Prescott Trip

Joe, the girls and I headed up to Prescott this past Friday for a quick day trip. Our friends, Brittany and Dustin have been working up there at United Christian Youth Camp for the summer. We have been meaning to go up there and visit all summer long, but hadn't yet. So we loaded up the girls in the van and were prepared with lots of movies and snacks and were on our way. We met Brittany and Dustin in town and had lunch, then went to the camp. The girls had so much fun. We hung out at the cabin, went to the pool, played in the rec. room and went exploring. The weather was beautiful, it was so nice to be able to be outside and relax. Before heading back to Phoenix, we went to the town square to play and then ate dinner. We were all exhausted, but so thankful for a quick trip out of town.

Katie's Wedding

Katie Crum is now a Jensen, no relation to us, but still pretty cool that she is now Mrs. Jensen, like me. Katie is a former student of ours from the youth group at Glendale Christian Church. I was trying to remember, and I think we met her when she was in 6th grade, so needless to say I was and am starting to feel old. Katie is an amazing girl and it has been such a privilege and joy to be in her life over the years and watch her grow into an amazing woman of God. She decided to go to Manhattan Christian College, where Joe and I went, and that is where she met her new husband, Curtis. Katie is also sisters with Brittany, who is one of my best friends, so it was so fun to celebrate Katie and Curtis and also get to spend time with Brittany and her family. It was a great night out for Joe and I. We had so much fun! Congratulations Katie and Curtis!!!

Jaelyn 5 months

Our precious girl is almost 6 months, so I wanted to share some pictures and highlights of her 5th month. Jaelyn continues to amaze us and is starting to put on a little weight. We started cereal this month and she seems to finally be getting the hang of it and actually liking it. She is rolling all over the place, which is good during wake time, but she hates when she rolls over in her crib. We know if she is crying then that is why. I think she will be sitting up soon, she tries, but has such a long torso that it makes it a little bit more difficult. She is still the happiest, smiliest, most content baby and she are just enjoying every single second with her.

Joleigh's 1st Dentist Experience

So I finally brought Joleigh to see the dentist. I'm not sure why it took me so long to bring her, but I'm glad that I finally did. I was nervous, not knowing how she would react, but she did great! I found a pediatric dentist nearby that a friend recommended. I loved the entire experience, the office and the staff, but more importantly Joleigh did too and can't wait to go back. Let's keep our fingers crossed that she always feels this way.

Aunt Jeri

We had so much fun this summer with Aunt Jeri and her new fiance Mike. Jeri, Joe's little sister, was home for the summer doing an internship and CCV in the children's area. She was pretty busy working and planning for her wedding, but we were able to spend some quality time with her. The girls couldn't get enough of her and Mike and hanging out with them. They loved reading books, playing hide-n-seek, singing songs and showing them how fast they could run. I so thankful that they were able to create some great memories this summer, especially since Jeri and Mike are away at school all year, and we look forward to the next time we get to see them.

Best Friends and Sisters

The summer has come and gone and I don't know where it went. We stayed so busy, not exactly sure doing what, but we had fun trying to stay cool. Looking back at the pictures from this past month I came across some great ones of Joleigh and Noelle. They have so much fun together and really know how to make each other laugh and how to pass the time together. I know I have said it before but I am so thankful for their friendship and how much they love each other!

Happy Birthday Mom

We have started a tradition, the girls and I, to bake cookies for my mom's birthday and "surprise" her at work to give them to her. I guess it's not much of a surprise if she knows we are coming but the girls like to think we are being sneaky, plus my mom loves to show off her grandbabies to her friends at work. So we woke up early to bake some yummy peanut butter cookies and decorate pictures, then headed to see her. We had a great time visiting and meeting everyone, then took her to lunch. We ended up going over to my parents house later for dinner, dessert and presents.

I love my mom so much and appreciate her more than she will ever know. She is the best mother and friend to me and the most amazing grandma to my girls. They absolutely adore their Grandma Ryall!!! We are so thankful that we got to share her special day with her and hope it was as wonderful as she is to all of us!

Growing Girls...well kind of

We took Joleigh and Jaelyn last week for there well checks at the doctor. A few weeks ago i was at a play date with some friends and they started talking about their daughters 4 year check up and how their girls reacted to the shots. As I was listening I realized that I completely forgot to bring Joleigh for hers. Since she turned 4 in April, I immediately called the doctor to get her in and had to reschedule Jaelyn's 4 month appointment to get them in together. So both girls were overdue for their check-ups but we got them nonetheless.

Joleigh went first and was actually excited to see her doctor, Dr. Kennedy. She weighed in at 33.2 lbs. (29th percentile) and 39.5 in. (36th percentile), so she is our little lady. She had fun getting her eyes checked, by telling them all the pictures on the wall and even willingly went with the male nurse to get her hearing checked, and she passed both exams, which was good. Then came time for her shots. She was really brave. The nurse told her that it was going to pinch a little, so she now calls her shots her "little pinches." She did great only crying a little, while Daddy held her and then calmed down when they offered her a lollipop. She reassured us all that her "little pinches" would feel all better tomorrow. She's so great!

Noelle was so funny, because she had to do everything that Joleigh did. She was weighed, measured, the doctor gave her a quick look in her ears and mouth, and then wanted band-aids on her legs and a lollipop. I'm sure she was relieved not to have the actual shots.

The doctor then examined Jaelyn. We found out what we already knew, that we have a very tall and very skinny little baby. She is 25.5 in. long (77th percentile), but only 13 lbs. (20th percentile). This concerned the doctor a little, because she has always measured long but dropped from the 50th down to the 20th percentile. I am still nursing her every three hours, so I need to continue this. I just hope I am producing enough for her, but she is never fussy and sleeps really well, so I think that I am. I also must start her on foods right away. This is new for us, not having to implement food for the two older girls until closer to 6 months.

So we started Jaelyn on rice cereal right away, unfortunately she wants nothing to do with it, but sure looks adorable trying. Hopefully she will catch on soon and put on some weight before her next check-up. Here's our sweet Jaelyn trying her rice cereal for the first time. She is so cute!!!

Our 4th of July

For the most part our 4th of July was pretty uneventful. Just a typical Saturday at home. Joe had to work, so the girls and I got dressed up in our red, white and blue and headed to church to meet him for dinner. We got there a little early and it was so HOT, so Joleigh, Noelle and I treated ourselves to a yummy smoothie to cool off. Then we had cheeseburgers, chips and watermelon for dinner.







After church we headed to our usual fireworks spot. We have been going there for the past few years, ever since we lived in the apartments off of 71st and Bell. There is a great spot to set up chairs and watch the fireworks from from the Peoria Sports Complex, but the best part is avoiding traffic afterwards. We loaded up our drinks, snacks and spray bottles to stay cool. Joe's brothers, Josh and Justin, his sister, Jeri and Jeri's fiance, Mike met us there. We weren't sure how the girls were going to react. In years past Joleigh has been scared of the fireworks, mainly the noise, and we waited only to be in the van during the actual fireworks show. But we were excited to see their reactions, plus it was Jaelyn's first 4th of July, so we had to go. We had so much fun while we waited playing with glow sticks, spraying each other with water bottles and just enjoying our family. When they started the girls were in their own seats, but Joleigh quickly moved to Daddy's lap and Noelle chose to sit with Mike and then later Uncle Joshy.





Some direct quotes: Joleigh-"Daddy they are so large and big." and "You're right, Dad, they do sound like popcorn." Noelle-"They're beautiful." "And sparkly." And then she repeated every color as they exploded.





We had so much fun and created some great memories. Jaelyn was such a trooper and stayed up way past bedtime. We are still adjusting today from getting to bed too late, but it was so worth it, when they woke up this morning asking to go to fireworks again tonight.