Mckenna on stage finally!

Mckenna was so happy that the next day after Kristy's recital was the Dicken's Festival so that she could dance her little heart out, and yet, she said it still wasn't enough!

The cute pink hats the girls are wearing in their hip hop Christmas dance, I made for everyone. I had very sore hands that week since I made 20 hats! But they sure turned out cute for the girls and they loved them....


I was sitting to far back to get really great shots and most because of the movement was very blurry, but this is a look at a few that turned out okay....

Kristy's College Recital or Mckenna aching to dance on stage!

Mckenna attended her Ballet teacher's college dance recital today.
During the middle of the show, Mckenna said, "Mom, I just want to get up there and dance!" This was a performance that a lot of Mckenna's dance team decided to attend and we as mom's went also. It was fun because Kristy is also our neighbor and her sister and brother play the violin with Devin in a quartet that her mom put together as a favor to me, to get Devin to play more....

Kristy is an amazing dancer and we are sad that she will be leaving our studio to attend school at SUU in January. Mckenna is wondering who her new Ballet teacher will be?!
Thanks Kristy for helping Mckenna to have a stronger core and help to realize that she actually likes Ballet! 

Thanksgiving pictures

Turkey! Yummy!
But where is Sandi?
Well, her picture didn't turn out, it was blurry!
Sorry.

Family, TomKat weekend and Men in Black Movie night!

On Sunday Kyler decided that he wanted to watch Men in Black. The kids looked so cute laying down on the blankets that I had to take a picture. During the commercials the channel always gets changed to something else. Since it was the weekend of the TomKat wedding, Spike was playing all day Tom's Movies. So we also watched Days of Thunder. But only a few minutes since it is not a kid movie.

How does everyone feel about Tom & Katie Holmes getting married?
Does it bother you that he married after she gave birth to their baby, do you think they would have gotten married if she hadn't had a baby? Or does anyone even care. I find it very interesting that TVGUIDE channel has covered this for 2 weeks now: the preparations week and the wedding week. How many people have actually watched that channel- I scanned it for a second and then grew bored. Really who cares!
What are you feelings?

Surprise, Happy 16th Birthday, Devin!

Devin & Brittney Griffin

A Ton of Friends
Natalie (girl on couch on our left side of view,) & Brittney stayed but the rest of the girls left after the video.


More Friends
Mark, Jesse (the partner in Crime,)Trevor, Kyler and his friends


All the Adults: Jim Griffin in the white shirt, Tyler (the camera man,) Matt in the FSU shirt, Erik, and in the background Michelle and Trina (Erik and Jim's wives.)












Matt and his friends planned Devin's surprise party. It was great, I only had to pull things together, buy the supplies and they did the rest!

Here is what happened on his special day:
Matt took Devin and his friend Jesse to lunch at Wendys. During lunch, Ethan, Trevor and Paul (with Tyler as camera man in tow,) kidnapped Devin and Jesse and took them to the Halladay's house while they were blindfolded and interrogated. While the interrogation was going on Devin was told that he had to complete 5 tasks and that each task would take a certain amount of time and if all were completed in time then he would get $8 a task.
After the interrogation, Jim Griffin dressed as a chauffer gave devin his first task and his first shirt- orange with "Brittney give me a kiss" on it. HIs task was to go into the Halladay's house (where Michelle was having a YW activity and 15 girls were there,) and ask Brittney for a kiss. It was funny because Brittney was in the joke and made it really hard for him.

Task #2 Devin as taken to the city park where Matt had taken our wicker table and a chair, Kyler and his friends to serve Devin a food that he really hates. He had to eat a Hamburger with Ketchup. This may not be hard for most, but Devin really hates Ketchup. He almost barfed 2 times once on Tyler! Tyler told him that if he did barfed on him, he was going to be cleaning it up himself and then he was going to be pounded.

Task #3 was paint balling through and obsticle course where Ethan, Trevor and Paul set themselves up to fire at devin while he went through the course, with Jesse (and Tyler filming!)

Task #4 was Devin writing a poem at Jesse's house and then driven to Lin's the grocery store where he had to read it to 3 different women. This was probably the easiest because like his mother, he not afraid to talk to anyone!

Task #5 was the funniest task of all. Devin was given 2 choices. He could use the $8 to buy me an article of clothing, he could keep the $8 but he would have to try on women's clothing and so what does Devin (who really needs gas money,) pick? He chooses to keep the $8 and try on the clothes. But he had to go into the department store wearing a Hot Pink shirt that said " I wear women's clothing!" I had called a old ward member- Britney (yes, another Britney!) who work at Christensen's and was working that day and asked her to steer devin towards the most ugly and most girly clothes she had. Devin thought she look familiar but didn't recognize her! She lead him to some really nice stuff that is really sext for teenagers, and Devin had to try the clothes on.
As Jim was outside waiting for the boys to come out of the store, he noticed a guy carrying a really big camera and asked him if he would help play a joke on a kid who was on a 16 year old birthday scavenger hunt. The guy was game and went in to the store covering as a Newspaper report writing an article about EMO's (gothic dressing guys who wear very girly, tight pants.) He noticed Devin (who Jim had described to the guy,) and started taking pictures as Devin walked out of the dressing room with a floral skirt and a spaghetti strap floral tank top. It was really funny. The guy told Jim he would send him copies of the pictures when he had them developed. It will be interesting to see the pictures. Devin got a lot of really weird looks from customers of the store which made it even more funny.

Then after it was all over, Jim drove the boys to our house where all his friends (girls and guys,) were waiting for him. He was very surprised and went very red when he saw Brittney there (the kissing Brittney.) Then they watched the video, after that they ate cake, snacked, ate little caesar's pizza and then most of the girls except for Natalie and Brittney and a few of the guys left. But devin's closest friends stayed played games and then went to the Griffen's to watch a movie!
Devin was very surprised by the whole day and had a lot of fun after all the embarrasement was over!!! I secretly think that he like all of the attention though!

Nellis Air Show

The Airshow was a lot of fun, but not as much fun as the one we went to at Hill Air force base with Keith and Lynette's family last spring.

It is nice to go on Veteran's day and be reminded of what the soldiers went through during WWI and WWII and all the other wars, but we missed the great demonstration of the WWII fighters which is my favorite with the B52 Bombers. I love the sound of the older planes engines more than the super speed fighters of today. It was really nice to see the tricks though of the F-16's and the Thunderbirds. My favorite part of that demonstration is when a certain plane is not the focus and they are hanging out behind the scenes and are just doing whatever they want, that is where the fun is, the pilot just messing around by himself waiting for his turn, but he is doing turns, skydives and dips without anyone really paying attention, but I love that part and ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION! Our video at Hill Airforce was made up of mostly those behind the scene flights because as I said, they to me are more entertaining.

Hopefully, we can go to the next airshow that come up since they are what the boys love to do the most when spectating. 

Sadie's Update or how was Devin's first date?

Britney and Devin -Sadies 2006

So, it has take me awhile, but here is the 411 on Devin's first date/dance!

Mckenna and I were at Beauty and the Beast Rehearsals and so we rushed home before Britney picked Devin up for the day. We made it 10 minutes before she arrived.

Britney picked devin up at 11:45 a.m. (for some reason, dance here are an all day event. I thought it was only the Prom's, but not anymore.) I had to take pictures under much protest from Devin but I told him (before Britney arrived,)that I was his mother and it was my job to take pictures of all dances and special occasions such as this, even if it embarrasses him.
Britney, being a year older than Devin, understood the picture thing and talked him into sitting on the couch and taking the picture.

After they left our house, they went on a scavenger hunt at a numerous amount of places, including walmart and then he came home, so the 7 girls could get ready for the dance, they picked him up again and went to the school for the group pictures at 7 p.m. and then had dinner at a friends house and then went to the dance. I guess from Devin's take on it, all the girls but one got sick (her name was Sandy,) and so there wasn't very much dancing Sandy ended up letting (with her dates permission ofcourse- one of devin's friends Trevor,) Devin dance with her since it was his first high school dance and they wanted him to enjoy it.

Britney ended up having her brother take her home before the dance was even over so there was thank-goodness, no awkward goodbyes for Devin to face where he had to decide does he shake her hand, kiss her or what! (so, he says.)

It will be fun to see how the school taken pictures turned out in their matching jackets with all their names on it. 

The sky according to Mckenna

Mckenna came running into the house for the camera because she said the sky was all pinks and purples and beautiful, here are the shots she took and what she saw!


 

The end of Music Man or Why is Kyler wearing a girls hat and all of our props?

Kyler looked so cute holding all of our stuff after Music Man's final night that Whitney Barton's (Amaryllis,) dad Chuck took a few picture of him! I thought you might like to see him and a the girls that made Mckenna cry for an hour after curtain call!

Most of these girls are kyler's age and one of them is in his Language arts class, that is why he is hanging around them.

Mckenna

 

Modesty is Hottest

Saturday, our Stake had an Acheivement Day activity for the girls ages 8 to almost 11. It was really cute they had the girls wear most favorite modest outfit and do a fashion show. Then we sang a song (which Mckenna is holding for you to read,) sung to the tune of "Are your ears to Low." Then they had a few speakers, a poem (which was really good and Dr. Seussish,) and then they had refreshments. While everyone was leaving, I of course had to get pictures of Mckenna for her scrapbook, and have even planned out what it would look like because of the decoration colors. My friend Janet (whose uncle was Matt's neighbor while Matt was growing up- small world,) helped make the page even cuter with a few other ideas, I didn't even think of.






Here are (back to front) Makayla, Christee, Mckenna and Maddison










The pictures aren't that great because, I had to use my phone camera since I didn't think to bring my real camera until after I was sitting watching the first ward start the fashion show. Luckily, the cell phone has a pretty great camera on it!  

# 9 has awesome season!

Kyler asked me not to sign him up for football this year since last year was so horrible for him, but I did anyway and now he is so happy that I did!
He has had an amazing season, the coach has told Matt numerous times how amazing he is for his size, how he wished that the other kids had the drive and desire to play like he does and that they would play as hard as he does. One of his friends told another friend's dad that after he got hit (or tackled,) by Kyler he was seeing stars!

I think that Kyler's heighth is actually to his advantage since he can get his helmet into the chest area and just take the other team's player down. His teammates call him Mighty Mouse or Ankel Muncher.

Every game Matt tells me about some amazing play that kyler has had like his 21 yard touch down, how most of his carry's are in the double digits and that they have named to plays after him, because they are the play maker moves.

I unfortunatly have only been able to watch one of his games because of Music Man, but I got to watch this past Wednesday and he did really well, he intercepted a ball (against a player at foot taller than him,) and scored a touch down. They have lost only 2 games this game was one of them, but they have the (now,) the 3rd best record in the league and are playing sometime this week for their 2nd playoff game. The team they played against had a ton of bigger kids than Kyler's team, but they only won by 1 point, so I don't think that Kyler's team was so shabby.

In the picture, Kyler is in the middle of the field on the left side of the picture.

I can't wait to see his next game! 

And there go the kids! Happy Halloween!

Kyler is a hippy Mr. T. He left to go Trick or Treating with his baseball team down in the valley where most of them live and where the kids believe they have the best candy! Well, he did get a few big bars that Mckenna didn't!
Mckenna is with Christee (again,) and they left next. They went all over the neighborhood and ended up with tons of candy and a lot of fun!
Devin went with Jesse Wilson (Christee's brother,) to a party, thought it was boring and left to just wander the neighborhood and see what was going on, they ended up back at our house to watch the Mummy since there wasn't anything exciting going on. As Devin said, "This is what it is like to be an adult? This sucks!"

But he does look freaky in his gorilla mask, right?

The decor is too!