This blog sucks.

Now that rocks........later dudes.

Camping

Last week we attended the annual Mullenaux Family Campout up on Mt. Graham. It was lots of fun and great to be up in the pines! My grandparents spend a lot of time, energy, and money planning this campout. This year Matt and I helped out by planning and buying all the food - and Matt was the head chef. He organized the food trailer and cooked all the meals. We all had lots of fun.

There are several trailers up at camp and my Grandpa's rule is those with babies get first dibs. (Matt says this is why we continue having babies!) It really was nice to sleep in a trailer versus a tent and made things lots easier with kids!

Kaden was cold and climbed on Papa's lap by the campfire. Next thing we know he is asleep!

Bailey LOVED the tire swing. She begged everyone and anyone to push her. Kaden was a great big brother and pushed her a lot.

We had fun playing horseshoes

The hammock was a big hit with all the kids!

It was a fun week - we look forward to it every year! (I have to praise my great husband. He did all the mountains of laundry when we got home on Saturday!) It is good to be home!

Lexie's Latest

Lexie is growing way too fast! What happened to my little baby? She only 4 months old - well almost 5. But she seems to big all the sudden.

She loves her johnny jumper thing (is that what it's called?). She hangs out in it all the time and is so happy. I thought she was probably too young for it - but I tried it and she can bounce pretty well!

This was also the momentous day of Lexie's first ponytail. She has so much hair!

I gave Lexie some cereal for the first time today. She has been soooo hungry lately! And she has started waking up during the night and is starving. So hopefully this will do the trick.

Ready for church

Here are the girls a couple weeks ago - getting ready for church. I love dressing them up and doing their hair. Even though Bailey doesn't have much to work with! Notice the makeup in the background - that is how I got Bailey so sit still for so long. She love, love, LOVES putting makeup on!

Swim Lessons

Today was Kaden's last swim lesson. We have really enjoyed going all summer - he learned a lot and had fun taking lessons with Landen.

We told the boys to smile - Landen poses and Kaden makes his ridiculous pouting face. He apparently was feeling uncooperative - which is very common these days!

Happy 4th of July

Just a few quick highlights from our 4th of July:

Red, white, and blue pancakes for breakfast

Dressed for the day

Kaden proudly displaying his patriotic hat and his sparkly starYou can't really tell, but the star is 2 stars slid together to make a 3-D star. After we colored and glittered these stars, we were putting them together and I was telling Kaden "We will slide two stars together and attach a string at the top to use as decoration." He says "Ohhhhhh, like a dance party! I get it!" Where did that come from? Apparently we have had too many dance parties with a disco ball :) . (How does he even know what that is?)

We had a pretty relaxed day - spent most of it at home (Matt works all night so he had to sleep all day). That afternoon we went over to one of his co-workers house. The kids and I hadn't ever met him or his family - but it turned out to be really fun. The kids all got along and everyone had fun - swimming and eating. We didn't stay too long because Matt had to get to work. I had promised the kids that we would watch fireworks, so after Matt went to work we drove down near the park and just parked on the side of the road. I guess lots of other people had the same idea because the street was lined with cars. It worked out good, I didn't have to fight crowds or traffic, and Lexie just stayed asleep in the car. The fireworks show started a little late, but it was pretty good. Kaden only comment was "Amazing" at every single one! All in all it was a pretty fun day.

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I tried a new recipe for cookies to take to our barbeque. They turned out so good (and are super easy) I thought I would share:

Homade Oreos

2 Devil's Food cake mixes

1 1/2 C. shortening

4 eggs

Mix together. Roll in walnut size balls. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool.

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 stick butter

3 - 4 C. powdered sugar

Mix filling. Frost backs of cookies to make sandwiches.

Super easy and super yummy!

Balloons and Babies

Balloons

So I had to post these pictures I took a couple weeks ago. This is what a relaxing Sunday afternoon at the McKenzie house looks like. . . . . .

Dad and the kids being crazy! The night before had been my turn for our babysitting swap and I blew up a bunch of balloons for the kids. Since there was a bunch of balloons laying around, they decided to give themselves makeovers. Bigger boobs - I can understand that, but who wants a bigger butt?

What a dork!

Nice, real nice!

This is one of the reasons I love Matt so much - he is just like a kid! No really, he can be so fun-loving, crazy, and goofy! The kids love it and it always makes me laugh!

Babies

My little Lexie Lynn is already four months old - where does the time go? She is at such a fun stage - smiling and giggling, still sleeping a lot (thank goodness), grabbing for things, starting to play with toys, loves her jumper seat thing (what are those called?) and has kinda settled into a routine. I feel like I can enjoy her more now that things have settled down a little. She really is a good baby and is such a sweetheart. I am so anxious to see her personality come out! People keep predicting she is going to be fiesty because of her red hair - we'll see! I have tried to take pictures every month. Maelynn - I love your idea of taking a picture with a giant teddy bear. But the biggest stuffed animal we have is a giant green aligator - that's what I used!

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Me and Lex - I just love this girl!

(I love my other kids too, but babies are just so sweet. They can't talk back yet!)

And finally, a picture of my new neice. My brother Logan and his wife, Shayla just had their first - a little girl! She and Lex will hopefully be great cousins and friends! The pictures I have are kinda blurry - and I haven't even seen her yet! I am dying to hold her - but have to wait til next week! Here is Logan and Neva Rae

I'm told she has as much or more hair than Lexie and it is jet black - but at least it will lay down on her head! Logan had always been so good with my kids - he is going to be a great dad! Congrats guys!

My girls

I wanted to post pictures for my mom - of the girls in their dresses she brought from Paris.

Lexie's hair cannot be tamed! I had just finished combing it.

Bailey wasn't feeling very cooperative. She usually loves getting dressed up for church.

As I was posting these pictures - I realized that I have lots of pictures of my girls together. Bailey is so good with Lexie. It seems to be in her nature to be a great little mama. She has done so well with the addition of a new baby - much better than I expected for a 2 1/2 year old! She is such a sweetheart and is always trying to keep Lexie happy. It is not uncommon for me to hear Lexie fussing and find Bailey holding her hand and talking to her.

Bailey loves holding Lexie.

Whenever Lex is laying on the floor, Bai is usually cuddled next to her.

Sweet sisters

Bai holding Lex's hand to keep her happy! (it worked - she had been screamin)

I am excited to have two girls that are close in age. I really hope they enjoy growing up together and are great friends!

Count Your Many Blessings

In church today, one of the teachers mentioned being grateful and trying to remember more often all that we have been given. Since I am using this blog partially as a journal - I want to record everything that I am grateful for.

1. My husband. He really is good to us. He is such a hard worker and a good provider. He is a great dad and gives our kids so many things that I can't. I'm grateful to have the priesthood in our home. He is so good to me and helps so much around the house. He is fun to be around and is always making us laugh (I have a great example of this that I will post later). I love hanging out with him - he really is my best friend!

2. My kids. I feel so blessed that I have 3 beautiful - and that they are healthy. Kaden is so full of life and has such a dynamic personality. He has a great imagination and a great sense of humor. Bailey is such a sweetheart and so easy to be around. She is thoughtful of others and very caring. Lexie is such a sweet baby - I just love her. I am anxious to see her little personality come out more and more. Her sweet smile and giggle (she just giggled this week!) brighten my day every single day. I am glad to be their mom and I try to remind myself of that on those frustrating and challenging days.

3. The gospel. I was just reminded again today in church how really luck I am to live in this time and to have the gospel in my life. I am grateful to live in a place where the gospel is strong. I'm grateful for great primary and nursery teachers that help teach my kids the gospel. They love learning about it and I need to be a little better and more consistent at teaching them scripture stories and gospel principles. I'm just so grateful for the gospel and all the knowledge it gives to me - it has always been in my life and I really can't imagine my life without it. It gives life and everything we do a purpose!

4. Family. Matt and I both have really great families. As my kids get older I am more and more grateful that our parents worked so hard and were such great examples of how to raise kids. We are both very grateful for our parents - they are always helping us and supporting us even though we are married and on our own. I am also grateful for siblings and extended family. We have so much fun with family and have a great support system! I'm grateful most of our family lives nearby (within a couple hours) and that we get to see them often.

5. The Temple. I am thankful we live relatively close to a temple and have two more coming to the phx area. Although we haven't been as often as I'd like (kinda hard with a new baby), I love going to the temple - with either side of the family and especially by ourselves. I can feel the power of the temple in my life so strong every time I go!

6. Careers. I am thankful that I get to stay home with my kids and that Matt supports me in that. I know not everyone has the option to stay home and I am grateful that I have that blessing. I worked for a short time after Kaden was born and was so glad when I was able to quit. I remind myself of that also when I am having a rough day of raising children! I am also grateful for Matt's career. He loves being in law enforcement. It definitely has negative aspects to it, but I'm trying not to dwell on those and remember the positive. We went through enough years of him hating his job - that we are both very thankful that he found a career he loves!

7. Our home. I am grateful that we have a nice, comfortable home. I am always thinking about all the people in the world who go without so much. I feel extremely blessed to have a nice home, and good vehicle with all of our modern conveniences. There are lots of things we take for granted that make our lives so comfortable - running water, toilets, electricity, microwaves, washing machines, computers, showers, ovens - you get the idea. I often think of pioneer women and how hard it much have been to take care of children with what little they had. Although I know we could live without them if we had to, I am grateful for all of our material blessing that make our life so comfortable.

8. Friends. I am grateful for old friends and new ones. We really have been blessed with great friends here in Maricopa. We have some friends that we have known for almost 6 years now and that have really become almost like family. I feel lucky to have so many people I could call and I know they will be there to support us. I have gotten together with a few friends lately that I hadn't seen in awhile and it was so fun. With each one - it was like no time had passed at all. Even though we may not talk often - I feel like we will always be friends!

There are many, many other things I am thankful for. But those are the major points. Looking over this list reminds me of how truly blessed I am. It's a reminder to me that Heavenly Father has so many things he wants to bless me with - if I will work a little harder to live a little better.

Blog Book

I found this link on a friend's blog. You can have a book made from all the posts on your blog - or anything else. And the prices seem pretty reasonable. Anyway - just thought I would share. I may have one made. It will basically be my family journal with pictures!

Kaden's Room

Well, I finally finished Kaden's room. I have been very anxious to get the kids rooms done because the standard flat, white paint the builder uses doesn't do well with kids to say the least! I wanted to let Kaden help choose how to decorate his room. He wanted his favorite color, green, and soccer. So when I found green, black, and white soccer decorations in the dollar bins at Target - I was excited. I got a clock, a little coat rack, a nightlight, a couple pillows, and a wall hanging. Of course it's all pretty cheap. But lets be honest - how long will anything last in my kids rooms? Anyway - we painted the walls green and tan with a white stripe.



Kaden got to help a little and he was thrilled. I was very nervous when I saw how bright this green was! But it turned out way better than I expected. I'm really happy with it. Here's the end result:

Notice the soccer fan - it's just a black fan with a soccer light. I figured that would be easy to change out if and when we change the theme of his room. We had the fan all of a week maybe and one of the kids threw a toy into it from the top bunk - notice the top bunk is now missing!

I am going to make new bedding to match - but haven't gotten around to it yet. So my old volleyball blanket will do in the meantime. Other than that - the room is done! I am taking a break from painting for awhile - I'm sick of it!