Graduation

Sad to say, but yes, Tori has graduated from Kindergarten.

She was so excited. Austin had the day off, MIRACLE! And so we were all able to go and watch Tori's graduation. It was so cute. They sang lots of songs for us and then played a video of pictures from the year. Tori was so cute during the whole graduation.

She is a very smart little girl and loved going to school. I was a little nervous at first because she gets a little distracted when other friends are around, but she did good and paid attention to her teacher (most of the time). She improved through the year and can't wait to start 1st grade. She is LOVING summer break though.

I just spent the last 45 minutes long a video of Tori singing, and it didn't post it. I will try again later. A little mad right now!

Yellowstone

I have a ton to update... so here we go. My sister and her boys came out for a visit from Alabama and the main thing that she wanted to do while she was here was go to Yellowstone. We hoped to see some baby animals, and indeed we did... a bunch of baby bison. That is IT!!! A little disappointing, but fun none the less.

We had all the cousins together for the first time in a year and a half and they had a blast! Uncle John and Uncle David trying to be the tallest. Sorry John, Dave has you beet by a couple of inches. (He is about 6'10")

All the cousins, and the two uncles.

The whole Fennell family, well, all that could make it, waiting for Old Faithful to errupt. I have to say, this was much cooler when I was a kid. Still neat, just not as much as I remember.

My coupon experience

So I went couponing with my friend Julie today. I was totally amazed at how much I really could get for my money. These are all the items that I got at Albertson's today.


4- Gogurts
1- Bounty papers
4 Bertolli alfredo sauce
2 Sweet and Salty Nut bars
1 cake mix
1 Little drums ice cream cones
1 Breyers Ice cream
1 12 roll cottonelle
2 boxes of Cheerios
4 hot dogs

Isn't this awesome!

Total spending: $25.34
Total Savings: $59.75

I was really excited and can't wait to do it again!!

Fireproof

We signed up for Netflicks a couple of months ago, LOVE IT! Anyway, many, people have recommended the movie Fireproof to me as a movie that Austin and I watch. Since his schedule is crazy we just barely got it this week. Last night for our date night we watched it. It is SUCH a GOOD movie. The acting is a little cheesy at first, but I think once you get into the movie you just forget about the acting. Oh, this movie has such a good message. It is about working on your marriage and not being selfish and loving each other and doing kind things for each other, but oh, seriously, good movie. I think that it is a good movie for everyone, especially for every marriage, just be ready to cry. Well, I will just down off my little soapbox, but do rent the movie. :)

Oh, it stars Kirk Cameron.

Uncle Jordan

Uncle Jordan only has two short weeks before leaves on his mission to Arcadia CA. we are so excited for him, but we are also a little sad. It has been fun having him in Pocatello going to school. We have gotten to see him a little more because of that. He and Austin go to play on a city basketball team together (with the other brothers) and had a lot of fun doing that. We enjoyed all our game nights, dinners together, and all our dunk contests in our backyard. We are going to miss him.

Shed Hunting

Austin and his brother Gifford love to go shed hunting, and go out every chance they get. This is the latest finds from their shed hunting excursion. I think they did pretty good. Gifford was pretty excited about the moose shed he found (in the back by his knee). I think they came home with 23, but I could be wrong.

Easter

Sorry these pictures are terrible, but I wanted to show that we had a fun Easter. The girls both got pink baseball gloves. Dad was a little ticked at the Easter Bunny for picking pink. Dang that Easter Bunny, she should know better! The girls love them, they hardly ever put them down. so Mom says, "Good Job Easter Bunny!"

A Day at the Park

Austin had a rotation in St. Anthony and the kids and I went with him for a couple of days. We got to stay with my sister in Rexburg, visit with my brother and his cute family, play at lots of parks and eat lunch with Dad (never happens), go to the temple, and just enjoy time together (rarely happens). It was a fun couple of days, and beautiful ones too.

These are some pictures of the girls playing at the park. Tori loves that she can cross the money bars and Kennedy loves to try everything that Tori does.

Bath Time

This is one of the kids favorite times of the day. They love bath time. The girls were starting to argue and fight a lot in the tub, and I was just about to make Tori take showers and Kennedy takes baths individually, and then I threw Layton into the mix and they all love it. Layton loves to splash up a storm, and the girls just burst into laughter every time he does it, then he does it again because they laughed, then they laugh, over and over again. Bath time is pleasant again! Hallelujah!

My baby is nine months!!

Well, my little baby is nine months, actually a little more now because I am so slow posting! I just can't believe how time flies!
Layton is the happiest little guy. We have only had a couple of time when he has gotten a bit cranky, and both times were because he was teething.
Layton had his 9 month appointment a week and a half ago, and during the appointment we found out that his head is still huge! (95%) and he is still a giant length wise (above 97%) and he dropped drastically on the weight end, from 50% to 10%!!! My poor skinny, tall, big headed boy!
A friend of mine calls him a "grapefuit on a stick." That just about fits him.

Nine fun things about LAYTON:

9. Layton loves to eat!
8. Big beautiful BLUE eyes.
7. Quick to smile.
6. scoots across a room in no time flat!
5. loves power cords! Oh wait, that is not a good thing!
4. Good sleeper.
3. Loves his sisters to death, even when they smother him with loves.
2. His face lights up when his dad walks into the room.
1.Happy, Happy little boy!

WE LOVE OUR LITTLE LAYTON!

Very, very, very, very, very EXCITING NEWS!!!

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE IN OHIO!!!!!!!

This is honestly the most exciting news that I could possibly tell you right now. Our house has been on the market for almost exactly one year, one very long, long year! But this has been a year of many blessings. Our Heavenly Father has blessed us more than we deserve I think, but we are ever so grateful. I know that we were able to make it month to month paying both mortages and all the rest of life because we payed our tithing and did what the Lord asked us to do. We are just so grateful that it has SOLD!!!

Austin got to spend some of his vacation this March going Steelhead fishing in Northern Idaho. He went with his Dad, Uncle Jerry Doug Manning, and a few other friends from home.
They all had a great time. The weather cooperated with them for the most part and they were able to catch some nice fish. This is Austin' Dad with the great big net. He spent a lot of time teaching them all some new things he had learned. I think that he really enjoys that part of fishing. The next picture is Doug with one of his catches.

Austin caught this beauty and the next accross the river from everyone else. It actually terrifies me that he crosses the river when he is fishing, but he always does it anyway because "fishing is always better over there" What do I know?

He caught some really nice fish and enjoyed some "guy time."

General Conference part two...

These were some of the wildlife that we saw on our drive. There were a bunch of does and two bucks. Kinda cool.

I just thought this was a cool picture.

General Conference

Growning up Austin's family would always take a little road trip to the City of Rocks and listen to conference as they were driving. Then in between seesions they would have a picnic of Fried Chicken and climb all over the rocks. They have some great family pictures taken doing just that. Since we now live in the land that we can watch conference on our own T.V. or listen to it on the radio, we decided to take a drive and keep up the tradition.
Austin's brother Gifford and his family also came along. We went all over the mountains, I can't remember where, but if you ask Austin he can
give you every detail of the trip, I guarantee it!
Anyway, we drove around south of Pokey and looked for wildlife and just enjoyed the beauty of the day, because it was a beautiful one! In between sessions we took a little break and had a picnic. Austin took the girls on a little hike then went down to the water and played fetch with Howie.
When it was time to listen again we piled in the truck and started off again.
We drove on roads that had not been driven on since the fall, hence the digging out the snow on the road so we could pass. Good job boys!
After conference was over for the day we all went on a hike. It was a nice hike and the kids really enjoyed being outdoors.
I enjoyed this little family tradition, as did the girls.

Just before our hike I found a great little spot for some pictures, and my girls are always very willing to be photographed, wish their Dad would try to be more like them .

Meaning behind my name

Thanks to my friend Kristi I came across this fun website that tells a little about you from just your name. Kinda fun. It is not totally perfect, but I think that most of it fits me. Any way...

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily.You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind.A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable.

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia.Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

Check out this fun site and see what is behind your name!
www.blogthings.com/whatsyournameshiddenmeaningquiz

Craft Fair

My sister, Michelle, and I just got done doing our first craft fair. It went okay, not as great as we would have hoped (we had REALLY high hopes), but it still was fine. I thought that our booth turned out really nice. Thanks goes out to Jessi for helping me set up and her husband Zach for watching my kids. And Mari for the use of her screen, it added that finishing touch!
I guess that we did not get too burned out with the whole things because we are planning for the next one. We are already replinishing our inventory.