The Sonnenbergs

Kauai - March 2010

2010-03-27T21:28:00.001-07:00

Our first day in Kauai...the girls are SO excited and ready to go!!

I loved the pineapple coconut ice cream!!! Yes, I pretty much had dessert every night!! :)

My fearless husband playing in some pretty big waves...apparently he still thinks he's 21 years old and invincible! :)

Just a picture I took of one of the many beautiful sunsets!We loved the walks along the beach.
These two had SO much fun together! They are such sweet sisters!!

Okay, this picture tells it all! It captures each of our personalities in a single shot...Tehya walking, discovering, moving about...Mom trying to keep a hold on her...Aliyah staying close to mom's legs with a shy smile...Dad is calm, relaxed and got a soft hold on mom and willing to take a quick picture before he plays...and Maya saying, 'forget the picture' I'm here to swim and do my own thing!! :) (she's in the blue raft in the background) It truly captures us in the moment! LOVE it!
This is all for tonight!!! I will try and post more later!

Family Pictures!

2009-10-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

We just finished taking family pictures! (We decided to get a head start!) It was a fun day! Thanks Amanda!

My Girls!

2009-08-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a recent picture of my girls! :) Tehya just turned six months!!! Time is going too fast!

Maya - 4 1/2 yearsAliyah - 2 years 8 months
Tehya - 6 months! :)

10 Year Anniversary!

2009-07-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it has already been ten years! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

Ken and I went to the temple in the morning and Aliyah was SO insistent that I wear my wedding dress there! :) I didn't wear it to the temple, but I did try it on for her! :) She said that she likes when I'm a "princess." (I guess that means when I dress up!) Then, she wanted to try it on and I promise she loved wearing it, even though this picture says otherwise!

After the temple, we took the girls swimming. I just love how their personalities come out in pictures!

Tehya is almost six months old...in just four days! She is growing up so fast. Oh, and she LOVES the water!
Oh, and just a few fun flashback photos for you...here we are ten years ago!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T18:44:00.001-07:00

I love the 4th of July and the opportunity it gives us to celebrate the wonderful country in which we live and also give me the opportunity to teach my girls a little history! Here we are before my sister's 4th of July party.

I just had to include this last one....just in case anyone out there thought it was easy to get three kiddos looking at the camera at the same time! Just a little real life shot for you! :) I just love how sweet Maya and Aliyah look...I guess the crying doesn't phase them!

Best Friends!

2009-06-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Cassie, came in town last week to spend a few days with me while Ken was at Scout Camp. We had SOOO much fun! We have been best friends since we were 12 years old...that's twenty years! Wow. She is definitely one of the greatest blessings in my life.

This is us at Toys R Us, looking for some gifts for her girls. I love how you're just right down there playing with them! :) What did you say "finding the joy in motherhood?" I can't remember exactly, but you do it so well! My dad's favorite phrase "Carpe Diem" (seize the day!)

Oh, and I was definitely replaced at bedtime! Maya wanted stories from "Aunt Cassie" every night! :) I don't blame her...I loved our "stories" after they went to sleep! :) I MISS you!! Love you and thanks for always being there from Girls Camp to three girls! :)

Jackson (Hole), Wyoming

2009-05-24T20:31:00.001-07:00

We just got home from the most incredible vacation! We decided to take an extended weekend trip to Jackson, Wyoming and I'm so glad we did. It is beautiful! The air is so clear, the mountains are stunning, and the people there were wonderful. Here are some pictures of Ken and the girls horseback riding. Maya had her own horse for the hour long ride and did amazing. Ken rode with Aliyah and Tehya and I went on our own little hike! :)

My brother, Oscar, and his wife, Susie, were also there this weekend to watch Susie dance in the Memorial Day parade. She did wonderful...of course! I love Oscar in his cowboy hat and boots...reminds me SO much of dad!
Jackson was VERY kid-friendly and had a lot of activities for the girls to do after the parade including face painting and making hats! I love how these two like to hold hands...they really enjoy each other.
Hiking in Teton National Park. That is Jenny Lake behind us.
More hiking....SO glad we brought the baby carrier!

And, last, but surely not least, a picture of my three girls. Maya and Aliyah LOVE Tehya and always want to hold her or sit by her. There is something special about having three girls! Tehya is almost four months old...wow, how time flies! Well, to conclude this post, if you want a fun, family get-away....try Jackson Hole, Wyoming! It is a beautiful place.

Happy Birthday Maya!

2009-04-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

Maya turned 4 years old this week! We had a "pony" party for her and she loved it! It was a fun day! I just love how excited she gets about life.

Oh, and one more of James and Jenny (and Tehya)...she's a keeper!

Birthday Fun!

2009-03-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Ken planned a wonderful birthday for me today! Everything was supposed to be a surprise, but I accidently ruined the lunch surprise! Sorry! Anyway, he set up lunch at Pizza Factory with all of my family and we had a wonderful meal! You will notice the girls are dressed up! I told them we were going to a birthday party and they wanted to dress up for it! :)

Maya and Aliyah with one of their favorite people....their cousin, Deanna Durrant!!! The fam! :)After lunch, Ken got a babysitter and surprised me with a trip to Park City and Salt Lake for some shopping. We ended off the evening with a yummy dinner! Thanks babe for a great day! Oh, Tehya, of course went with us on our little shopping outing and dinner. She did great! (And, you'll notice the UT shirt Ken is wearing...he said he wore it for me! :) Too bad the Blue Devils knocked them out of the tournament...of course I don't think my mom minded too much! ;)

Grandpa and Grandma

2009-03-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went up to Salt Lake for my nephew's basketball game and stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's house for a visit. The girls had SO much fun! They sure love their grandparents. Here are some pictures from our visit...this first one is probably my favorite! Grandpa is so wonderful at capturing precious moments and I wanted to catch him in action. Grandmother is so wonderful with babies, she truly has a gift.

Grandpa says he gets a little nervous about holding them! But, he was sure wonderful with Tehya.

Newborn Pictures

2009-02-23T21:38:00.000-08:00

It's late and I'm usually asleep by now, but I just had to post Tehya's newborn pictures that I picked up tonight! There are at least 50 more!!! But, I think 5 will do for tonight! :) I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one of the girls!!! :)

If you want to see a few more, go to www.amandasimages.blogspot.com Thanks Amanda! I love them all!!!

Visit from Grandma Mink

2009-02-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

My mom has been in town helping out for the past week and it has been SO nice! She left yesterday for Texas and we all miss her!Look at all this dark hair!!! I wonder if it will stay?!

I LOVE newborns little features.

Maya LOVES to hold her little sister...and she loves the camera! :)

Maya likes to mimic Grandma Mink by putting rollers in her hair!

Grandma reading to Aliyah. Notice the bilirubin lights on Tehya...she only had them for a week and we are glad they are gone!

Aliyah LOVES her baby sister!

Oh, and the girls think Tehya's crib is their new toy! Maya says she is doing "gymnastics"!

In Love With our Little Tehya

2009-02-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

Tehya is such a joy and we are all so in love with her.

She's Here!

2009-01-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

Tehya Mink Sonnenberg born at 9:17pm on January 28th! Dad changed the first diaper!

Ken was SO amazing throughout the whole birth process and afterwards. He was so calm, encouraging, supportive...everything. He even put his swim suit on and sat next to the birthing tub with me. After Tehya was born, he took her into another room and slept on this TINY couch with her just so I could get some rest. (However, I don't think I slept more than 30 minutes last night...too much excitement.)

Right as we walked in the door this morning, Maya walked out of her room. Ken told her that her sister was here and she was SO excited to hold her.
Aliyah got up a few hours later and couldn't wait to meet her as well.

We are so excited to have this new little angel in our family and feel so blessed. We are doing great and hope all is well with each of you!

My Silly Girls!

2009-01-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

Maya and Aliyah both have quite the personality and love to try and make me laugh! :) I caught a few pictures of their antics today.

Of course, these last two are my favorite...I LOVE to see the friendship they have developed.

Let it Snow!

2009-01-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know this is shocking for people who actually read my blog to see two posts in one week, but I couldn't resist sharing tonight's activity. Ken wanted to build a "snowman family" in the front yard and we all had fun!I LOVE this face!The finished product! Notice the snowmom's belly! :)Oh, and another fun activity today, we had a "very merry unbirthday" party! Maya saw some pictures of Aliyah's birthday cake this morning and wanted to make a cake and have a party! So by 10am a cake was done and friends were on their way over! It was a fun and creative morning! :)

Maya even had "presents" for her friends! It's fun to see what you can find around the house and wrap up! smile!

Maya and Aliyah decorated the cake with horses and "grass!"

Aliyah couldn't keep her fingers out of it! So...we wish you all a very, merry un-birthday!

Some December Pictures!

2009-01-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

Aliyah and Maya LOVE books. It's fun to see them enjoy them together. My favorite is when Maya "reads" her a story by turning the pages and talking about the book.

Christmas Morning! My girls LOVE baby dolls and dogs! Aliyah & Maya were excited for their new dolls.And this was a gift for me from my little sister in Texas! Okay, moms, do you just love this? :) We had my family over for a wonderful Christmas dinner! Everyone brought something to share and we had a great time.

Christmas Eve with my sister and her grandchildren! The nativity re-enactment was the highlight!
Maya helped me make cookies for a neighborhood cookie exchange! Then, we brought some to a retirement home and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Maya was adorable taking the cookies around to all the "grandmas and grandpas!"

Maya is also in Sunshine Generation, which is a singing/performing group. They had a concert for the BYU Faculty Christmas Party...she loved it.

Go Maya! :)

Thanksgiving in Texas!

2008-12-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Texas and had a wonderful time! Aliyah's birthday fell on Thanksgiving day, so Grandma Mink made a cake for her and we celebrated while we were in Texas. She LOVED the horses on it!

My nephew, Justin, with my sister Amanda at Thanksgiving dinner.

My brother, Jeff, took us on a nature walk in the backyard. I grew up with acres and acres of land behind our house. It was fun to watch Jeff teach Maya and me!!

My brothers....Jeff and John.

My sister's (Amanda) beautiful kids...Edith and Jett.

I was also able to visit with friends! We drove up to Dallas to spend time with Cassie and her three adorable and sweet girls. It was such a FUN trip!! Thanks Cassie! She even made Maya her first cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream! Yummy!

Our girls had SO much fun playing together...pretty soon there will be six girls playing together! Wow...who would have thought?! :)Oh, and this is Ava (her FIVE year old) reading books to Maya. Yes, she is only five and can read ANY book you hand her!My best friends from highschool...it was SO fun to catch up!!! Nycole is in the middle and Tanae is next to her with her little girl Jordyn.

My other best friend from high school was Candace and she is due almost the exact same time as I am in January! She is also having a girl. She is standing next to her brother and sister, who, by the way, have grown a TON since I last saw them! :)

Oh, and one final picture of my nephew Justin tackling my brother-in-law, Jeff. Justin is an amazing football player...one of Austin's best! He has two amazing sisters as well...Ashley and Amanda.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

My little pumpkin and tinkerbell! What a fun night!Maya decided she wanted to be Tinkerbell when her friend Gracie told her that she was going to be Tinkerbell! Here they are!Someone's excited to get started!

A day in the life...simple pleasures

2008-10-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been awhile since I blogged, but I had a fun day on Thursday, a day filled of just little, simple pleasures and I wanted to share! The girls and I started the day doing laundry (this has become a Thursday tradition!) However, the girls wanted to help and it was really fun to do it together!

We spent the rest of the morning at a friend of mine's house. She made us some delicious homemade applesauce last week and I wanted to learn how to do it! She invited me over and we made 10 jars worth! It was a lot of fun and the girls helped out too.

Later that afternoon, we played outside for a little while. Aliyah loves to push Maya around on her bike. Maya seems to enjoy the free ride as well! There are few things that bring me more joy than seeing my girls play together and be friends.

When Aliyah takes her nap, Maya and I usually do some "school." She loves to learn and it is our special, quiet time to be together. I really enjoy it. I really think life is about enjoying the simple pleasures everyday. And, today, was one of those days that seemed full of them.

And, of course, being pregnant, one of the greatest treasures of all!

California!

2008-09-22T19:50:00.001-07:00

Last week Ken and I took a trip to California with some of my family. (My niece April Fillmore and her husband and three boys and my nephew, Dave Mink, and his wife and two boys! Needless to say, my girls were outnumbered, but they had a blast!) Thanks for inviting us Dave and April!!!We also visited Ken's uncle, Dean, his wife Deanna and their son Nathan. But, Maya spent most of her time with the family dog, Tucker. She LOVED him!
Dean grilling some amazing steak. They made us the most delicious Sunday dinner! Thanks!
Near the beach where we stayed was a park with a zip line! I took Aliyah for a ride, but Maya wanted to go by herself! She's a brave girl.
Ken enjoyed learning to surf!
Check him out! By the end, he was a pro! Santa Barbara Zoo...I LOVE Aliyah's face here! She's saying "hold on Maya, we're going for a ride!"

The girls had the chance to feed a giraffe! It left quite an impact on Aliyah and whenever I ask her about the giraffe, she says "long neck lick me!" And then she starts to laugh. I think she was a little surprised to see the giraffe's tongue coming at her!
We had amazing weather! Sunny all week!

Here is Maya holding a baby octopus! Benjamin, April's husband, showed us where to find them. It was a favorite activity among the kids!

April Fillmore, me and JesseAnn Mink. Don't be fooled by this picture...with 7 kids under the age of six, we were hardly ever just sitting around and hanging out!!! :) But our walks along the beach were fun!

I also did a little kayaking. Ken caught this picture of me with the girls watching. Aliyah wanted to come with me so bad! Maybe next year sweetie!

It's a Girl!

2008-09-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we found out today that another girl will be joining our family in January! We are so excited for these sisters to grow up together! What a fun day. We just wanted to share our exciting news!

New Pictures...Finally!!!

2008-08-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it has been way too long!!! I've had some camera issues (just lost the charger and had to order a new one!) Anyway, no more excuses....here's what we've been up to. To begin, in August, we had a visit from my best friend Cassie, her husband, and three adorable girls! Here we are at the top of Sundance!

The boys rode their bikes down the mountain and we rode the gondola down with five girls under the age of 6....not sure who had the bigger adventure! :) Making princess crowns!

Such fun girls!

In July, we took a trip to Chicago to visit Ken's dad. We had such a wonderful time! Here are a few pictures from his farm. The girls LOVED riding the horses!!!

In July, we also had my family reunion and my brother, John, and his three amazing children (Justin, Ashley & Amanda) stayed with us. Here are Justin and Ashley with their cousin Deanna. The next picture is Maya and Amanda.

Well, there's the mini update! Sorry it has been so long!

Cahoon Reunion

2008-07-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

July 3rd and 4th we celebrated with Ken's Grandmother Cahoon and her children and grandchildren for the Cahoon Reunion. His Aunt Carol (picture below in the green shirt) worked so hard to organize this reunion and it was a great success! Thanks Carol and thank you grandmother for such a wonderful family and legacy.

Aliyah and Maya enjoyed all the fun activities, including bounce houses, swimming pools and a slip and slide!

Oh yea...and they LOVED the chocolate chip cookies too!! :)
Maya having fun on the slip and slide!

Our News!

2008-06-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

I sure hope you can read this....we are expecting a new baby on January 27th and are SO excited! :)

Scout Camp

2008-06-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ken's been at Scout Camp since Wednesday and gets back today (Saturday). The girls and I missed him, so we drove up Friday afternoon for a visit. It was fun to show the girls the campsite and play in the water. Dad even took us boating and the Boy Scouts cooked us some burgers! Maya was having SO much fun that she asked dad if she could spend the night at scout camp with him! What's not too love...boating, tubing, fishing!
My hubby and I....we miss you!!Okay, so I'm including this picture because Maya is holding her first pack of gum that she bought with 'her money.' :) However, I think it's going to be her last pack for awhile, because she didn't quite understand the concept of chewing it and spitting it out when she's done! Needless to say, she has a lot of gum in that little tum! Is it really as bad as our mothers told us?!?! Hope not!
Here are the boys grilling some burgers! The boys do all the cooking for the week. They are such good kids.

Not your everyday "Grandma"

2008-05-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is 'grandma' (my mom) and yes she is bouncing several feet off the trampoline with Aliyah! :)She didn't want me to write this, but, yes, she is 63 years olds....I only HOPE I have that much energy and spunk when I'm her age! As you can tell from the next picture, she was having a blast! She slowed down for a little reading time with the girls. The girls love stories and books! Maya is really into stories and everyday says "Tell me a story." She gets a bedtime story from mom and dad every night.
My mom and I had a 'girl's weekend' trip to Denver on Mother's Day weekend. We spent Friday and Saturday in Denver shopping, going to musicals, and just hanging out. Then, we came home early Sunday morning and celebrated Mother's Day with Ken and the girls.
Here is what we came home to!Ken made us a WONDERFUL dinner of roast, green salad, jello salad, rolls, and for dessert....ice cream brownie sundaes!!! YUM! It was delicious and so sweet of him!For Mother's Day, my mom bought me this beautiful outfit for Church. It was fun to have something new to wear. I also had the wonderful opportunity to speak at Church on Mother's Day.
Oh, and one more picture for fun! My little "twinners!" I never dress the girls alike, but I just couldn't resist! Maya had fun dressing like her little sister!

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

2008-04-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

My friend and neighbor, Kristen, invited Maya, Aliyah and I to Thanksgiving Point's Gardens for the Tulip Festival (which is over, but the tulips were in bloom!) The girls had a great time and Maya loves spending time with her friend, Gracie. Maya making a wish! Well, I'm not sure if she actually made a wish, but she had a fun time dropping the penny in! :)
There were so many beautiful flowers there, but my favorite were the purple pansies. My dad used to tell me that pansies reminded him of his dad (who had passed away when he was a teenager). Now that my father has passed away, I also have a special love for pansies.

Maya LOVED playing in the water (maybe even more than looking at the flowers!) I knew she was ready to start swimming again when she asked if she could swim in the fountain! Nope...sorry!!

This is Aliyah's "smile." Well, not really, but whenever I asked her to smile today she made this face. Too funny!

The waterfalls were magnificent as well.

And, one final picture...this one is from last weekend, the morning after Ken and Maya's daddy-daughter date. Dad took her to Build-a-Bear, where they made this stuffed "doggee" together and the next morning she wanted ribbons and pigtails like the dog! :)

Is there anyting more beautiful...

2008-04-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

than a great-grandmother cuddling her grandchild?

Maya, Aliyah and I were able to spend a morning with Grandmother Cahoon (Ken's maternal grandmother) and his Aunt Carol. We had a wonderful visit and it is always so much fun and so inspiring to visit with Grandmother.
And the girls had SO much fun playing with Aunt Carol. They would hide underneath a desk and pretend to be monsters! Then, they would come out and scare her! They just laughed and laughed!

Oh, and did I mention that Carol fixed us fresh fruit smoothies and sandwiches on homemade bread!?!?! YUM! (which, by the way she cut into triangles just for Maya and Aliyah!) It was a wonderful morning!

Birthdays!

2008-03-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

Maya and I celebrated our birthdays the last two weeks! We went to the petting zoo for Maya's and mine was on Easter!

Since I will not have an Easter birthday again, I asked Ken for an Easter basket this year!
Oh..and a few more pictures! A couple of weeks ago we went to St. George to visit some friends. They have five boys and when I walked out to the garage to check on Maya, there she was holding their snake!!!

Oh and one more VERY important, recent event....our city league team took first place!!! Way to go gals! You guys are awesome!

Cousin Time

2008-03-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Collin & Casen came over to play the other day! They are such good and sweet boys and it was really fun to see Collin and Maya play together! (for those that don't know, Collin & Casen are Dave & JesseAnn Mink's boys. Dave and I were best friends growing up and it is SOOO fun to see Maya & Collin becoming friends as well!)

Big sister helping out!

2008-03-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

After Family Home Evening, we like to have a short "testimony time." Aliyah usually runs around and watches us. Well, last testimony time, Maya said that she could help Aliyah! It was soooo cute and so funny! She got right behind Aliyah and started whispering in her ear. After she was done helping, Maya ran off and we all clapped for Aliyah. Aliyah LOVED it and started laughing!

Kangaroo Zoo

2008-03-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

Maya is at the age where she loves to tell me where she wants to go and what she wants to do that day. One of her favorite places is the Kangaroo Zoo (a place that has a bunch of blow-up slides and trampolines!) We wanted to share her favorite place with dad. As you can tell from the picture...he loved it...but, I'm not sure how much Aliyah liked it! :)Maya loves going down the big slides! :) She was a "little nervous" the first time, but did great.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2008-02-13T21:32:00.000-08:00

From Maya & Aliyah: "Happy Valentine's Day!" Maya making a Valentine card for her daddy!
Dad has been out of town and gets home late tonight, so we decided to surprise him with some homemade valentine's! :)

I love my husband...

2008-02-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

it's 10pm and I'm exhausted and am going to bed. But, my sweet husband just left to take our angel Maya to the doctor. Her temperature has ranged from 100 to 104 over the past two days and she just can't seem to kick this fever. The only appointment the after-hours doctor had was at 10:20. I offered and offered to take her, but he insisted on him going and me going to bed. So, that's what I'll do, but my heart is just so full of gratitude that I had to share my feelings.

More Hawaii Pictures

2008-02-06T21:04:00.001-08:00

Okay, so one of my favorite things about Maya...her personality!!! It is just bursting out of her little body! :) She LOVED the beach.
The following pictures are from our whale watching boat ride. Ken took this one...pretty amazing. My handsome husband on the front of the boat. He was like a little kid when we hit the huge waves! I was getting a little nervous, but he had no fear. (ahhh....another problem with pictures....I'll post this one soon!!! :)

Lest ye think that the boat ride was nothing but a whale watching magical adventure, the truth is...I got sea sick and threw up 12 times!!! :) This next picture was taken right after we got off the boat...don't look too closely at the sweater and skirt hem!!! Yuck!!!

Just one of the family...and, oh yeah, in case you haven't noticed...I cut my hair! I took ten inches off and donated to Locks of Love. It is a great organization which uses the donated hair to make wigs for children with rare diseases and cancer. If you're interested, check out their website: www.locksoflove.org

Date night to a Luau!!! SOOOO fun!

Aloha!

2008-02-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it's time to catch up! We spent the last 10 days in Hawaii visiting Ken's mom. She is leaving on a mission to Romania and she invited us to come and stay with her and her husband Barry. We had such a wonderful time and the girls were great travelers! Here they are enjoying some pineapple!
There was a park right next to the beach! I spent a lot of time in the park, but I didn't mind...I felt lucky to just be in warm weather!
(Okay, so I want to add more pictures, but my computer's being funny!!! Maybe tomorrow you'll get more from our trip!)

These next few pictures were taken just a few days before we left for Hawaii. My brother, John, came in town for a few days and we went skiiing at Sundance. It was SOOOO much fun!

Puppet Shows.....

2008-01-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

Maya & Aliyah absolutely LOVE the library! We go each week to the Provo City library for story time and a puppet show. They give us a letter each time we come...the letter of the week was "O". Maya gets sooooo excited when they give her a letter!Aliyah loves the books! It's all I can do to keep her from pulling every book off the shelf! :)Here are the ladies who do the puppet shows...they are really talented.And of course, the puppet show! Maya loves it so much that Ken decided to make her very own puppet show stage for Christmas... We have tried to re-create a mini-library at home. I wish you all could have seen Maya's face when she say her puppet show on Christmas. Ken and I almost started crying when we saw how excited she was!!! It was a fun Christmas. Aliyah loves to play hide and seek in the curtains....which Ken sewed all by himself!!!!

Dinner with the 5 brothers!

2007-12-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

All of Ken's brothers are in town! We had a "Christmas" dinner at our house on Saturday. It was a lot of fun to be together and wonderful to have Grandpa and Grandma there as well!

Ken's brother, Paul, has a special touch with our girls! They just love him. Here are a few pictures of them watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! :)

Snow Days & New Haircut!

2007-12-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of what the weather is like here! Wow, the snow has finally arrived. Also, Maya & I got our haircut. We took about 3-4 inches off of hers and now it is in a cute bob! Here's a picture of it.Also, for those of you who don't know, Aliyah is walking all over the place! She's even helping mom out with some house cleaning! smile!

Trip to Texas

2007-12-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

We got back on Wednesday from a WONDERFUL trip to Texas!!! We had so much fun. We spent the first few days in Austin. We had Thanksgiving with my mom, two brothers, sister and their families. Then, on Sunday, we left for Dallas and spent a few days there with my sister, Amanda, and best friend, Cassie. Here's a picture of me & my brother John! He is the worldest greatest brother and friend!
Here's a picture of my mom with all of her grandkids!!! Amanda is holding Aliyah, Grandma is holding Edith and Maya is standing between Justin & Ashley. We had a few basketball games with Justin and Ashley....wow they are good!!!

My sister Amanda, with her husband Jeff and their daughter Edith. Justin & Amanda at Thanksgiving dinner!
During our trip in Dallas, we stopped by some old friends of mine! While I was at Howard College (my first year of college in Big Spring, TX), this family pretty much adopted me!!! They fed me ALL the time and let me wash my clothes at their home. They were my family away from family and it was SO wonderful to see them. The are the Shuttlesworth family...Blake, Pam and Tara (their daughter Krystal had to get back to school....but I will see her next time!) Thanks again Pam for the wonderful dinner....thank you! thank you! We had such a wonderful time at your home!Happy Birthday to you!!!! Aliyah turned a year old while we were in Texas! We celebrated her birthday at my best friend's house! Thanks Cassie for the princess party! And, I don't know what happened, but we didn't get one picture of us together!!!! I'm so sad. I didn't even get one of you looking at the camera....ahhh!
Here are our princesses! Maya, Ava & Sophia!!!! Aren't they precious! We love our girls!

Happy Halloween

2007-11-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, so I was reprimanded by my best friend for not posting new pictures!!! :) Well, here they are...two from the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago and two from Halloween! It was a fun night! Maya really got into it this year and wanted to go again today!

Family Pictures

2007-10-10T18:51:00.001-07:00

Well, we did it! We finally got some updated family pictures! (Thanks to my sister-in-law Meghan). So, if you want, put your vote in for your favorite because Christmas cards are around the corner!!! Ahhhh!!! smile!

Farm Country

2007-10-02T13:24:00.001-07:00

One of our favorite things to do is go to the petting zoo! Maya wanted to try on some hats today! She's my little cowgirl!

She is saying, the pig says "oink, oink, oink". Oh yea, and she told me that she wanted me to be a pig for Halloween!! :) We'll see about that one!

Ken used to line up his cars in a straight line as a little boy! Maya likes doing that with the animals. (By the way Aliyah came with us too of course! But, she slept almost the entire time!)

Visit From Grandma Mink

2007-10-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

My mom came in town this past week and it was the biggest blessing since I couldn't even pick up my girls (because of my back injury!) Maya and Grandma had a lot of fun reading books and doing their hair! By the way, look closely and you can see that Maya is pretty excited for Halloween...she is going to be a lady bug!

We also went to the Dinosaur Musuem at Thanksgiving Point! The girls loved it and I think Grandma did too!

My niece, Laura Durrant, goes into the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Wednesday!!! (She is serving a mission for our Church) Congratulations Laura on your mission call to the best state in the Country....Texas, of course! How do you like that cake I made for her? Only Texas has a cake pan in the shape of its State!

Back Injury...ahhhh!

2007-09-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Well, last week I went to pick Aliyah up and my back spasmed and my hips locked. I couldn't even stand up! Tuesday morning I woke up to get a drink and on the way back to the bed, I passed out and was throwing up all morning! (Still not sure how that's related to my back! smile). Anyway, I went to a Sports Therapist on Tuesday of last week and have been to physical therapy four times now. Needless to say I am feeling much better!!! However, they told me that I could lift anything over 5 pounds for a week!!! Hmmm, did they not know I have two little girls?! It was crazy, but my mom planned a trip out months ago to visit us last week......perfect timing! I am so blessed.

Trip to Mackay

2007-09-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

I got some sad news on Friday. My Uncle Wes passed away. He was my dad's older brother. I was really close to him and I will miss him. He was a wonderful man, he was 89 years old and died in his sleep. We decided to go and visit his wife in Mackay, Idaho. Here is a picture with me and my Aunt Connie.

My Uncle Wes was a Colonel in the United States Airforce and served in WWII, the Korean and Vietnam War. He was a Patriot and proud of his country.
This is his dog "pete." Maya loved him.
He had a flag waving in front of his home. He had such a love for his country.
This is the town of Mackay.

My dad and my Uncle Wes lived in this home for a short time.

This is an old LDS (Mormon) Church. My Uncle Wes wasn't mormon, but he said he used to go to the youth dances to meet the town's young ladies! :) (Yes, these are my dance moves! smile)

Can you believe this?! In a town of 400, there is a golf course!!!!
This is the ranger station where my Grandfather worked when my dad was a little boy. There is so much history in this tiny town and we had a wonderful time. I will miss him, but he lived a wonderful and full life.

I PASSED THE BAR!!!!

2007-09-17T20:29:00.001-07:00

Yeah! I should put a picture of me jumping for joy! :) It is such a relief to have passed. I will be sworn in on October 30th in Salt Lake. I can't wait and I'm soooo excited the 'bar exam' chapter of my life is closed!

My new header

2007-09-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Isn't it cute? No, I didn't make it, all I can take credit for is the quote. My sister-in-law Meghan designed it and put the pictures in! I love it! Thanks Meghan, it is beautiful!

Midway, Utah

2007-09-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took a trip to Midway, Utah. It's a small town in the mountains between Provo and Park City. Ken's cousin has a home there and we were able to watch the BYU football game and hang out. They have five children and Maya was able to play with her "cousins." It was a fun day. We got there early and took some pictures. It is such a beautiful place. Aliyah likes to play with my shoes (& tries to put them in her mouth) so Maya is helping out by taking them away.
I was able to get a few pictures of Aliyah. The flowers there were beautiful.Of course, most of the time she was crawling towards me!!

Aliyah loves to listen to dad!

Ken, Babata & Hunter

2007-09-14T13:22:00.001-07:00

After Maya's nap the other day she was sitting in her bed playing with these two bears. Out of nowhere she said this one is Ken and this one is Babata (I'm the pink one in case you were wondering!) It was SO funny to hear her say our names. She says Babata so clearly, it's cute. Then, she kept saying Hunter, Hunter (who is my nephew). I was looking around to see who Hunter would be, but I couldn't find any other stuffed animals. But then she pointed at Aliyah! She said Aliyah was Hunter! It was SO funny. She had just seen Hunter earlier that morning. My niece Emily (Hunter's mom) and I get together with a bunch of other basketball players and play every Thursday. It's a lot of fun and kind of crazy. The kids run around while we try and play a real game. I'm going to get a picture of it one of these days!

Just some random pictures...

2007-09-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to an Owlz game (a minor league baseball team in Orem). We had a great time. And, mom, this is for you! Guess what I found, those 'memorial bricks' that you got forever ago! The are at the entrance of the stadium!!! I couldn't believe it! I was laughing so hard when I saw them. Anyway, I found the two you got and I took a picture of them. I still can't believe they are a part of the Owlz stadium. I guess my UVSC year will be forever engraved! :) smile! I'll have to show it to you when you come in town in a few weeks.

Another favorite place we LOVE to go is the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. Here are a few pictures from the other day. By the way, any Texans recognize the colors Aliyah is wearing?

Last, but not least, my girls love bath time together!

Golfing With Grandpa

2007-09-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to the driving range with Grandpa Sonnenberg and Ken's cousin, Daniel Dickson. Grandpa was a great coach and taught me how to hit the ball straight. (Of course, he always hits it straight!) Of course, Maya needed her own spot to drive the ball. Smile!

I know, I know, keep that left foot down! After our golf outing, we went to This is the Place Memorial Park. For those of you that don't know, this is where Ken and I got engaged! It was fun to visit it again.

Labor Day! :)

2007-09-04T20:34:00.001-07:00

For Labor Day, we went boating with Ken's brother Steve & his wife Meghan. They have two kids and they are only a few months apart from our girls! We had so much fun and the water was so clear...a little cold, but clear. I didn't bring my camera, but my sister-in-law is a great photographer and emailed me these pictures from our boating trip! :) Thanks Meghan! I love this picture of Aliyah! She had so much fun just standing on the boat and looking around.

No, I'm not at a resort...

2007-08-17T20:20:00.001-07:00

Although it may look like I'm at some exotic place this is actually a neighbor's pool! They live across the street from my sister and are kind enough to let people swim in their pool every so often. (When Ken saw it the other day, he told me to have fun at the 'resort'! :) )

Maya is a brave little soul and is insistent on going down the slide by herself!

Aliyah & her cousin Deanna!

Best Friends

2007-08-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

Maya's best friend is her cousin, Deanna. It has been a lot of fun having Deanna over this summer and we are sad school is starting! Maya loves her so much and always wants to go to "DeDe's" house. Maya really loves the piggy-back rides!

Botany Pond

2007-08-14T19:20:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm just now discovering Provo (thanks to my friend Marilyn). On the south side of BYU Campus, there is a Botany Pond with lots of ducks and a turtle (which a little boy caught...and was insistent on showing it to Maya!) Maya loved feeding the ducks while Aliyah played on the grass or watched in the stroller.

Ocassionally Maya will stop what she is doing to give her sister a hug. I really love to see the girls interact with each other.

Maya finds excitement in almost anything we do...even laundry! I love to see how much she enjoys life. I think one of the best parts about being a mom is that you get to play like a child again! :)

Golfing with the Girls

2007-08-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, the girls spent a lot of time on the golf course with their dad this summer. He would take them almost every night in June & July so I could study for the Bar. It was fun to go with him the other day. The girls sure know what to do on the golf course!

Here is Maya on the driving range. She wants to hit the ball like dad.
The girls will usually just sit and play while dad swings away.

Aliyah LOVES to hold the golf ball! Ken will give her a ball to hold at each hole. She will usually just sit in the grass and play with it. (of course, now she's crawling all over the place)

I LOVE this picture! I told Ken to do what he would normally do if I wasn't there so I could take some pictures of what his summer was like. I laughed when I saw him plop both girls down next to him while he took a shot! :) The girls were great....like I said, they know what to do on a golf course!

Visit from Grandpa & Grandma

2007-08-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

Ken & I are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents nearby! Grandpa & Grandma Sonnenberg dropped by on Sunday to visit the girls. Maya just woke up from her nap and was acting a little shy. However, after Grandpa & Grandma left, she made a sad face and told me "I need Maya's grandma." It was really sweet! Thanks for coming by! :)

Endless Summer

2007-08-03T13:26:00.001-07:00

Well, at least I wish the summer was endless! :) I feel like my summer has just began and I'm running around like crazy trying to catch up on all the fun things to do! :) Thanks to my sister-in-law Meghan, Maya & Aliyah had a fun playdate with their cousins, Kanyon & Scarlett. Sadly, I only got two pictures because Aliyah wanted to be held much of the time! Oh well.

Here's one of Aliyah & Kanyon. He was more interested in her than he has been before and it was fun to see them interact.

Here's one of Kanyon shutting Maya in the closet! She didn't seem to mind though! :)
Today we went to the Bean Museum in Provo with my friend Marilyn. She has three little girls and the two oldest play so well with Maya. We had such a fun time. We got there just in time to see the Reptile show! My brother, Jeff, would be proud because Maya didn't hesitate to pet the snakes and lizards! (Must be that Mink blood!)

Maya petting the California King Snake.

Of course, we had to stop at the BYU Creamery for dessert!

We Miss You Dad!!!!

2007-07-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Ken left for a business trip on Monday and won't be back until Thursday night, so I've decided to 'blog' our activities while he is gone, so he knows what we've been up to!!! :)

Wednesday Morning:

This morning we went out to Thanksgiving Point to the petting zoo! It was a lot of fun and the girls were great. I LOVE this first picture because it captures one of those crazy moments! I had turned my head away from Maya for one second and when I turned back around she was almost in the goat pen! This is her actually climbing down! She was at the top when I caught her. She is fearless....scary for mom! :)

Maya would rather use her hat to feed the calves than wear it!

Aliyah fell asleep on the drive up...made for easier traveling!

Maya loves to ride the ponies and she is pretty good at holding on; however she's getting a little too comfortable and starting petting them today while she was riding.

Aliyah was a good sport today. You could tell she wanted to jump in there and play with Maya. Don't worry Aliyah, you'll be running around with her soon! (She took two strides while crawling today!)

Here we are on the wagon ride.....we miss you dad! (especially mom....today was an adventure)

Tuesday Night: Aliyah crawled...it was just a little crawl but SO fun to watch! Also, I had to grab this picture of Maya showing Aliyah how to crawl! :) (Actually, I think I made such a big fuss over Aliyah crawling that Maya wanted to make sure that I knew she could crawl too! smile) I love my girls! :)

Also Maya said her first prayer today all by herself! She's prayed before but we've always helped her. I wrote it down right after she gave it. I'm not sure I got everything, but here is what I wrote down:

"Heavenly Father, Thanks for this day, thanks for food, thanks for mommy, thanks for Maya, thanks for Aliyah, thanks for daddy, thanks for mommy (i like how i was in there twice!) bless Jesus, bless food, bless Jesus, bless food."

It was SOOO sweet...one of those amazing rewards of motherhood. Days are long when Ken is gone, but moments like these are worth the hard work!

Last night Maya decided to take "Maya's tiger" up the slide. It was quite a feat to watch her take on! :) She is so funny and always trying something crazy and new (hmmm....reminds me of her dad! ;) )

I had to include this picture of our trip to Wal-Mart! Yes, I know, not too exciting, but the moms out there can appreciate the work a little shopping trip is!

On Tuesday, Maya had some friends come over and play and they had a little snack time! Maya is really starting to like the camera! :) hmmm....does she get that from mom or dad?

Monday!

Today Ken left for his trip. But, before he took off, he decided to take us all to the water park! It was a fun surprise and we had such a great time. Here we are on the slides!

We went out to eat afterwards at a BBQ place. I guess Maya thought dad's face needed cleaning! :)

Jumping For Joy!!!

2007-07-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

The Bar is over!!! Yeah! It was a long two days, but it is done now and it feels good to just relax and enjoy a Saturday without studying! Ken has decided that he wants to learn how to do a back flip on his wakeboard, so here we are practicing!

Just in case you were wondering how many books I had to study.....

Summer Time

2007-07-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a funny picture since I used to do the same thing on a hot Texas day!

Mindy's Wedding

2007-07-28T18:02:00.001-07:00

This is a sweet picture of Dad and Aliyah at Mindy's reception. Mindy's reception was absolutely beautiful and the food was incredible! Way to go Oscar & Susie!
I love this picture of Maya! We were all hanging out after Mindy's (my niece) wedding and she ran up to me and hugged my leg! I had to take a quick picture before she ran off again! :)