We are loving our "Child of God!"

This post is very long overdue, but weeks ago we took Joe to our new ward for the first time. We were having trouble finding our ward and finally found it. We decided to take him to the nursery and try leaving him there. Since we were nursery leaders in our other ward we didn't know how well he'd do, and let's face it, Joe and I are never separated! He did great! After 2 hours, I was a little wrestless and was the first parent to pick up, what a nut! Anyways I asked him what he did and he said "song child of God." I said, "oh that's so fun!" I guess he wanted me to repeat it so really loud he looked at me and said, "SONG CHILD OF GOD." And then I realized what he was saying because I really didn't get it the first time. I was so proud of him! Then he told me about the bubbles and trucks and toys. I was so glad he went by himself and has continued to go by himself and likes to go to church to go to nursery.
On a sad sidenote, Steve's Grandpa Guido passed away on January 24th. He was such a sweet man and we were surprised by the sudden news. He was supposed to get a pacemaker just 3 days later. We hurried and got Steve on a plane to Canada to go be with his family. While he was gone for less than 36 hours, poor Joe kept telling people his dad was on a "mission." Since Uncle Mike is on a mission and he had to take a plane to get there, Joe was assuming everyone that takes a plane is going on a mission! Luckily Steve's mission only lasted 2 days! We love you so much buddy!

Happy Birthday Jack and Jack Jr!

My brother Jack and his son Jack Jr have birthdays 4 days apart. I was in Valencia for Jack Jr's but missed Jack's by a day. Jack Jr is hilarious and my best memory of him is when I went to his school variety show and he danced the Napoleon Dynamite dance and it was great. I laughed, cheered, clapped and whistled as much as I could. Love you buddy!
My brother Jack is a great example to me. He is so smart and has a great family. A good memory comes from before I was born, or so I've heard. Everyone thought I was a boy because my dad had had 5 boys already, but Jack thought I was a girl and he was the only right one. A not so good memory, he used to throw me and flip me through the air in the pool at Coronado. It scared me so bad and I was literally scarred from it until right before I got married. Yes, I know, I know how to swim, but it was the whole flipping thing that made me nervous. He threw me a couple years ago and now I'm healed but I'm still a wreck from him and Dan dragging me far into the freezing cold ocean. Thanks guys! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Abby and Josie!

In attempt to be better at writing in my journal I am going to give a Happy Birthday shout out to my nieces Josie and Abby! Josie's 3rd birthday was at the beginning of January and Abby's 17th birthday is today. Josie, I love you and can't wait to get to know you better since you now live in the states!
Abby came into my life when I was in 1st grade and everyone thought I was so cool because I got to be taken out of class one day to go see my new niece. Abby is just awesome. I always have such a fun time with her and my side hurts from laughing so hard. She loves reading like I do and loves sleep like I do. I love her tons and am so proud of the person she is! xoxo

Joe's Birthday Party

There is a fun train park in Scottsdale and we met up with my cousin Jess, her husband Jason and their 2 kids and Heather, Ben and their 2 kids. It was so fun except that I didn't know that the train and carousel stopped running at 5:30 and we got there at about 5! Luckily there are little playgrounds around the park for the kids to be entertained on.

Joe holding the tickets, he was so proud of them

Still holding and admiring his train tickets like they were priceless. So cute, thanks for not ripping or losing them!

Kena and Kiera playing while Joe was probably still counting the tickets :) Such cuties!

How could you not love this sweet little face so curious about everything going on around him?!

All Aboard! We are ready to ride! Last run of the day, the driver seriously drove faster than the normal 3 mph, maybe more like 10 mph and we were all holding on tight to the kids! I guess 5:30 there really means 5:30!

Heather and Kena all aboard!

Joe prepping "Patches" before take off, finding his eyes and ears...

Look how talented Heather is, got all 6 of us while in motion!

Joe picking up his princess in the carriage

Steve is such a good sport, love ya babe!

Kena and Ben making an all star choo choo train out of treats!

Jason and Kiera making their awesome train, and Benson devouring some delicious rice cereal!

So since this was so last minute, I didn't make the cake to take there. I decided to make trains out of candy with the train track and got some cool party favors. The trains are a Joe McKeon family Christmas tradition since we ruined the gingerbread houses every year. The trains are so easy and fun to eat whenever.


Our family at the end of the party. Thanks everyone for coming on such short notice! Love ya!

Kena's Birthday at the Zoo

For Kena's 2nd birthday-day we got to go to the zoo with her, sweet! I don't know if I already blogged about this, so I will tell this story again. Here is Kena and Heather riding the camel and since Kena is honestly 2 to the day, she was allowed!

Joe on the other hand wasn't completely allowed to and his mother told a little white lie to get him on one.

We first walked up when we got there and the lady said, "hi how old is he?" I didn't notice the sign that said, children have to be 2 to ride. I thought she was just trying to make conversation and I said, "he's almost 2," to which she replied, "I'm sorry, but because of insurance reasons I can't let him ride." To make a long story short, on the way out of the zoo the lady was gone, I knew the right thing to say now and snuck my "2" year old on a camel ride that we were both glad only lasted 2 minutes, but at least we can say we've ridden a camel. It kind of sounds exotic and unique, right?

I love these 2, and most of the time they love each other, except when Joe is trying to take her binky, blanket or instigate her, but don't most boys do that to girls they like? Sorry Kena we are working on it!
Kena coming out of the fun cactus slide

Thanks Ben for being such a good sport and helping Joe out too! I almost couldn't get him to go down the cactus slide because he has been taught that cactus' are oowies so he was VERY cautious until I gently threw him down :)

Ben's a fun character to have around, Steve & I sure enjoy the Mishler's company

Hoping Joe doesn't dive into the gross water, he got to hold my hand. Love you kids, happy 2nd birthday Kena!

Happy Birthday to the Best Father in Law!

When Steve & I sealed the deal, I knew I was getting the best husband, but I was also very aware I was getting the best father in law I could ask for. In the short 3 1/2 years Steve and I have been married, my father in law has taught me some great things.
He let me come out with guys to go shooting while we were in Chicago and he thought my first pose of holding the pistol was hilarious. I don't know that I will be able to live that one down.
After 5 minutes of very patient teaching, I was pretty experienced :) and I enjoyed myself. Who would've thought?
I am not joking when I say this, I am 100% serious. I almost didn't marry into this family because my Steve told me his dad's family had a tradition of cracking walnuts with their forehead during the holidays and that I would HAVE to do this if I wanted to be accepted. I called my mom in tears saying I don't ever think I could do something like that, I get headaches, that doesn't sound fun to me, his family hasn't accepted me yet and this will make it worse..bla bla bla. Thanks for the great family tradition that I will not be trying Steve!

Steve is up for anything, for his and Bev's anniversary they just went repelling! I totally trust Brad because he is a genius with outdoor stuff, but let's just say I'm glad they made it out without a scratch!
Awesome cook, coconut shrimp, french fries, fatty fried french toast, & steak are a few of his fortes. He always gives me sweet jobs to help him along the way like making secret runs for crazy ingredients that need an ID and a person over the age of 21...Beer battered shrimp, delicious!

He was there hours after Joe was born with the camera all ready to go, luckily I was able to get in a shower and some mascara, but the pictures are still horrendous, hence they will not be on this post.
He can't get enough of Joe, as long as I change the diapers, good deal to me!
Joe loves his grandpa! He has been there for every major event so far in his life, day 1 of his life, his blessing, daddy's graduation and a couple major holidays!
When mom and dad's arms go to jelly from holding him so much, Grandpa takes right over and entertains him so we can get a break.
Steve is a wonderful example of what a husband should be. He is super doting to his wife and is always right there to help out whether it's a little tidying up, hanging up pictures, being a handy man, fixing a car, or just keeping us all sane.
I know there were a ton of pictures, but I'm a picture girl. I love my father in law and the legacy he has made for himself so far. He's a convert to the church and actually joined the church through a high school friend. He moved from Chicago to Utah and met Bev and were married. They have 3 sons and 1 daughter. Two sons have gone through the temple, 1 served a mission, 1 is on a mission, and 1 has been married in the temple. They did a great job as parents along the way. Steve always has great advice and is super calm. I think my Steve got a lot from him that I am grateful for. He is helpful like his dad, passive, gentle, and sensitive. Thanks for making my marrying into your family so easy. I don't think I could say enough about how great and generous you have been to us. You will never understand how much I appreciate you. We love you tons and hope you have a fabulous birthday, card is on the way, but I guess it's ok it's late because you aren't there!

Joe's Birthday

I don't have pictures yet from Joe's little birthday party because I keep forgetting to ask my friend Heather for them. Yes, I am a horrible mom and didn't have my camera at his party and didn't have time to turn around and go get it.
On his birthday, we measured him, but little stink wanted to play with the measuring tape so I am not sure where he is measuring up at...just that it is over 30 inches, probably not by much...We will have to wait until we go to the doctor because he will sit for them!
Then, it was such nice weather that Heather, Kena and Benson came swimming! I am obsessed with this little 1 1/2 ft deep pool! This is going to be great for the days that I don't feel like going all the way in and Joe can swim in here by himself, with close supervision!

Awesome splash pad that Joe is starting to like also! Dad took the day off so he and Joe were having gun fights!

This is the cake! I found this cool looking train bundt pan and just had to have it. Little did I know I would be having his party at a train park this year and this cake went great!

Until I realized I didn't have any powdered sugar to make the glaze! So here I am trying to quickly frost a busy looking train...Since I didn't have the time nor patience to make it look somewhat decent I worked with what I had and knew that Joe would love the Oreo's as much as the cake itself.

Kena and Joe blowing out the candles, me holding Joe's hand so he doesn't touch the fire, this was the second blow because he realized how cool it was the first time, he needed it AGAIN!

Blowing out the candles, sweet moment, I didn't even have to really explain how to do it, I thought I would-candles, plural! He's so big!

So what are the chances of a guy like me and a girl like you... I told Joe he needed to share his stool which happens to be tiny and the only way they could both fit was to pretty much hold each other, Joe had no problem

Got a little frosting on your elbow Joe?!

Joe got an awesome tunnel from the Mishler's and invited me into it...I was feeling a tiny bit claustrophobic, but it was fun to see the kids racing through. Thanks guys!

Hope you had a fun day Joe! Love ya!

Happy Birthday Joe!

Our sweetheart turned 2 today! For Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle JK, Uncle Ben, Aunt Chelsea, Uncle Ben, Uncle Jack, Aunt Sammy, Maddie, Emily, Jack Jr, Grace, and Max...this is a preview of what Joe's face looked like when he was getting sung too. He ABSOLUTELY LOVED the attention and for a couple he demanded an encore! For Aunt Chandi, Uncle Preston, Madalyn and Cassidy this was his face as he listened to your voicemail! I loved it that some of my close friends called to say happy birthday, and even remembered it with their busy schedules! Joe loved it!

Here is just 1 picture taken while Joe was "making his wish!" I will post more pictures later of the festivities, but because it is late and I'm exhausted I just wanted to write some stuff about our baby!

Where have the past 2 years gone?! You have lived in Provo, UT, Valencia, CA, San Francisco, CA and now Phoenix, AZ. You have been such a trooper! You couldn't have been a better addition to our family; teaching us what it is like to have a little bit of heaven in our lives. We love your feisty and stubborn side that you unfortunately got from both parents, but you couldn't have any sweeter of a heart, and are always talking about who you love and who loves you. We love it that you talk a mile a minute even though sometimes we have no idea what you are saying, except that it is important. We can't get enough of the jumping, running, skipping and bum drops. It isn't our favorite that you still barely eat and have your mother's picky genes or that you sometimes put us in our place and talk to us like we are the children, slowly nodding your head and speaking slower like...do you get it now? You are our best buddy and are wonderful for me. I love trying to see the world through your perfect eyes because everything seems so much more exciting. We are so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed our home with such an amazing little spirit. We love you Joe!

Precious Moment

Today I realized our car needed an oil change, we drive obviously way more here than we did in San Francisco, so I put Joe in the car and took him to Wal Mart conveniently 2 minutes from where we live. They told me it would take about 40 minutes (I figured as much), but was wondering if Joe would be ok to shop for 40 minutes and let me peruse the store. Not only did he let me shop he was so sweet to me the whole time. He would stand up in his seat while we were stopped, give me a hug and tell me if there was something on that aisle that he wanted. The main ticker came when we were looking for cheese for his quesadillas and I asked him, Joe am I a nice mommy? He looked at me, started nodding his head, tilted it a little, opened his eyes wide and said mommy princess. I started laughing and said did you just call me a princess? To which he replied yes. Hilarious! We watch Finding Nemo and pretty much nothing else because he is still not interested in TV so I don't know where he got that word! Steve is convinced I've told him, yeah right, it's my husband that should think I'm a princess, I haven't taught my son to think that! It was so sweet, it melted my heart! I love him so much and can't believe he will be 2 in less than a week. I love my boys!

Random St George fun

When Steve was done golfing one day, he was getting dropped off at Jumping Jacks. I went to pick him up and we took Joe into play with Morgan for a couple minutes before one of Mike's going away parties. Morgan is such a cutie and the boys had a ton of fun doing bum drops together.
I couldn't love this cutie anymore. He was having such a fun time doing it by his "self". We would say with us or by yourself and he would say self and then fly down these huge slides.

Love his hair in this one! Steve took him down the first time and the rest he was on his own and kept saying again again. Fun, fun thanks Jake & Morgan!

Steve's Aunt Jill, cousin Becky and her husband Kenny came down from Provo for Mike's farewell. Bev is pretty into running and hiking and biking and if she ever invites Steve and I we kind of just laugh it off. It's not that I don't think I could do it, I just really don't have any desire to do it. Since family was in town, Bev brought up going on a hike Monday morning leaving at 8:15 am, ha ha ha, I don't even get up until after 9. Bev was saying she just didn't think I had the confidence to do it, and I was like really truly and honestly that does not sound fun to me at all. Whatever Steve ended up getting out of it and since Brad's girlfriend said she would go, I as the daughter in law had to go! Thanks Andrea!

Here's us before the hike, me, Andrea, Bev, Carly, Kenny (behind her), Savannah, Harrison (in front of her), Becky, Bruce, Lauren, Jill. Another reason I didn't want to go, Bruce is superman. When we went to Canada a year and a half ago, Bruce talked me into going on a "moderate" hike. To keep a long story short, he read it wrong, it was a strenuous 6 mile hike. I had Joe who didn't want to be held by any one else, or fed by any one else screaming in the woods. He was 9 months old and I was a wreck, I had to put being a mother before being nature woman and walked 2.5 miles back down the mountain by myself with him. When I got off the mountain I could barely walk, my arms were jello. Did the hike even phase Bruce? Probably not, he went on another one the next day! I think he is the coolest uncle and such a blast to be around, but I am always wary if he is involved in any adventure!

I thought this was a cool sight, red rock and snow, don't see that very often!

Me and my mother in law at the top, she kept turning around asking where I was! At the back socializing, I was not going to go back and hide in the car :)
It was a very pretty hike and I was glad I was invited, thanks Bev!

My group up the mountain and down the mountain, Andrea (Brad's girlfriend) and Lauren (wonderful cousin) Thanks for the walk girls, the lunch and the Krumpet's trip!

We came back to Arizona Tuesday night and I need to give a shout out to the best packer/manueverer ever, my husband! I cannot do Christmas half way and since we didn't have a home this year I made Steve take all of Joe's gifts to his parents. On the way there we had his parents Envoy and it was packed as much as it could be and on the way back we had our little escort. We even contemplated buying a car while we were there (we need one soon anyways since public transportation isn't an option here), but we didn't want to rush into it. I didn't want to leave anything because I hate feeling like my stuff is everywhere and somehow some way Steve fit 4 suitcases, 2 temple bags, 2 bathroom bags, a basketball hoop, a trike, a horse, golf clubs, Joe's toys, my Krumpet's bags, my Christmas presents, Steve's Christmas presents, 2 laptops, and 2 bags of books into our car. Remember, we have been living at a resort since November! That is why we have so much stuff and we left some stuff in Steve's office for a week. I can't believe he fit it all in! What a smarty I married! Thanks honey for trying to keep me happy and sane during our move! I love you!