Our Heaven on Earth

Introducing Cameron and Christian Jenkins

2008-10-26T22:17:00.003-06:00

Yeah! Everyone arrived healthy and happy! My brother Nate and his wife Karen are the proud new parents of #6 and 7 to their household, Cameron and Christian. They were born Oct. 13th, at 9:36 and 9:38 p.m. Cam was 6 lbs. and 17.5 in. and Christian weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz and was 18.5 in. We are so excited to go to Washington for Thanksgiving to meet them. And it gets better, because by then we will have yet another nephew to meet! Kristin's 4th boy is due in just a week or so. But I don't want to get ahead of myself so without further adieu--- tada! (Now, doesn't this just make you want twins of your own???)

The Diaper Twins

2008-10-11T14:01:00.004-06:00

The babes and I were playing one morning and I just had to take this shot. I wish you could hear the giggles that went along with this scene. If you were wondering, YES, Alyssa has a serious crush on Elmo. This pic is just one more reason I love being at home.

Emmy's Windfall

2008-10-11T13:21:00.003-06:00

Okay so it wasn't Publisher's Clearing House that came knocking on our door but to Emmy it might as well have been.

Earlier this week, Emmy came home from school with a big grin on her face and started dancing and singing out 'I'm famous! And I'm rich!' "Umm, hellooh? More information please, dear daughter of mine...", I implored. So she told me that she won a 'hundurd bucks' (her words exactly) and the fireman said he'd get it to her later. "Umm, still more info needed", I begged her. So from the next ten minutes of excited bits of conversation amid much dancing, cheering and celebration, I gathered that she THOUGHT she won a contest at school put on by the firemen of our local firehouse. Right? 'No mom, I really did win!', she explained. Then the phone rang. "Hello?" I said as I saw the caller ID read South Jordan Fire and Rescue. Turns out Emmy was right and her doubting Thomas Mother was wrong. The nice fireman explained that out of the whole city Emmy won first place in her grade division for coloring her interpretation of "Preventing Home Fires" and would be presented her prize of $100 at an awards ceremony on Friday night.

Here's the blowup poster that made Emmy famous and rich!

Fireman Sean at the awards ceremony. He teased Emmy saying she promised to take him out to steak afterwards.

Here's a quick pic of a couple of firemen wanting a celeb shot taken with Emmy. She's considering changing her name to Em`e...

Her blowup will be framed and placed in the firehouse on Redwood Rd. We'll have to take a fieldtrip and check it out!

Football Frenzy!

2008-10-11T13:00:00.004-06:00

Aproaching the kickoff!

Okay, let's get right to it. It's football season at our house which means that 6 days a week we're at practice or a game. I finally caved and let Logan live out a dream of his to play football... still not sure how he convinced me of that one. The league that we're in is way too intense for me (crazy team moms, all matching gear to the tune of $350 and an ever growing time committment) but has been a great outlet for Logan during this difficult transition. Logan has learned so much in his first season and has found unknown talents like kicking, sacking the QB and eating great amounts of pasta, bananas and oatmeal. It hasn't been easy all the time, especially playing in the freezing rain and wind, but I'm sure proud of the growth Logan's made. Way to go! (More pictures to come)

Big Cottonwood Canyon

2008-08-04T00:01:00.003-06:00

How great it is to be living so close to the mountains! For the weekend of July 24th we went camping with (who else!) Jordan's 3 brothers and their families. Logan's favorite part was building the fire with his dad and uncles, Emmy's was spending time with her fun aunts and Alyssa's was playing musical sleeping bags-ALL NIGHT LONG. Levi was his usual mellow fellow self and just enjoyed being held by everyone. Dad's was the fact that he didn't have to do any of the packing and mom's was... still thinking... just kidding. I loved just having my family all together without TV, computer, phones, gameboys and the noise of everyday life. I love being out in the beauty of the mountains and soaking up the peace and reminder of Heavenly Father's love that it provides.

Saturday morning we hiked around the lake and just sat and visited. Other than the mound of laundry that it created, the weekend was perfect.

We say a baby moose licking the road on our way up the canyon. No mother spotted.

Jordan Snedaker family- A little dirt never hurt anyone right?

Dave and Candace enjoying their gourmet tinfoil dinner

Bry and Melissa new parents to be!! Yeah!!! Practicing parenting skills on J-Park

Dan and Kathryn with their "adopted daughter during dinner", Alyssa
"Aunt Kathryn's hot dog was better than the yucky vegetables mom tried to get me to eat..."

Hey, Hey MBA!

2008-08-03T23:17:00.006-06:00

After running the 10K, we decided to throw Jordan's brother Dave a surprise graduation party. We got the house all decorated and food ready. Jordan called him up and asked him if he wouldn't mind helping put our b-ball hoop up. Being the great brother that he is he said sure! Surprise, surprise. We shared a BBQ of ribs, twiced baked potatoes, watermelon, and salads. YUM! We were only sad that his wife Candace was feeling under the weather and couldn't make it. We all know this was just as much of an accomplishment of hers as it was his. Congrats, Dave and Candace. You are both great examples of patience, determination and fortitude! P.S Candace finished the 10K in 56 min! Awesome!

SHHHHHHHHHHH!

Dave always gives the greatest reactions... It makes the surprise that much more fun!

Dave with brother Dan and wife Kathryn

For you-David Lloyd Snedaker! Aka: Dave's favorite restaurant-Famous Dave's

To celebrate, Alyssa and Parker pretended to be puppies. Too cute.

24th of July

2008-08-03T23:11:00.004-06:00

Time to catch up with what's been going on at the Snedakers! For the 24th of July, my sis-in-law Candace invited the sisters to run with her in the Deseret News 10K. Now what you all need to understand is that Candace is a great runner and I am SO not. But because I've always wanted to have a near death experience like this at least once in my life, I said "Wow, that sure sounds like fun!"... Well, Melissa and I finished!!! We did it in 1hr and 25 min. Not bad considering Melissa is expecting and we hardly trained at all! The best part of the whole thing was that the run route came in through the downtown parade route. There were masses of people that had slept on the sidewalks to get a good view of disc jockeys and prom queens riding in fancy cars waving at them (I'm a parade buff-can't you tell?). They actually got out of bed and stood on the corner cheering us on and applauding us in droves! What an amazing feeling! Complete strangers and random kids would stand in the middle of the runway handing us water. As one little girl about 7 or so held out a cup for me, I gave her a heartfelt panting of "Thank you sweetie". I looked back at the little girl who handed me the cup and I could see her look at her mom like she just saw Santa or something. Her mom looked at her so pleased at how she was helping and winked. What a moment. It was truly community. The whole run seemed like it was in slow motion, not only because that's about how fast I run, but just because of the beauty of the moment. Families together enjoying a cool summer morning, people of all shapes and sizes accomplishing lofty goals, parents and kids running together and most of all people sharing joy-together. Next year Logan says he'll run with me. I still don't consider myself a runner but Logan, I can't wait buddy.

Great Job!

2008-07-16T13:22:00.003-06:00

Today I want to let everyone know just how proud I am of my wonderful husband! He'd die if he knew I was writing about him, but I just can't help it! In April, Jordan took a new position with Wells Fargo. Within one week he had to pack up and leave behind great friends, a home he loved so much he wanted to be buried there (I'm not kidding) and left his family, which I know was very hard for him. He's a very involved dad and missed his kids greatly. He only was able to come be with us one, short weekend a month. The job transition has been very challenging and between going in very early and staying late, he comes home exhausted and brain-fried. Three months, one sprained ankle, and a broken toe later, our family is finally back together and for that we are so grateful. Throughout all of this he's had a great attitude and continues to not only lift everyone else up but keep us all in stitches. What a great example he is to me. I feel so privileged to be the wife of such a great man.

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

2008-07-15T11:51:00.005-06:00

disclaimer: This post contains the ramblings of a frazzled mother who still can't find her favorite pair of shoes amid the sea of boxes!!! Beware!
On Sunday for Alyssa's 2nd birthdaywe went to my aunt and uncle's new house in Springville. We had a great dinner there with fun cousins, yum food, and lots of theraputic laughter, emphasis on the therapy. Speaking of laughter, here's a funny pickle, it was my job to bring the birthday dessert. Okay, so I slaved away at the store getting an ice cream cake, then thinking it might not serve ALL the cousins that I wasn't sure were coming, I continued the slavery in the kitchen baking this fabulous carrot cake with cream cheese icing (okay I confess it was a the only mix and canned frosting I had in the house...) BUT STILL!! So I was loading everything into the car, cold cake in cooler, beautifully wrapped gifts that a two-year old couldn't care less about the ribbon I searched the house over for... and as my darling Emmy-girl was hopping in the back of the car at the same time... (you know where this is going, don't you... ) we went into slow motion , Emmy's foot caught the carrot cake tupperware cake box, flipping it high in the air, I see it all happening, reach across her (as if I could somehow pluck it from the air and return it upright unscathed) and watched it land with a deafening SMACKON THE DRIVEWAY. Breathe, Jenny, Breathe. After squealing "OH,NO!!!!", I didn't know whether to laugh. cry or both! I quickly grabbed it and turned it right side up. Thank goodness I had been inspired my Betty Crocker herself to sprinkle walnuts on top, preventing it from gluing itself to the lid. Even though it looked like it had been through an earthquake, we salvaged it and off we went to celebrate! I thought about just letting everyone think that an over-elated Alyssa attacked her cake, but then I thought people might not even try it. Everyone turned out to be such a good sport and took a taste, saying it tasted the same no matter what it looked like and that it would end up looking worse when it go to their tummies. Now that's what I call a loving family.

Happy Birthday Alyssa, We love you!

Making a wish!

After finishing her ice cream cake, she went for Daddy's. I don't think he ever found out! You snooze, you lose, pal!

Surprise! "Gifts, for me? You shouldn't have!"

A bubble machine! My favorite! Tay-too!

Levi is always ready to party!

Austin, Logan, Bailee, and Emmy just enjoying the Utah breeze!

Nikki, Alyssa, Brandon, and Austin checking out Brandon's ride... nice!

The Hosts: Uncle Larry and Aunt Linda Madsen
The Two Little Birds in front of their new love nest!

Westward Ho!!!

2008-07-10T22:13:00.002-06:00

What a wild ride this Snedaker family has been on for the past few months... We want everyone to know that we have safely arrived to our new digs in So Jo. The first few days I thought I was going to drown amid all of the boxes and packing paper. In fact, Levi is such a mellow fellow that I actually DID lose him in pile of paper for a few minutes. Not until I heard his cute giggle did I remember where he was playing... What a good mom I am, right? Alyssa on the other hand is taking this opportunity to push our non-schedule schedule to her advantage by eating whatever unhealthy food she can find (Treat Mom, TREAT??) and staying up until 10:30 at night then batting those long eye lashes of hers and saying

"no-no nigh night. Mommy go nigh-night. 'kay?"

(Sigh, as you can tell, I'm not very good at the whole move thing...)

My mom and sister came for a quick visit and to help with unpacking. We had a great time while they were here. Fourth of July was a little different in that we were all to tuckered to venture out to find a fireworks show. Instead we opted to watch some of our brave neighbors try not to burn their homes down while entertaining our kids. Thanks. While we were watching them, we talked about why we celebrated the 4th of July, what the fireworks represent, etc.

Emmy whispered to me, "Oh yeah mom, kinda like that song you always sing that has that flag in it?"

Umm, yeah. That would be our national anthem, Emmy. Guess we need to reference that one a bit more as such... I'm thinking we need an Emmy quote of the week... I'll keep you posted on any future Ah-ha moments...
Let us know if you'd like to stop in for a visit and unload, unpack, paint, or sand. We'd love to see you!

Which Disney Princess Are You?

2008-06-15T00:01:00.002-06:00

So, my sis-in-law Candace shared with me this online quiz. I was a little surprised to find out that I was tagged as a Jasmine. Emmy would be mortified to think that her mom was the "immodest one" so I guess I'd better keep this little secret to myself (and all of you...). I guess I thought I was more like Snow White- constantly cleaning, or Cinderella-also constantly cleaning, or oh, I don't know. Do I really fit the description of a Jasmine though??? Hmmm, I'm not so sure.

Take the quiz at: http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354

You Are Jasmine!

Independent and adventurous. You don't want much; just to break out of the guilded cage society has put you in and experience life to the fullest. Following orders isn't really one of your strong points, and you would rather live a life of poverty than being forced into something that you hate.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Bring Levi home, ALREADY!

2008-06-14T21:41:00.005-06:00

Okay, so I know I've probably lost a few readers in the past few months or so, since it's been that long that I've posted. Sorry. One of my friends said "Will you bring your baby home from the hospital already!" Well, we're now home, for the time being. Actually for about another week and a half.... It's still crazy to think that Jordan left Colorado mid-April for a new job in SLC. For those of you who don't know, we're moving to Utah! I won't bore you with all the bitter-sweet feeling I've been going through, but we're definitely going to miss Parker and all our wonderful friends here. Thank heavens for blogs and email and great cell phone plans and the fact that everyone comes to visit family in Utah, right???? Here is your open and standing invitation to come and visit us whenever you can! We would absolutely LOVE that.

So since it's been just me at home with the kiddos, it seems like I'm always holding AT LEAST one baby or cleaning the house in hopes for a showing, which doesn't leave much room for typing or taking pictures... I'm trying my best though. Here's a picture update on the fam:

Here's our cute little man hangin' tough!

Logan is so excited to have his braces and expander off! What a handsome smile!

Alyssa is absolutely smitten with Levi. She calls him "boy" and searches the house for him when she wakes from her nap, then smothers him with sweet kisses.

Alyssa after her ice cream cone with Emmy and neighbor Kaydee. Emmy's new hobby includes roly poly hunting. She's always got at least a dozen in her hand...

The Fantastic Four

We are a happy family! Easter 2008

Drumroll please...Announcing: Levi Bryan Snedaker!

2008-02-25T14:04:00.004-07:00

After much thought, we decided on the perfect name for the new little man in our lives. We both love the name Bryan and what it represents on both sides of our family. Strength, courage, love, loyalty, generosity and adventure. What a namesake this little one is taking on but with what we've seen of him thus far, we're sure he's up to the challenge. Mom loves that he's eating and sleeping so well, something that I'm sure will change once we're home and don't have the luxury of around the clock nurses.

He's sweet and cute and such a good baby!

We were thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa Snedaker and Uncle Bryan and Aunt Melissa just happened to fly into town the same night little Levi was born! We had a lot of fun visiting with them in the hospital. It was Grandma and Grandpa to the rescue for Logan, Emmy and Alyssa. They were thrilled to have a slumber party with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Bry and Aunt Meliss. We thank them for all that they have done for our family. We couldn't have made it without them.

New Arrival

2008-02-24T10:49:00.003-07:00

Our new little one was born on 2/23/08 at 11:00 p.m. He weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and 19 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well. Still no name for the little guy yet.

8 Weeks and Counting...

2008-01-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

This one's for all off my family who says they want to see pic's of me pregnant. I say count yourself lucky if you haven't and my goodness you've had four chances!!! I'm feeling pretty good, though I'm getting tired of the constant Braxton Hicks and love kicks. We're (Little Juan and mama) not getting much sleep as of late, but know it's only going to get worse before it gets better. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to get the scoop on when and if the doctor wants to induce. We'll be hedging our bets whether he comes early on his own like Emmy, or waits for a personal invitation to the party like Logan and Alyssa. Any thoughts??? Let us know what you think!

Toothless Taloulah!

2008-01-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Emmy wanted to share with you her exciting news that she lost her two front teeth!!!! She was so brave when she asked me to pull them out. She is quite proud of the fact that it hardly phased her. She just had her tissue ready and grinned. This is her 5th tooth to come out, so she is feeling QUITE grown-up. Tooth Fairy, BRING IT ON!

And They're Off!

2008-01-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to let everyone know that the kids and I took Mom and Dad to the airport today. I can't believe the day actually came. I think dad was a little anxious to get off and down to check on Dulce and Dorado. (The horses left on Saturday and got there today.) Mom was definitely nervous for the unknown and probably apprehensive to put her Spanish into practice. I was very proud of myself that I actually held things together and that the side of me that wanted to show my encouragement and excitement for them won out over the side of me that was screaming and crying out 'DON'T GO'!!!!

Mom called a few minutes ago and said that even with the the weather delays here in Denver (snow, are you surprised?) that they BARELY made their connection in Dallas. She said that they closed the gate, but the pilot decided to get off the plane for a potty break and opened the door. Mom and Dad came up right then and he saw them and said 'Are you the two we were waiting on?' It's a good thing nature was calling Mr. Pilot, otherwise they would have had to wait until tomorrow!

I think everyone has their Denver based number but please let us know if you need help getting a hold of them. They are staying in a hotel for a few days but should be moved into their house by this weekend. They're also checking their regular email accounts. Viven en Mexico!!!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-04T11:26:00.001-07:00

Sneddy Christmas Vacation

2008-01-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great Christmas we had together with our little family. On Christmas Eve, we plotted out a drive to visit some amazing houses decorated and set to music through a radio station. Some of the houses we saw made Sparky's house (National Lampoon) look like child's play. Fun! We ended our evening with a family slumber party (Alyssa wasn't invited) in mom and dad's room. We did get a little bit of sleep... Christmas morning we a woke to a beautiful blanket of snow and it snowed ALL DAY LONG! We had lots of yummy food and stayed in our PJ's all day. What a relaxing way to enjoy celebrating!

Surprise Dad- the ponies came off!

2007-11-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

This morning after Alyssa and I got Dad, Logan and Emmy off for the day, I was trying to do Alyssa's hair. She let me know that she really didn't appreciate me trying to put her hair in ponies. (She has a mullet just like Emmy did.) She needed a trim anyway, so I went out on a limb and cut three inches off! Major cut, considering she probably only has four to five inches total! I wonder what Daddy's going to think when he gets home tonight???? She looks so grown up now and she thinks so too. She ran to the bathroom and uh-uh-uhed until I lifted her up so she could see herself in the mirror. All smiles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we enjoyed with Jordan's parents and brothers. It was so great to have everyone home. The cold weather may have snuffed out all of our outside plans, but certainly not our excitement of being together. We were so thrilled to finally meet Dave and Candace's new son, Parker. What a beautiful baby he is, so sweet and cuddly. On top of playing with their new cousin, our kids had so much fun with their aunts and uncles. A big "thank- you" to all of them for being so good to our kids and playing with them non-stop! They are now undergoing serious WITHDRAWL!

To explain a couple of the pictures I've posted-- For dinner one night, we each made our own individual pizzas. Logan had been watching his uncles (they like to use a secret ingredient...) and decided to add a secret ingredient of his own- candy corn! He made Jordan taste it with the rule that he couldn't pick anything off. Needless to say, both Logan and Jordan said it was terrible and had a hard time getting it down. Lesson learned- never put candy corn on pizza!

A new day dawned in Alyssa's life this past week. With the visit of Parker, she found all the adults (including mom) cooing with and enjoying holding the newest member of our family. Feeling completely neglected, she tried climbing on anyone's lap who was holding Parker. Up to this point, she's been a mama's girl, but a girls' gotta draw a line somewhere! She now loves playing with and going to anyone who will pay attention to her. We're thrilled she's growing and learning this important lesson BEFORE her little brother is born! As additional entertainment, Grandma got out her Christmas decorations (which included this Rocking Chair Reindeer that sings "Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer"). Emmy showed Alyssa how to work it and wa-lah, magic plus hours of giggles. What a sweet big sister Emmy is for always helping Alyssa and playing so well with her.

2007-11-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

2007-11-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

2007-11-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love Fall? Today it's unseasonably warm and I just can't help but bask in the warmth of the sunlight and enjoy the colorful leaves on the trees. Even though it was 12 years ago, the smell of fall reminds me of meeting and falling in love with my sweetheart. I love the times when we can just breathe and enjoy the rare quiet moments of watching the the sunset or the frost on the grass in the early morning. On cool, brisk days, jackets are a happy compromise to the inevitable heavy winter parka. But unless there's 2 feet of snow on the ground, the kids always look at me as if I'm speaking a foreign language when I tell them to put their jackets on. Oh well, I try!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T21:41:00.000-06:00

I think Halloween has officially become it's own "season" at our house. We've enjoyed hunting down the perfect pumpkins, decorating cookies, children and houses (large and small), tricking and treating and partying at school, Grandma's, church and downtown!

Jordan had a blast taking the kids out for Trick-or Treating. This year was Alyssa's first year to step out as a big girl and go with Logan and Emmy. It didn't take long for her to catch on and flourish! She was so proud of herself as she came home and showed me her treats. Logan and Emmy proved again that time management and strong determination produce big results in the "begging for candy" industry. Hopefully, Jordan's "daddy tax" is as high this year as it has been in the past...

Imaginations are alive and well at our house being that Logan was a Jedi, Spiderman, Batman, and a Bronco player this year (a new character for each event attended). Emmy improved upon the classic "witch" costume with her personalized make-up job. Alyssa was a cute little kitty, mom went as an oversheduled mom- quite a stretch huh?- and dad went as his usual thick-necked undercover security guard- no stretch there...

2007-10-31T19:38:00.000-06:00

It's a BOY!!!!

2007-10-31T19:05:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a pleasant surprise! Logan is THRILLED to know that soon he'll have a brother of his very own. Emmy is coming to terms with having another baby (because they cry and might mess up her pristine room...) but is elated at the thought of having another sibling to "mother". Even Jordan was excited with the prospects of having another boy to wrestle with, coach basketball for and to share male bonding time with. Alyssa is trying her best to deal with jealousy issues but we know that she will be a great big sister. Jenny is just happy that this pregnancy is going well so far and that all seems to be healthy with her baby BOY... We told Logan that if this new boy in our family is as wonderful and fun as he is we're in for a GREAT time.

Ta-Da!!!!

2007-10-20T12:39:00.000-06:00

Wow!~ I can't believe that little ol' me stumbled my way through and created a blog! I've now proved that ANYTHING is possible.

Jordan's been asking me to do this for a while now, and with Kris, Uncle Bry and Aunt Sugar's encouragement, here we are! I'm not sure if I'll have anything worthy of your time and reading but I hope that you enjoy pictures and periodic postings of all members of our family.

Sneak Peek: This coming week's blog will contain ultrasound pic's with an announcement of the gender! Keep in touch!

Summer '07

2007-10-20T09:48:00.001-06:00

Jordan and Jenny Welcome You!

2007-10-19T23:27:00.000-06:00