Gary and Daneene

2011-06-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

We had big plans to roast marshmallows for FHE, but the weather was too cold, so we let the kids roast marshmallows inside!

2011-05-20T06:18:00.001-07:00

It's only been 8 months since I did anything on this blog. Sorry everyone who might care! I'll just post a couple of recent pictures of my cute family for you to see. Maybe now that I'm not pregnant I can do this a little more often . . . MAYBE!

2011-05-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

I had to include this picture of Kinley. In the words of Colin, "She's just so adorable!" She really doesn't look much like this anymore - she's gone from 7 lb. 10 oz. to over 13 lbs in these first two months! But if I do say so myself - she's a pretty cute little chunk!

2011-05-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is part of our 18 tons of dirt that Gary had to move to the backyard by the wheel-barrow full. Transforming our backyard has been quite a project - one that really isn't close to being complete! Gary has been working really hard on it though. We should do a before and after picture, if we ever get to "after"!

2011-05-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

Colin is 4 now!

2011-05-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

In this picture we were trying to get our first family picture on Kinley's blessing day - Colin and Jarom were not cooperating. Oh well!

Soccer Camp

2010-09-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Early this summer, our friends, the Mangum's, invited us to join them for a soccer camp that Brian was running in Parowan for 4-6 year-old's. Jenzie did pretty good at practicing the drills and such for a little while, but Colin mostly just stood there. It was really funny when they were doing the stretching before they started. The whole group was bending and stretching, and Colin just watched. This may be a picture of the only time Colin actually kicked the ball. Jenzie is trying to dribble, just like the "coach" asked them to.

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Colin didn't participate much with the group, but he did enjoy playing with the balls, and resting on them periodically.

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This picture was a little blurry, but I thought it was still cute. Plus it proves that at least one of my kids touched a soccer ball during the soccer camp.

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To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of learning about soccer that took place. But the kids did have fun.

Come take a virtual tour of our new house!

2010-05-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

Because of the trees it's hard to get a good picture of the front of the house. I could have walked a little farther away, but I didn't (it was really windy). The house is mostly brick with a split level that leads to the bedrooms that is wood siding. Come see the inside!

The front yard

2010-05-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

The front yard is surrounded by this little brick fence. Both sides have these little gates leading up to the front door. There are two mature trees in the front yard for lots of shade.

The backyard

2010-05-27T06:15:00.000-07:00

We'd definitely like to replace a lot of the rock with grass, but we like the little brick wall and the trees.

2010-05-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

This is kind of interesting. Both sides of the house have these covered tunnels that lead to the carports. This one has an outside storage closet for the lawnmower and such.

2010-05-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a view of the back patio. The wood needs to be replaced or restained, but I like that parts of it are covered and parts are in the sun.

The Kitchen

2010-05-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

The kitchen has solid surface counter tops (corian- sorry I don't know how to spell it).

2010-05-27T06:07:00.001-07:00

A second view of the kitchen to show all the cabinet space.

The Family Room

2010-05-27T06:05:00.001-07:00

This is a sunken family room with a view taken from the kitchen. There is a gas fireplace, which we'd like to replace with a wood burning stove.

The Playroom

2010-05-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

This could be a family room or living room, but I think we'll use all those closet for the kids toys and call it the playroom.

The Master bedroom

2010-05-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

The master bedroom has four closets! I'm thinking that will be heaven after sharing one very inconvenient closet with Gary for the last 5 years.

2010-05-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

I admit this is a little strange, but still nice. This jetted tub and sink are actually in the Master bedroom. The toilet and shower are closed off just off to the left.

2010-05-27T05:54:00.000-07:00

The Master bedroom opens out to this deck overlooking the backyard. Obviously it needs to be repainted.

2010-05-27T05:49:00.000-07:00

This fireplace is in the Master bedroom.

Just a cute picture of Jarom

2010-02-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

2010-02-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

The kids in their Christmas Eve pajamas.

2010-02-26T20:34:00.002-08:00

Here's a picture of Jenzie and Colin with Santa's milk and cookies. They also left some carrots for the reindeer.

2010-02-26T20:34:00.001-08:00

2010-02-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken by Jenzie. She wanted to capture the tray they left out for Santa and his reindeer.

2010-02-26T20:25:00.000-08:00

Jenzie and Colin made these little bottles of "reindeer food" for all their friends and cousins this year.

2010-02-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

Here's Jenzie pouring out the Reindeer food on our front lawn.

Jenzie's Birthday!

2010-02-26T20:11:00.000-08:00

Jenzie loved this Princess Castle Cake. It didn't look quite like the picture, but she couldn't tell the difference, so I guess it really doesn't matter.

2010-02-26T19:56:00.000-08:00

Jenzie always gets a lot of presents during Dec. and she loves it. In this picture she's opening a present from a friend at her party.

2010-02-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Jenzie's friends playing a game at her birthday party.

Getting Ready for Halloween

2009-11-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

As we were getting ready for Halloween activities, Jenzie kept going up to the mirror to admire her hair and makeup and saying things like: "I'm so beautiful," "You're falling in love with me?" "I can't marry you, I'm the princess."

Trick-or-Treating

2009-11-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of the kids trick-or-treating. Apparently Colin needed a little rest at this house. They had a great time!

2009-11-05T11:13:00.000-08:00

What a cute little monkey!

2009-11-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

Colin wasn't quite sure what "trick-or-treating" was, but he caught on quickly. Pretty soon he was exclaiming, "Let's go to the next house" and running ahead of the rest of us. Candy is so motivating.

2009-11-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

What is every princess good at? Posing for a picture in the middle of whatever they're doing. Jenzie was a great princess.

2009-11-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

Colin was having a hard time stopping long enough to get his picture taken, so it's a good thing we got some of him alone. This picture was taken at our neighbor's house (the Mangum's). We were having chili and caramel apples while we watched "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken." Sounds like the perfect Halloween.

Family Pictures

2009-10-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to get family pictures taken for a long time, and we finally found a night to do it while my sister was in town to help. (Thanks Megs and Lou.) With bribes and threats helping us along, I was pretty pleased with how they turned out. None of you probably care to see as many pictures of our family as I posted, but it's so hard to choose between cute pictures of your children.

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There's a little monster in all of us. . . or is that just at my house?

2009-10-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

The American West Heritage Center

2009-10-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

On our family vacation to Logan and Bear Lake we spent one day at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville. It's a 1820-1920 farm replica with all kinds of fun activities and animals. We had tons of fun, especially on the giant slide and with the gourd launcher. The kids loved feeding the horses and riding the ponies. It was well worth the $6 admission. We got to see goats, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, sheep, horses, donkeys, and buffalo, to name a few. They had a little train ride for the kids and all kinds of other things to do. This was definitely our favorite day on vacation. We especially loved having Aunt Megan there to have all the fun with us. The kids said lots of funny things while we were there, but they're all written under "Life's Full of Laughs." Be sure to check them out on the left of the screen.

2009-10-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

When we got there it was really cold. Gary kept Jarom warm by bundling him up inside his coat, and trying to face him toward the sun as much as possible. Unfortunately, Jarom ended up with a sunburn, but apparently he was warm enough. He was a great kid the whole time, he never even peeped. I guess he just loves hanging out with his daddy.

2009-10-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

There was a giant hay fort for the kids to play in. I was really excited for them to see it, but they weren't so excited once the hay started going down their pants and into their shoes.

2009-10-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

Jenzie didn't seem to have any fear when it came to petting the animals. She let them all eat right out of her hand, even the big horses with the BIG TEETH! (I'm not so sure I'd be willing to do that.) These pygmy goats were really cute, just the right size for the kids to pet.

2009-10-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

Even with the mother duck right there, Jenzie was brave enough to pet the ducklings. Then when the mother duck started toward her, she was smart enough to back off.

2009-10-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

While Jenzie was busy petting all the animals, Colin took time for his favorite pastime. . . carrying a big stick all over the place. There's no doubt about it, he's all boy.

2009-10-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

They had a huge gourd launcher set up for . . . launching gourds. We picked these pumpkins from a nearby field only to discover a wagon full of little gourds right next to the launcher when we walked back. Oops. We weren't very good at it (except Gary), but we had a blast.
The only hiccup came when Jenzie and I were stretching the sling as far as we could. Then Jenzie counted to 3 and I let go, but Jenzie didn't. She was launched a few feet forward and face-planted right in the dirt. Sorry Jenz.

2009-10-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

There's more than one way to launch a gourd.
The giant sling shot wasn't working so well for me, so I improvised.

2009-10-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here's Jenzie on her horse. Both kids got to ride the ponies twice.

2009-10-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here's Colin riding a horse all by himself. Both kids were really brave around all the animals. Of course this is just about all they talk about these days. They loved it!

Here's Jarom!

2009-09-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

I realized that I really haven't included very many pictures of Jarom in our blog. It's not because we don't love him, or even that we don't take pictures. It's mostly that his pictures don't really have a story to go with them. So anyway, here's a picture of our littlest family member. He's such a good baby, we're very thankful to have him. It's hard to believe he's almost 6 months old. Where does the time go?

2009-09-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

2009-09-25T13:39:00.001-07:00

What is that?

2009-09-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

The other day I was sitting on my porch minding my own business when I felt a little tickling at the back of my neck. I thought it was my ponytail, so I reached up to brush it off . . . and SCREAMED. I looked down to see what creature I had brushed off my neck and found this fascinating insect.
Then we trapped it in a jar and had a little science lesson about how some bugs look like their surroundings to keep them safe from predators. The kids loved looking at it - from the safety of the jar. At one point it was climbing up the glass and then fell off, and Colin jumped and cried, "Mommy, the bug scared me." It was a pretty fun experience . . . once I got it off my neck. Later we put it in a bush and the kids really got to see how well their bug blended in to the leaves.

2009-09-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here's Colin studying our find.

2009-09-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Can you see the hidden bug?

2009-09-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

My finger is pointing at our "leaf bug," aka katydid.

Kid's Day at the Fair

2009-09-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

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2009-09-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Jenzie and Colin both got their faces painted at the Iron County Fair. I'm amazed that two kids who will hardly pause for three seconds would both sit still for a stranger to do this.
They had a lot of fun.

The World's Fair!

2009-08-27T22:05:00.001-07:00

Well, here we are that the Wayne County World's Fair! Gary and his family call it that because everyone in the county thinks it's the biggest thing to hit Utah since statehood was granted. We were really excited to take the kids to the rodeo because they love horses. Unfortunately I don't think they could see very well, and things were moving pretty slowly, so they weren't nearly as excited to be there as we thought they would be. The reason they're so happy in these pictures is probably because we finally told them we could go back to Grandma's house.

2009-08-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

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We couldn't believe that a parade in Wayne County had no horses, but we were excited to see the llamas. I don't think the kids have ever seen a llama this close before.

2009-08-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Jenzie taking Ava for a walk. We had kind of a hard time keeping all the kids contained, but they had a lot of fun.

The Many Faces of Jenzie

2009-08-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

A Happy Face.

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A Silly Face.

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An Angry Face.

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A Surprised Face.

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A Sad Face.

What a Fashion Sense!

2009-08-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

I thought it was so funny when Colin came downstairs one morning with his tie clipped to his pajamas. He was very proud of himself for putting it on!

The Wilcken Family Reunion

2009-08-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

Of course, Colin spent most of the family reunion playing with sticks and dirt.
You'll notice that in all the pictures everyone is wearing jackets - that's because it was freezing!
A cup of water that got left out overnight was crusted over in ice the next morning. But in spite of the cold, we all had a lot of fun.

2009-08-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

Jarom was so tired, he fell asleep standing up (or as close to it as he could possible get).

2009-08-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Jenzie felt pretty big and important helping Grandma with the dishes.

"Sugar, Please"

2009-08-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

When Jenzie got this shirt she asked me what it said. I told her, "It says 'Pretty Please with Sugar on Top.'" Later I asked her to repeat what her shirt said for someone else and she replied, "Sugar, Please." I thought that was a pretty cute three-year-old translation.

PUDDLES!

2009-08-05T13:40:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a rainy day and Jenzie found her new snow boots and wanted to take them out in the rain. I kept telling her they were for snow, but she insisted that they worked for rain too. I decided to stop being a stick in the mud and just let them play.
They had a great time splashing through the puddles!

2009-08-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Colin had a hard time running in those heavy boots. As a result, he fell a couple of times and ended up pretty dirty. But you can see that he still had a huge smile on his face.

2009-08-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Even after face-planting (twice) in the muddy parking lot, Colin was always ready to jump right up and back into the puddles.

2009-08-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

Jenzie liked to occasionally take a break from the puddles and watch from a nearby rock. But you can see that she definitely got pretty wet in the puddles, just like Colin.

2009-08-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

By the end of our "puddle day" Colin was getting some pretty good height on his splashes. Now every time he sees a puddle he says, "I want to splash in the piddle." Even though we had to go right into the bathtub, this was a really fun morning.

The Fourth of July!

2009-08-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

Colin loved the fireworks we set off in our front yard for July 4th. He jumped up and down with a big grin on his face the whole time.

2009-08-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

Jenzie and Colin are sitting in front of our house with Katie (in the pink) and Chanzie (in the blue chair). They were enjoying a July 3rd BBQ with the neighbors.

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Here's Jenzie with a sparkler. I promise all that smoke is from the fireworks. We haven't taken up smoking.