Get to Know Tanner, Kara and Kendra

We decided that it would be fun to include the kids on this one. They helped us come up with the lists.

25 Things About Tanner

1. His favorite sport is baseball.
2. He has a great imagination.
3. He is smart.
4. He doesn't like the cold.
5. He's a Star Wars Lover!
6. He doesn't like tomatoes.
7. He's a good artist.
8. He loves chocolate!
9. He is almost finished reading Ramona Quimby Age 8 right now, and he likes it.
10. He enjoys researching science topics at school.
11. He didn't like living in Dominica, especially the walking, food, bumpy or lack of sidewalk.......
12. He knows how to snorkel from living in Dominica ( I guess he did like something about living in the Caribbean).
13. He hates getting his hair cut, mostly because it makes him itchy.
14. He likes to spike the front of his hair.
15. He has a hard time choosing favorites because he doesn't like to hurt any one's feelings.
16. He's a good swimmer.
17. He has a hard time falling asleep when he goes to bed, but once he is asleep he is out.
18. He has pretty good fashion sense, I trust his opinion before I trust Barry's.
19. He likes watching movies, especially "Horton Hears a Who".
20. He likes to be good, and hates getting in trouble at school.
21. His best friend is Josh.
22. He has to be reminded every time after he uses the bathroom to wash his hands.
23. He has a hard time getting rid of things.
24. He once peed in his own mouth when he was a baby.
25. He is a kind person and a friend to every one.

25 Things about Kara

1. She likes to read books to Kendra.
2. She is the candy queen.
3. She once called her dad a mean green bean.
4. When she was little she would take off her diapers and poo on the floor, sometimes it was smeared all over her body or all over the room, or one time Kara was yelling, "Ant, ant." We came in to see that she had pooped on the floor and a big cockroach was eating it. Gross!
5. Kara loves the water, but sinks when she tries to swim, although she is getting better.
6. If you tell Kara she can't do something, she will prove you wrong. She is very determined.
7. She is smart.
8. She is learning how to read!
9. She has a bubble gum machine, that is most always empty.
10. She can ride a two wheel bike.
11. She always gives compliments to people and notices the good in people.
12. She always says I love you!
13. She reminds us to pray and have scriptures everyday.
14. She likes oatmeal, and asks for it at least one morning a week.
15. When she wakes up her hair is always snarly. She doesn't like having it brushed.
16. Her nicknames are Kara-boo, and Kara-bear.
17. She is always doing some sort of craft project and loves tape, staples, scissors and glue!
18. She rarely zips her coat up (like her dad), unless we make her.
19. She likes to have friends over to play.
20. She always knows where thing are, I ask Kara first if she has seen whatever is lost.
21. She gets her jobs done and is a good worker.
22. She likes to surprise Tanner by doing his chores.
23. She is good at drawing and coloring.
24.She doesn't like to buckle herself up in the car.
25. She learned how to tie her shoes after watching one time.

25 Things About Kendy

1. She steals candy from her siblings, emptying the bubble gum machine or taking anything within her reach.
2. She is a milkaholic.
3. She doesn't like getting in trouble.
4. She love babies and is always soft with them.
5. She only likes bananas whole, not cut up (she won't eat them).
6. She likes princesses, Dora and Barney.
7. She likes going to Nursery.
8. She doesn't like long car rides.
9. Her favorite shirt is a princess shirt, that she won't let us cover up with a coat or sweatshirt.
10. She likes to swim, and can hold her breath. She also has incredible buoyancy.
11. She is in the 100th percentile for height and 95th for weight.
12. She speaks through her nose or just makes sounds in her throat. She has stared vocalizing more often lately, but she is very hard to understand.
13. She takes off her own diapers.
14. She had RSV when she was just a couple of weeks old.
15. Her favorite toy is a Care Bear castle that Lily gave to her.
16. She loves to go for wagon rides.
17. She likes to give hugs to friends, but she usually ends up knocking them down.
18. She doesn't like to go to bed.
19. She loves books and reading.
20. She loves her brother and sister and is so excited when they come home from school.
21. She likes to pray, even when it's not her turn.
22. When she gets a cold, it hits her hard, especially the first few days.
23. She likes to wear a bow in her hair.
24. She likes to help with laundry, putting the clothes into the washer and dryer, and unfolding all the clothes that are folded.
25. She is so sweet and gives lots of hugs and kisses.

Basketball

Tanner has improved a lot on his defense this season. He is also a great passer and always looks to pass before shooting, which is so frustrating (Mom and Dad I finally know how you felt watching me). We enjoy watching his games.

Dance

Kara has enjoyed taking dance this time around.

Barry caught Tanner singing to HSM.

25 or So Random things about Barry and Jodie

Jodie's 25 Random Things

1. I love eating cookies, especially ones with chocolate chips
2. I am a bargain shopper; I love finding good deals and have a hard time passing them up.
3. I love reality TV, especially Survivor.
4. I lived in the Caribbean for 16 month with my husband and two oldest children.
5. Last summer we traveled (driving most of the way) and went swimming in the Pacific Ocean as well as the Atlantic Ocean.
6. It took me 7 years to get my bachelors degree and I only took one semester off.
7. I have been married nine years and during all nine of those years, at least one of us have been a student, although this is the last time I can say that because Barry just graduated !
8. I love taking pictures.
9. I love putting those pictures in photo books using Kodak, Shutterfly, and My Publisher.
10. This year I played on a volleyball team at the YMCA.
11. I volunteer in my son Tanner’s 1st grade class twice a month.
12. I plan activities for girls between the ages 8-11 twice a month at church.
13. I love playing games!
14. I was on the swim team when I was young.
15. I played basketball in high school.
16. I always cut my kids sandwiches diagonally both ways so they have four triangles that they can make into butterflies.
17. My favorite stores are Target and Goodwill.
18. I talk to one of my sisters or my mom almost every day.
19. I hate when people leave water running.
20. I rarely watch movies or go to the movies. I think that in my nine years of marriage I can count on one hand the times we have gone out to a movie together.
21. I frequently sell things on ebay.
22. I hated spending money in college (my single years), but now don’t have a problem with that.
23. I wish to live close to one of my sisters someday.
24. I like to stay busy, but some days I really stress myself out by having too much scheduled (I get them from my mom).
25. I love Mexican food.

Barry’s 25 or So Random Things

1. My favorite food is pizza.
2. I play basketball twice a week
3. I once shattered a glass basketball backboard, slamming it.
4. I bake homemade bread
5. If I didn’t go to medical school, I would have loved being a chef.
6. I’m 1/32 or 1/64 (not quite sure) Native American.
7. I like to sell things on ebay.
8. I like reading real estate books.
9. I don’t like watching a movie more than once, except for Dumb and Dumber.
10. I like playing with my kids.
11. I love fly fishing with my brothers.
12. I like spending time with my wife, playing tennis or going out to eat.
13. I love swimming at the beach and can stay in the water for hours.
14. I go to church every Sunday, except when I’m sick or soon when I’ll be on call.
15. My favorite sport to watch is football.
16. I’ve always wanted to grow my hair out, but never have.
17. My mom tried to sign me up for clogging lessons when I was a teenager, but I refused to go.
18. I got kicked out of piano lessons because of lack of progress when I was young.
19. I had to do ten hours of custodial work service because I got caught peeing on the school bus in High school.
20. I also had to wash a bunch of buses for throwing sticky marshmallows at my fellow choir members while on the bus.
21. At the age of ten, I dug a pool in my back yard, filled it with water and charged all the neighbor kids to swim in it. I was the life guard.
22. I had a tadpole business; all the tadpoles I sold would die after a week so everyone would come back and buy more.
23. In high school I had a 90 mph fast ball, and was contacted by a scout from the Houston Astros.
24. I served a 2 year mission in Hong Kong.
25. I am the nursery leader at church.
26. If my wife let me, I would drink a gallon of milk a day.
27. I like to paper trade stocks.

Seen and Heard

Barry was tucking Kara into bed sometime last month.
Barry: "Kara you seem a little sad."
Kara: "I don't think I like my school any more."
Barry: "Are you having a tough time with friends?"
Kara: "Yes, they didn't want to play with me (later I found out that she did something to annoy them so that's why they didn't want to play with her)."
Barry: "Kara I want you to always remember that no matter what happens at school with friends or if you are just having a hard day that I love you and your mom loves you and you can come and tell us anything."
Kara: (after a moment of thought) "Dad, do you think you can write that down for me so I can always remember that." (Cute, Kara can't read yet, but she wanted it written down.)
Barry: "Sure."
Kara goes to sleep and wakes up the next morning.
Kara: "Dad, remember what you said last night."
Barry: "Yep. (Smiling at Kara)"
Kara looked up at him with a big smile!


Kara: "Mom, I love this dinner. I think that when I am all grown up and have kids that my kids will like this (homemade mac and cheese), can I get the recipe?"
Jodie: "Sure, we'll have to make a recipe book for you with all your favorite recipes. What recipes do you like best."
Kara: "Taco Salad, Jello, Rice Crispy Treats, Taco Soup, Shells and Cheese, Peanut butter cookies, Chicken and rice soup......."


Barry was giving the kids a lesson in finances and what assets and liabilities are. During the discussion he expressed the importance of always paying tithing. Tanner said (about paying tithing), "Getting blessings is more important than getting money." I was impressed! This is a big step for Tanner to say this because the first time he paid tithing he was four. He took his tithing envelope up to the Bishop, shook his hand and came back to sit down and immediately said, "Well that was a big waste of money!" He has obviously matured and gained a testimony of tithing.

Not Much Going On

It has been nice to have Barry home these past couple of weeks. We are trying to get all my projects accomplished before he starts residency. We can check cleaning the basement off our list. It is so organized and we even made a little T.V. area for the kids, although we watched a movie down there yesterday and it just isn't ideal. Every time the heat kicks on, you can't hear anything (unless the volume is all the way up). So, we might be changing things around again. Now there is room for the kids to ride their scooters and bikes!!!

We had two snow days this last week, not because of snow, but because it has been sooooo cold. Tanner was happy to stay home and isn't looking forward to school tomorrow.


The kids wanted me to tell them a bedtime story, so they all piled into Kara's bed to listen.

Kendra loves accessorizing! She finds things like hats, glasses, bracelets, necklaces, stick on earrings, and shoes to complete her outfits.

Disappearing Gumballs

Kara came home from school today, ran to her room and then burst into tears. I ran to see what was wrong. All her bubble gum from her new bubble gum machine that she got for Christmas was gone, and she was hysterical. I didn't eat any of it and Barry didn't either (it had been man-handled a little to much). Kara said, "It must have been Kendy, or Dad." I knew it wasn't Barry, so it had to of been Kendra. She was the only other one home. I knew that Kara had given Kendra a piece of gum before she left for school, so I didn't think twice about it being in her mouth. She had been sneaky and taken it off of Kara's dresser and helped herself to the rest of the gum. We had to go and buy a refill. Now we only put a few gumballs in at a time just incase it happens again.