July 4th

I didn't take a lot of pictures but here they are. Mostly took them just to document the event actually happening.
How's the sunburn?

Re-Cap or is just Cap cause I didn't do this before

Alrighty, I have really missed blogging, and I love it cause I look at it as my family's journal, so since FB has taken over the getting in touch with all my friends, this still needs to be done so I can remember the little things that mean stuff to us, and possibly entertain the rest of you, but I don't hold out much hope on that.

ANY HOO!!!

The last "real" post was my birthday, so after that was Easter. We tried a new thing don't know if we'll keep it as a tradition, but it was kinda fun. Peep jousting. We need to fine tune this if we want to keep this one. You put the peeps in the microwave with toothpicks inserted like lances and set the oven for about 15 sec and watch the fun. The last peep left standing is the winner.

Blake also earned his BEAR for cub scouts.

And this year Kirk decided not to do anything with Blakes car and let him do it all and guess what.....Blake took 3rd place. The last 2 years Kirk won last place and second to the last for Blake.

In May I got to host Christi's graduation party. She and Michael both graduated this year from ASU.

Then we spent Memorial Day with the Kasten's and this year the pool wasn't so cold and we were able to get in and have a good time playing water volley ball and watching Yoshi take to the water with Sadie (one Frank and Patti's new additions)

In June Kirk and Landen went to Geronimo again, but I don't have any pictures of that or Father's Day. I had lost the charger to my camera so we'll have to recreate the event before too long.

On the 4th we spent the weekend with Frank and Patti and Patti said she would post those for me......right?

So there you have it, I'm caught up again, and I'll try to keep it that way.

See I'm still here

Lookie what I did! I changed my background and music are you so proud of me. As soon as I'm done with my painting today, I will post the picture of the done deal. I finally have the master bedroom I've always wanted.....minus the curtains cause I haven't decided exactly what I want to do with those yet.

Where oh Where have the Tenney's gone?

It has been almost 2 months since they blogged so I am starting to wonder....
Hmmm are they stuck somewhere they can't get up?...
Did they join a Rock Band band and are touring the country with their new found talent?...
Are they being held up by some extreme militia?...
Did they get eaten by a bear?....

They were last seen at DI (notice Kirk's big smile)...So if any of you have heard of their whereabouts! Please post and let the rest of us know!

:-)

Happy birthday Susette!

Just a few highlights!



and of course my favorite




Hope you had a great day!

Visiting Teaching

A friend sent this to me. I haven't stopped laughing yet.

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen!

In the blink of an eye everything in your world can change. Sometimes, like in this case, it's for a great reason. Kylie, my first born, the child that has been with me the longest, is spreading her wings and doing some test flaps on the edge of the nest. It's bittersweet to watch with awe as she moves into this new phase of life and terrifying at the same time knowing it's virtually a free fall once out of the safety of the nest. I'm actually not as scared for her as my boys, because she has proven to be very trustworthy and self reliant and has a great spirit about her. She knows who she is, and no one will be able to convince her otherwise. I don't know, when I was her age, I could boast the same. We love you so much Kylie and have a very happy birthday.






O.k. now on to the fun stuff. Hee hee. Kylie was awoken at around 7 Monday morning, Presidents day, and she was hoping to sleep in, to some friends candy attacking her room. Very cute and now she has as much candy as she did at Halloween.






Kylie has a very good friend, Aaron. I say friend and not boyfriend, because that's what they are. They have a lot of fun together and he is a wonderful kid. Anyway, Aaron is 17 1/2 and he knew the rule that Kylie will not be allow to date until she is 16. They have been good friends since around October of last year, so he patiently waited until she was. Kylie's birthday this year happen to fall on Presidents Day and so they planned a double date, of course, with Justina and Tanner for the very day. But wait, hold on there buckaroo, did you think it would be that easy to date our daughter. Our only daughter, our first born? If you did, you have another thing coming............

The Tenney Family First Date Survival Kit
Welcome,
If you have opened this packet it must be your time for your first date. You will find many helpful tools, hints and most importantly, ABSOLUTE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, of taking my daughter away from me!!
First, let’s start with a little pre-date interview.
1. Please check one of the following
A. I am an Eagle Scout
B. I not an Eagle Scout yet, but just need to fill out my paperwork.
C. I am not an Eagle Scout yet, but am willing to commit to a project TONIGHT before we leave the house.
D. I am not an Eagle Scout, have no plans of being one and “Thank you sir for your time, I will be leaving now!”

2. My grades in Seminary are…
A. A – and by the way did I tell you it was my favorite class!
B. B – but the only reason for this is that I am constantly late to class, because I get so caught up in my daily scripture reading.
C. Lower than an A or a B and my Seminary teachers name and number are _________________ and I would be willing to call him now and discuss an action plan for bringing my grade up.
D. What is seminary and where was that front door again!

3. My plans for the evening are
A. Here is my written and annotated itinerary for the night.
B. I am willing to write down at this very moment my plans.
C. We sort of have an idea and no I am not opposed to your daughter being on the cell phone with you the whole night.
D. I have no idea we were just going to decide as we go and “Yes, sir there is an extra seatbelt for you in the back seat!”

A Few Tips, okay they really aren’t tips, they are REQUIREMENTS!

1. Enclosed in the packet for your convenience is the “For the strength of Youth Pamphlet” (I have also included handy pocket size versions that you may all carry with you throughout the evening) (Tanner at this point pull his own out of his pocket, way to go Tanner!) Please make time this evening for quite reflection and reading time of the pamphlet. You may also want to recap at the end of the night when you bring her to the door as to how well you followed all the principles in the pamphlet.
2. CTR rings must be worn at all times during the evening. If you do not have one, one will be provide for you. (I have included extras in the packet.) (Tanner again on his "A" game flashes us his ring on his right hand)Remember it stands for “CHOOSE THE RIGHT”, not some other cute or apostate phrase you may make up to suit your own whims!
3. It is strongly recommended that you take turns reciting, both the Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood and the Young Women’s theme at the top of each hour, have fun with this one, see who can do it without looking at the pamphlet, quiz each other on the meanings of each line and reflect on the inspired leaders who came up with the themes and once again, make time for reflections (preferably at the door also) as to how well you lived the precepts taught in these themes.
4. Appropriate music: I am sure that you have an appropriate selection of music such as EFY or Mormon Tabernacle CD’s in your car in order to ensure that the proper atmosphere accompanies you on your ride to your various destinations. (Once again for your convenience many CD’s have been provided in the packet for you.)
5. In order to remind you and those around you this evening what you stand for, please adhere the enclosed “LDS” bumper sticker to your vehicle.


Rules for arriving home on time. (This is the contractual part of the deal)
1. You will have my daughter home at the time agreed upon (I set it, you agree upon it!)
2. When escorting my daughter to the door, you will stay in plain sight, no dodging between bushes, hiding around corners and you must always stay in a well lit area.
3. Keep your hands in plain sight, you may not know which window you are being watched from, I expect to see both hands at all times. (My recommendation would be to keep them on the back of your head, this will make it easier for the officers who show up it there is a problem) This one is my favorite so I highlighted it.
4. The arrival time that we agree upon is the time my daughter will step through the door into the house, without you! Don’t even think that sitting in the driveway or standing in the doorway buys you any extra time, I am also a male and have tried all these tricks and trust me it won’t be worth the consequences!
5. Brief and only brief appropriate contact may be acceptable (the jury is still out on this one so don’t press your luck by trying anything creative). My preference would be a peck on the forehead or cheek, this is always a safe bet and I recently have accepted the “Hand Hug” as my door salutation of choice. In any case I will be counting “One Mississippi”, “Two Mississippi” etc. (as a side note, just ask any of my kids what happens if I make it to “THREE”!!
Well I think we have covered most everything, except any rules I make up while you are gone and have every right to enforce even though you were not aware of them. So with that said comes the binding agreement to follow and abide by all these rules by signing below.
By signing below I agree to all the terms and conditions stated and those not stated to be enforced and made up at the whim and discretion of the FATHER of my date. Failure to comply with any of these conditions will result in immediate termination of the date or any future dating privileges (or phone contact) on my part. I will also be subject to numerous penalties such as back breaking yard work and long term truck washing commitments.
Signature of the boy Signature of the Girl Date
______________________________ __________________________________ __________
______________________________ __________________________________ __________
______________________________ __________________________________ __________
Signature of the Father
__________________________________________ ______.
In closing Remember the Tenney Family Motto….
RETURN WITH HONOR, OR WE WILL KICK YOUR BUTT!
(Reminder Bands Enclosed)

Here all the kiddies, going over the packet of requirements.

And of course they all were required to sign said contract.
They had a really good time on their date, they did have one more couple that had to back out at the last minute, but they had fun all the same. They went to the Arizona Mills Mall for the day and played photo tag and video games at Game Crazy, had dinner at the Rain Forrest Cafe and then went to a movie at the Harkins theatre there. I have to tell you about the dinner. It's so funny. Here you have very poor teenagers trying to spend as much time together as possible. So they walk into the cafe, and they order an appetizer platter that they all share and water. Needles to say the waiter wasn't to thrilled cause he knew he wasn't gonna be getting a huge tip. Then they tell the waiter it's Kylie's birthday and he asks for ID. (When have you ever known them to ask for ID? :"P) So they bring her out this minuscule sundae. The kids thought it was hilarious.
Here they are arriving home right on time.
And the infamous "Hand Hug" it's becoming quite popular. To execute you place your palms together and wrap your thumbs around. Viola'

The next day Kylie was greeted by a sidewalk sign left by her Laurel Advisor and Laurels. All in all she had a great day.

My baby is 10 years old today

Blake is 10. Wow. In 9 very short years he'll be on his mission and Kirk and I'll be empty nesters. I know this because Landen and Kylie will be over 21 and they are not allowed back in the house after 21. Hee Hee. Anyhoo, Blake has become quite the skater and so for his birthday he really wanted to go to Skateland. So that's where we went this morning. Here he is in a very "Blake" pose.



Again might I point out the "Blake" poses. Afterward we came back to our house and the boys played on the trampoline for awhile before they had Pizza, Ice Cream and .......


Sponge Bob Square Cake.

Blake's friend Branden

Blake's friend Cole

And Blake's friend Ian.

Thanks to everyone that came and for all the presents. Blake had a great time. Happy Birthday Blake.

Sing, Sing a Song

This is Kylie and her friend Casey (pronounced Cassie) at a talent competition at her High School. This is the last chorus cause for the first verse Kylie's microphone was off. I think they did a pretty good job of it.

They didn't win the big prize that night, but they are winners to me!

Happy Birthday Kirk!

You know from your very "fashionable" friends :-) A little bit early we know but hope it is a good one!

A Visit With Family

Last weekend we got to see our long lost Nephew Mark and Niece Amber and her family. They were down for Tyler's brothers farewell who also happens to work for Kirk.
O.k. so from left to right is Landen on course, then Mark, me, Blake, Kirk, Kylie, Sammy, Tyler, Jack Jack , Lilly and Amber.
Mark had gotten home from his mission almost about a year ago and because his parents moved to Idaho, we haven't seen him at all. The last time we saw Amber and Tyler Sammy was just a baby and now they have 3 little ones, who are very cute. We were so glad to see them and are hoping that there plans to move back down here will work out. Amber says she's had enough of the snow.

Mother Nature Stikes Again

If you ever wondered how to strike up that dreaded "Sex" talk? Buy a dog and forget to fix it and nature will take it's course and questions ensue. Our recently required puppy Peach is big time in heat. She still looks so little and small I forgot how old she is and that we should've had her fixed by now. Anyhoo, luckily the other two males, Yoshi and Toad, have been so we are good there, but the fixing doesn't necessarily stop the desire, if you know what I mean. And being that our dogs are still quite young, they're not really sure what they are doing. So lately the common phrase at our house is " No! Toad or Yoshi! No head humping!' Sorry if I offend :) This afternoon Peach and Toad got stuck.
I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. Landen and Blake however have never experienced this phenomenon. So Landen and Blake come running in from outside saying they can't get the dogs apart and why why why why are they stuck? So because Peach wasn't so thrilled with Toad in tow I had to unstick them. And it wasn't easy mind you. Landen is a little more educated so he knows why they got stuck, but then askes the question that prompted me to write this post. "Does that happen to humans too?" *with a very concerned look on his face* My answer: Yeah, that's why grandma is here so often.

I should be shot I know, but I couldn't help it.
Just Kidden calm down, I gave him the proper answer after we laughed for a while, but what fun is that.

Watch out world Landen turned 13

Can you believe it my second oldest is now a teenager. I'm feeling very old right now. Landen decided that what he wanted more than a bunch of presents this year, was to get contacts. We have tried to warn him that wearing contacts isn't as easy as it looks. You have to be able to touch your eyeball to put it in and take it out. He assured us that, that would be "no problem" So Kirk takes him to the optometrist and plops down $150 bucks and then Landen won't let the Dr. get anywhere near him or even come close enough to show him how to open his eye. (Have you ever seen that Friends episode where Rachelle has an infection in her eye but is too freaked out to put the eye drops in) Well that's what we have here. Eyeball phobia. So they sent Landen home to "practice opening his eye and touching it" and hopefully he'll desensitize himself enough to get a pair in and out while the Dr. watches and then let him bring it home to practice it more. At least he's getting somewhat comfortable with it to let me take a picture of him trying.

Happy 2009 Everyone!

Here we are standing on the dance floor, just before the festivities begin! Kirk's got his microphone out and we're ready to rock this town with music selected from the best years. 70's and 80's.

And for the famous countdown at midnight, we can't forget the lighted ball dropping to announce 2009! We also had our countdown clock to make sure we didn't miss it.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...........
Happy New Year!
*que music* Should olde acquaintance be forgot........

And the aftermath..... I just had to get these pictures. I was amazed at the left over effects. But then again, it's not really New Year's if there's not confetti everywhere right? Not only did we have the standard poppers, but the balloons we had all over the house also has confetti in them so when they were popped for our balloon game or after the countdown, it was everywhere.

Kirk's bar was a huge hit too. He had just about every kind of soda there is, but he also had flavorings that you could add too it to spice it up a bit. You know kinda like QT. Then of course we toasted in the New Year with individual bottles of Martinelli's

We hope everyone that came has as good a time as we sure did. Nothing better than being with a bunch a friends and having a good time. Thanks for making the start of this New Year a great one!