little starving Zoey came to tell me, "Mama, I hungry." Oh, to be prepared, is so satisfying.
Here we are in front of the Las Vegas Temple.
The Temple grounds were so beautiful. The grass was so green, the air so fresh up on the mountain top and the flowers and birds singing, so vibrant.
Zoey was such a good girl that day and acted so nice and sweet. She loved the Temple nursery because, I was told, they have a real wooden doll house with all the furniture and dolls that she absolutely adored. She loved the atrium and the water falls and spent most of her time outside collecting pine cones and flowers. My little nature girl.
Go Erica! This is Erica and Vince reinacting thier photo kiss in this very same spot 13 years ago.
Here is Liz and Micheal's first time getting to sit in the spotlight. So cute!
You two are next! Eternity awaits you and your family.



The Barbeque/Swim Party

Here is Erica and I back at our house for some celebrating.

Erica's daughter's, Anna and Olivia.
Brian, Vince and his boys, Anthony and Daniel.
Me with my lovely designer sling and chicken on a stick, haaay girlfriend!
My fuzzy bear, Brian and Micheal getting ready to swim.
Erica taking pictures of me taking pictures of her!

Caught you! Ha ha, lovely Sis!
Poor me, I couldn't swim because of my shoulder so I just sat and watched and took lots of pictures. It was really hot though! Waaah.
"Hi guys, want some watermelon?"
Here is "Miss Liz", who is not only my best friend but also, my most trusted babysitter for Zoey for the past year and a half. She and Micheal have 5 super cute kids and we were actually there to see their littlest baby, Evangaline, when she was just a few days old in the hospital. It is awesome to have friends that you can share so many of life's blessings with.
Liz with baby E. This is her angel tattoo that has all her kids names written underneath it.

Smile baby. So cute!
"Hi Baby E! Are you having fun with Mommy?"
"Its Pool Maddness!"
Looks like so much fun, I wish I could jump in!
"Here Zoey, take this, sweety-pie. I think that you lost it"

"Oh, thanks Daddy! I have wonderful plans to throw it right back in. Isn't that wonderful?"
" Lets see, how much can I carry and scavange from all the kids in the pool? I will start a small stock pile right overthere behind Mommy. She will protect it for me."
Okay, time for the manly 'football in the pool' game between the guys.
"Take that!"
"How do ya like that?"

Boys are so silly. I just had to take a picture of myself saying so.
"Yes, yes. Of course, we wouldn't want to do that."
"Haay! Pool party! Come and get it! Watermelon, apples, grapes and blueberries by the pool side. Swim up and get a bite!"
Yum, yum, fun in the sun.
Everybody looks happy and satisfied.

Okay, so this is Xander, Liz and Micheal's son who is just a year older than Zoey. They are best friends and spend every Wednesday and Thursday together with Miss Liz while I am at work and school. Liz and I have already decided and agreed that we are seriously having an arranged marriage for them. Too cute! "Zoey and Xander, sitting in a tree, K-i-s-s-i-n-g!"
"Here baby, want some too?"
Zoey says, "Hey, what do you guys all have? I want some too!"
"Ohhh, I love it, it is nummy in my tummy, Mama!"
"Everybody smile!"

Oh boy! Time for the chicken fights!
First up, Zoey and Xander. Oh look, its thier very first fight as newly weds! So cute!
Xander looks like he has the uper hand but, wait...
Zoey's got him by the straps! You go girl!
Next up is Olivia and Micheal the younger.

Micheal's "He-Man" pose. Lets get it on!
"Daddy, you will obey my every command and carry me hither." "I suddenly feel like I got brainwashed by a midget and also, I think that there is some one crawling up my back!" Da-dun, Da-dun, Da-dun...
Ahhhh! Its the Olivia shark monster!
"Carry me Uncle Brian!"

"I think I am going to have a heart attack or choke to death, which ever happens first!"
" Alright, we made it to dry land. What now?"
"Kow-a-bung-ia dude!"
Anthony says, "Me next!" (Just a side note-Brian just viewed the blog and was thrilled that I caught this on camera as he pointed out to me that if you look closely, you will see that he is actually slipping off the side and says that he was freaking out as he fell into the pool too.)
Go Uncle Brian, good way to entertain the crowd!
Mommy and her daughters.
More Mommy-Daughter loving. There is nothing like a cute little shivering baby wrapped in a towel, letting you hold and cuddle them. Ahhh!
Zoey was standing here twisting her curls around her finger, staring off into Lala-land. Too cute!
Sweet little babies all wrapped up.

Mommy is happy and content.
"Look at me! I can swim and I am fearless."
Time to head back home.
It was a super fun day...
Spending time with my family that I will be with, as Zoey puts it, fo-eva 'n eva"