Kenworthy Family - Longmont

Oh Well, No Pictures

2009-12-30T09:54:00.004-07:00

I have sat down to post a blog with pictures 4 times now. Every time I try to upload pictures, the whole thing crashes. I give up!

A lot has happened in the last 4-5 months and they are all wonderful and exciting.
Ken came home from his mission. We were lucky enough to go and pick him up in Florida. It was a great experience to meet people that were special to him on his mission. We were also privileged to have breakfast with Pres. and Sister Newman, Ken's mission President and his lovely wife.
I even got to see an alligator up close! It sure is beautiful there.

Then when we got home, Ty and Cami, Tori and JennAdam came from UT and we had a great family reunion. It really doesn't get better than that!
It was so nice to be together. We had great meals, heard great stories, played in the park and gathered in the bishops office to participate in Noah receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood, heard the boys sing in Church......the list goes on and on of cool stuff.
You can see some of the pictures I wish I could put up, on JennAdam's blog.

I then found out that I am going to be a Grandma. Although Meg and John have two darling boys (that I have wished so hard to meet!) and it's been fun feeling a bit like a grandma, I'm so happy for Ty and Cami. I love hearing how things are going and I know they are going to be great parents.
If you want to see some major cute boys, check out Meg and John's blog link. They are such a darling family and I am so impressed with all the things they do.

Then Ty and Cami came for Thanksgiving. Tori came too, by train. I'm happy to say we get to keep Tori this time!
We had a great visit with them, even though poor Cami was a bit under the weather. Morning sickness and smells of all the cooking must have been a real trial, but she is a real trooper and didn't let on.

Though I'm was very happy for Ken, it was hard to see him go. He left with Ty and Cami to go to UT. He starts the winter semester at BYU. He has been staying with Steve's mom and has been a great example of service. Grandma is going to miss him very much when he moves into his dorm at BYU on Friday.

We had a very different Christmas this year. After not receiving any of our deposit from our old land lords (a very frustrating and saddening situation that we had no way of countering) our funds for Christmas were gone. So, I started crocheting my little heart out and looking for a way to make it a nice Christmas.
I can't tell you how grateful I am that my children are so good to get homemade things.
We were even blessed to have members of our ward take what we made to our family in UT. Shipping is a killer!
Anyway, we had a great Christmas. I am soooooo very blessed to have such good kids. They are a sorce of great joy and happiness.
I was so glad to see how the kids have recieved Steve's first book. I was so excited about it and figured they would like it, but I didn't realize how much. Everyone may not agree, but MY family rocks!

Hope you all have many blessing to count. That this coming year brings you joy, blessings that are looked for and not looked for. I hope you are able to see the hand of the Lord in your lives so that you know how much He loves you and is helping you to grow and learn.
May we all cherish each moment, and see the light that shines for us even in the darkest hours.

Karen

A Poem by Cubby

2009-12-09T20:50:00.003-07:00

I still have a lot to catch up on, but in the mean time, here is a neat poem that Cubby wrote the other day.

A New Winter

I smile
as my nose
grows numb
and starts
to run profusely
because I'm still
having fun
my frigid lips
release
an icy breath
of steam
that rises
and evaporates
into
nothingness
I hear
the quiet swishing
of sleighs
rushing sliding
down the hill
I stoop
and dig my
fingers into the
soft white layer
surrounding
us but I am
hit
with a
tight ball
of snow
I giggle
as I throw
one in return
our laughter
greets
a new winter

Tori Turns 18

2009-12-08T23:54:00.002-07:00

Well, our pretty Tori turned 18 in October. She got a lot of pink, which seems to be her new signature color. Her other being bright green. She got some hot pink duct tape to give her duct tape shoes a new coat of color. Turning 18 is a special thing and though we would have liked to make it a big deal, we weren't able to. Her main present was being presented with an opal ring that had been her grandmother Cummins's. Tori and my (Karen) birth stone is opal, so it was a special thing to pass on.

Fun with Horses and Aunt Janelle

2009-09-20T22:12:00.004-06:00

Janelle (Steve's youngest sister) took Noah, Tori and Cubby to our nieces place in Lehi and let them let them ride, Georgia, a sweet horse that Janelle had been teaching Tori how to ride while she had been staying in UT. She has become a major fan of riding horses and wanted Noah and Cubby to have a chance to have some of the fun she had been enjoying.
They all seemed to have a great time, except maybe Janelle because she probably didn't get much of a chance to ride. Thanks Janelle!!!!

Tori's Coin Ceremony

2009-09-20T21:42:00.003-06:00

It's started with Ty. The night before he left to work at a dinner theater in Pennsylvania, Steve pulled a 1878 silver dollar from his pocket and told Ty it was an executive decision maker. It was something to help with those decisions that aren't major and don't need Heavenly Help or parental advice. I mostly missed this exchange. It was a last minute thing between Steve and Ty.
Then, when Jenn was heading off to the Army, Steve pulled out one for her. I thought it was cute and she seemed to think it was pretty special.
Then, when Jenn came home for medical reasons, she told me how she would go to sleep, holding that silver dollar. She would be holding it to get strength from her father during a very hard time. In the morning, when she woke up, she would have the design of the coin imprinted on her palm.
It was then that I realized that "the coin" meant a lot more to the kids than I realized.
Then, when Ken was leaving on his mission he got his and I paid much more attention to the significance of it, and I remember all of us getting a bit teary.
So, when we went back for Ty's graduation,
it had been decided that Tori would be
staying in UT, at least for an extended time.
So, Steve decided that Tori was now a grown up and on her own, in that sense.
Here are the pictures of the "pacing of a coin" to Tori. It was a very special moment and more explination went with it, and as a result, more emotion was felt and shown.
I'm so grateful to an inspired husband that thought to give one to Ty, and thus start a tradition that has become very important to us and our children.

Post Grad Party!

2009-09-20T17:56:00.009-06:00

Ty was the head BBQer at his Graduation party, and I'm glad he was. The Hot Dogs and Hamburgers were cooked to perfection.
We had great food, great people and a lot of fun! The best ingredients for a wonderful party!

Grandpa Cummins watches to see that Ty is doing a good job.
My dad has been a great BBQer for a long time. Nice to see that Ty inherited his skill!

Tori and Aunt Janelle.
Jenn, Adam and Grandma Kenworthy
Cami and Janey
Grandma and Jenn
Steve and some yummy food!

WOW WEEEE!!!

2009-09-20T16:40:00.006-06:00

What a super cool life! So much has happened lately: it's really hard to begin. I will just do several short posts because doing all the pictures in one post would be a nightmare!

The steamroller action of our life really started picking up with the graduation of our oldest son, Ty.
He graduated from BYU with his bachelors degree in Anthropology. Soon he will be going on to graduate school and working hard for another 4+ years. He's really good at what he does and is being recognized by people in his field for the interesting and good work he is doing. I love to hear him talk about the things he has learned and what he is interested in. Fascinating!

The pictures aren't in any kind of order, but we have our cheering section of very proud family members (starting at the left, we have Noah, Me(Karen), Cami, Cami's sister- Janey, Cami's mom -Paula, Cami's dad -Roger, Steve, Cubby and Ty's Grandpa Cummins (Mel). Tori took the picture.

An extraordinary couple! Ty and his proud wife, Cami. (I love this picture!)

Ty walked the walk!
A very sweet, loving and supportive wife, Cami and her sister.
Grandpa Cummins, parents and Ty.
Very cool! This was a special occasion that we were very grateful to be able to attend. We were also grateful that most of the family was able to be there for the ceremony, that Grandpa Cummins was able to be there as well as Cami's parents and sister.

WUT UP! From Utah

2009-07-21T23:41:00.004-06:00

Hey Guys! It's Tori!! (I hope you haven't forgotten me already) Sending you a HOLLA from Utah. I'm having a blast out here so far, but I miss the family and my dogs out in Longmont. But I'm especially enjoying pestering Shawn again, just like old times. *sigh* We went up to Bridal Veil falls and took some pictures. Here are a few of them, just to kind of let you see what I've been up to!

We found this empty/kind of creepy old building, so we took some pictures... who wouldn't? It was pretty cool.
You can't really see very well, but if you look close, you can see my face hidden in the bushes. I look like a fugitive or something. It's awesome.

Yes, the spray paint DOES say LOVE SHACK. It's totally gross in there too, with all kinds of garbage and cobwebs and junk. Yuck. But still cool enough to have it's picture taken. I mean come on, it says LOVE SHACK!

Me. Chillin. On a rock. Doesn't get much better than that.

Hanging out on a branch above the river, looking awesome!

Happy Anniversary All Around!

2009-07-21T19:23:00.002-06:00

Today and tomorrow are anniversary days.

1st -Today marks one year for Steve working at the Longmont Public Library!
Happy Anniversary Steve!
We've meet great people here, we are in a great ward and it beats the heck out of being unemployed.
2nd- It's also been a year since I started my low to no carb diet to get my diabetes in line.
It's been going really good. I feel a lot better, I've gone from being on 9 prescriptions to 1 with another at 1/4 of the dose. I've lost 44 lbs and I plan on continuing my journey to being healthier!

Meg and John's Anniversary is tomorrow.
Happy Anniversary you two!!!!!!
So much going on with you these days.
I'm glad you have found a place to live once you move to Iowa.
With a baby coming anytime, you two have your hands full.
How I wish I could be there to lend a helping hand. What we do do and will continue to do is to keep you in our prayers.
We look forward to your little arrival and hearing how all the big changes go.

To all of our family and friends, we love you and appreciate all you have done to get us to this point. We couldn't have made it this far without your love, support and encouragement.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer and you're making good memories with the ones you love!

The Trumphant Return of Noah-Camper Guy

2009-07-18T22:16:00.002-06:00

Noah was home for a day and a half from being the Assistant Scout Master for the 12 year Scout Camp.
Then he was off to with some leaders and the other boys his age from the ward to go on High Adventure camp.
He has returned. He has been telling us all about his adventures and it sounds like he had a lot of fun.
As you can see from these pictures, he also got REALLY burned.

The one red spot is where, while caving, he was punctured by a rock.
He has huge blisters from his burns.
I can say that I don't know if I have ever seen burns this bad.......that were done on purpose.
In the picture of just the one leg, you can see that to the right and down from the puncture wound is looks all bubbly and weird, those are blisters.
Aaahhhhhhh!
At least he came back in one piece.
He says that he loved the kayaking. The the caving and all the rest were great too.
They tried a couple of days to catch some fish, but only 3 were caught.
Too bad they didn't have the champion fisher of all time, Mel Cummins (my dad)with them!!!!

Recent Random Stuff: Part III

2009-07-17T21:47:00.009-06:00

Any guesses?

Well if you guessed craw-dads, or Craw-fish, then you're right!

Cubby and I (Karen), with hooks on strings, some bait and a bucket, had fun getting them in the canal in front of the bakery.
We had been there working and took a break. The neat thing is, I taught Cubby how to get them, and she was the first one to actually get one. Most all of these, she got. It was a lot of fun and now we will have a craw-dad catching kit in the van. You just never know when we need a break and are in the mood to catch some!
We brought our catch home. I looked online how to cook them, and in the pot they went. They were yummy!
It should be easier next time. The water was higher than usual and was fairly swift.

Here is the last picture I got of Tori before she left for UT. Sure miss that girl! Yet I'm happy for her

that she is having fun and doing fun things.

Cubby turned 14!
Yes, you heard right. Our youngest, Miss Cora Fern, alias, Cubby, has turned 14.

She got a Nintindo DS (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a hand held game system)
She also got a Tinker Bell in a Shoe, figurine.

Then, with money from Grandpa & Lorene Cummins, and JennAdam added to what she has made, working with me at the bakery, she picked out and bought a bike. It's a nice one and she really loves it.

Recent Random Stuff: Part II

2009-07-17T21:10:00.006-06:00

One afternoon, a few weeks ago, we had a short downpour and then we were treated to the most beautiful rainbow any of us had ever seen. The colors were brilliant and each band of color was bold and easy to see. It was truly amazing! This picture doesn't even come close!

I can touch my nose with my tongue!
What's your super power?

Here's the girls, bright and
early, just before we loaded
them up and took them
to the church to head off for "Trek".

Then here they are when they got back. Tori was bright red. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

Here's the only picture I got of Cubby. She was being silly with an old pair of my glasses, but you can see her pretty red nose. That's about all that was burned on her. Tori, on the other hand, will have a farmer tan for a long time to come. Hee Hee

Recent Random Stuff: Part I

2009-07-16T20:11:00.012-06:00

A day in the life of Noah.

First he plays some guitar.

Plays, I mean, works in the kitchen

Then some more guitar. That about sums it up!

Of course he writes some great music, eats a lot of food and gets the mail.
One very busy guy!

Oh yes, and I love him!!!!!!

____________________________________________________________________

"No, you can't have
the phone. I'm
expecting a call."

"I'm going to wait just... a little longer"

"I'm.........still.....waitin..Zzzzzz"

Now these are some "REAL" hot dogs! It's been averaging
91 during the day in the house. That's with the swamp cooler on high.

I guess she had been waiting for a while. You can see some food in one of the food bowls, but that one is Krickets. She wont eat out of Krickets bowl. Weird dog!

_______________________________________________________________
Here's Cubby with her amazing K'Nex creation. A gun that folds up and really shoots. She's pretty amazing!

Bad guys, BEWARE!!

More Fun and Pictures

2009-06-06T19:53:00.005-06:00

This may not look like fun, but on our way out of UT, we stopped by the cemetery and Steve and the kids said hi to Steve's dad and Grandpa George.
I stayed in the van and kept the dogs out of the way.
It was Memorial Day and it was packed. So many beautiful flowers and lots of family and friends paying their respects.

While at Grandmas, Zuzu made sure she was playing "Queen" to the other dogs. Kricket, just had fun trying to figure out what the others were up to.

While having a fun time visiting with Ty and Cami, Ty took Noah and Cubby for a ride on the scooter.
It looked like fun and it was a nice day for a ride.

I wish you could all see how Cubby is growing. I don't have someone else in the picture to add perspective, but she keeps growing out of her clothes!

Tori had fun congratulating some of her fellow graduates.

We had a great trip.
I just wish I had taken the time to take
more pictures. Sorry Cami!

Tori's Graduation

2009-05-26T20:57:00.004-06:00

On Friday, May 22nd, Tori graduated from
Liahona Prep. Academy.
The ceremony was held at the Provo Tabernacle and it was very nice.
We are so proud of Tori. It wasn't easy moving just days before starting her senior year.
She had fun getting involved with the local high school for the first semester, but nothing beats Liahona.
So, by doing the distance program, she was able to graduate with her class.
We all loaded up the van and headed for Utah. We had great weather for our trip and we all had a great time.
In this first picture, Tori is walking in.

Here she is, after the ceremony, with a very proud father.

Our beautiful girls! Cami and Ty were there too, but because they had invited everyone to go to their house for dessert and fun afterwards, they left as soon as it was over, or Cami would have been in the picture too.
From left to right:
Cubby, Tori and Jenn.

Here is her graduation picture. The thing that makes this young lady even more beautiful than she is in this picture, is that she is beautiful on the inside too. With a 3.8 GPA, she is smart too!

Not sure how it came together that way, but all of our children have had an amazing combo of looks and brains.

We had a lot of fun on our trip, and I will blog about some of that soon. I just wanted you all to have a chance to join me in congratulating our Tori!
Steve, the kids and I are very proud of her. We look forward to seeing what amazing things she goes on to do. The sky is the limit with this young lady, as is with the siblings that have graduated before her.

Cubby's Last Concert of the School Year

2009-05-08T20:31:00.005-06:00

Well, here we are. Winding up another school year.

Here she is, just after the concert. If you can't guess, the look on her face is saying, "ugh mom! enough with the pictures". Hee Hee!

The 7th and 8th grade orchestras improved a lot over this year. We were very impressed.

Here Cubby is with her orchestra teacher, Mr. Carmichal.
She was going for a....look. It's she cute!

Noah Turns 19 !

2009-04-28T13:17:00.004-06:00

Though this is being posted a bit late, we wish Noah a Happy Birthday!
It was a fun birthday for us all.
Noah is easy to please and always picks yummy stuff for his dinner and dessert.
He wanted pizza and layer bar cookies.

In the first picture, Noah is holding his birthday presents.
He was able to add the final season of
Star Trek Next Generation to his collection.
He received a silly present of a web shooter, from Cubby, to add to his Spider-man collection.
Add a mini MP3 player and some candy and he's a happy 19 year old.

In this other picture, Noah is displaying his "Duty To God" award that he received a few weeks ago.
This award is a special one through our church and is worked on over a 6 year period of time.
It is a neat medallion and we're very proud of Noah for earning it.
Good job Noah!!!

Wow, Two in One Day!

2009-04-25T14:49:00.003-06:00

It's been 16 years now since Steve started writing his letters.

For anyone who doesn't know, Steve started writing letters of appreciation, admiration and thanks 16 years ago.

In this picture, Steve is holding one of the three-ring binders he uses to put copies of the letters he writes and any responses he gets. Though he doesn't write letters to get responses, and one of the "rules" of writing his letters is to never ask for anything, he does get some neat ones.

Steve has two binders for each year. It may be hard to have the shelf space for them all, but they are fun to look through. He writes to all sorts of people. Anyone from Nobel Prize winners, to authors, actors, journalist, national leaders (of all nations), old teachers and leaders, family and friends etc.

We all like being acknowledged for the good things we do and to be appreciated for our talents. I am personally very proud of my husband who is one of the few I know of that actually do this. :)

Another Proud Parent Moment!

2009-04-25T11:20:00.004-06:00

I know you have all been waiting, and I'm sorry it has taken so long to get this post up, but here it is.

Our blossoming artist, Cubby, had her "anime" drawing from art class chosen to be displayed at the district wide school art show at the mall.

Here she is, with her work of art at the art fair.

Cubby has her sites set on becoming a cartoonist. She is off to a great start. She has a fun style and is refining it all the time.

We're real proud of our little artist. She is in good company as you know, being the latest in a line of talented artists in our family!

It could just be us, be Steve and I couldn't help but think that Cubby's was the best in the display for her school.

Stories By Cubby

2009-04-16T15:01:00.003-06:00

Here are two stories by Cubby that she wanted to share with you all. She had fun writing them for her English class. Enjoy!
#1- Zuzu, the Chunkiest Pug in the West!
Ancient western legend has it there once lived the most terrible and fearsome heavy weight champion pug to ever bound across the desert. Dog breeders say that she was the largest pure bred pug ever recorded in history. An Archaeologist dug up an old journal in a ghost town several years ago. One entry mentions a "monster" standing two stories high and three stories wide and she cast a shadow at least the size of two full grown pine trees. The author wrote that the creature ripped the ceiling off the local grocery store and bar and ate and drank all available provisions. A descendant of a town raided by the hideous animal recalled stories told to her as a child:
The monsters footsteps could be felt 200 miles away from it. It would raid towns and eat anything available to it and then retreat to its cave to sleep it all off. After about three hours, the creature struck again. It probably raided at least five times a day. In this way, the monster only grew larger and larger.
This terrible creature from the twenty-seventh dimension created fear and panic in it's time. It's name was Zuzu Pickles, said to have acidic saliva and such a weight that she created craters where ever she stepped. Every time she laid down, a piece of California broke off because of the intensity of the quake.
The main reason people fear her is that she had a reputation of sitting on people when they made her mad and if she was really mad she would sometimes eat them. There was one guy who tried to stand up to her and he called her name behind her, and when she turned around she (accidental) stepped on him, so he's buzzard food now. Yep, she's one tough cookie. Some people say she can catch a bullet in between her rolls of fat.
Now, one day there came into town another pug, and this pugs name was Kricket. Kricket had also made a name for herself as the most annoying monster on earth. She was half Zuzu's size, but very powerful and quick. Kricket made an excellent rival for Zuzu. Legend has it that they had a battle right there in the hot scorching desert, but it was a draw. So they rescheduled to go at it again next Thursday. Every time it ended in a draw. Two years later they came together once more for a finale rematch. Kricket flew directly to the giant's throat for the kill. Zuzu didn't even flinch, she just stood her ground and looked dead ahead at her attacker and let out a fearsome roar. "ROOAAR!" and the power of her voice pushed the little bug away from her and onto her stomach. Immediately, Zuzu pounced and sat on top of Kricket crippling her permanently. After a lot of surgery, Kricket left for the east never to return again.
After many years, Zuzu finally found love in her life*. She settled down and got married with an adopted pet turtle. There has always been some speculation about what happened to her after that, but she was never heard from again. And the towns people rejoiced.
*Some people say she fell in love with a 200 karat gold bone.
______________________________________________________________
#2- The Sleepless Dead
It's always rough when you move to a new town, but it's sometimes harder to move to a new one. I had lived in Jacksonville before, but that was eight years ago, when my parents were still married. I lived in Florida when I was nine, but then my dad became unemployed and he could only find work in Boston, Massachusetts, so we moved.
Problems kept coming and my parents became more and more stressed. One night they got into a humongous fight. They screamed and yelled at each other, things were broken. A few quiet and tense days passed before my mom came into my room to tell me the news. My mother somehow got full custody of me. My mother yearned for the life she had before. So I packed my things and we moved back to Jacksonville, leaving my father in Boston.
I loved Kristen when I lived here before, but she never knew me. I was too shy to introduce myself, I get nervous. I also hyperventilate a lot, I didn't want to risk humiliating myself. When I came here to Jacksonville again, I used it as an opportunity. At first, she didn’t like me very much at all and thought I was some big loser or something, but she eventually warmed up to me after a while. We were going steady and were head-over- heels in love.
My name’s Alan Hett. I was seventeen then. I attended Alden Road High School. I was madly in love with Kristen Close, the prettiest girl in school.
*****
I had a bad night a year ago when it all happened. I had nightmares that educed a night of tossing and turning. When I finally got some good, still sleep, it only lasted for about fifteen minutes before my mother came in to get me up. I got to school late. As I walked to class, it felt like doomsday. Mr. Fulka wasn’t known for his kindness and I was weary of his reaction to someone coming in late. With a pang of guilt and a pause of hesitation, I stepped into the room.
Instead of being greeted by Mr. Fulka’s barking lecture about how we won World War 2, I was instantly plummeted into a classroom overhung with an atmosphere of terror and utter sadness. The TV was on and as I glanced over the sea of students, half expecting them all to be furiously writing notes, found a classroom in shock, transfixed on the TV. I don’t think any one of them even noticed I had come in.
I made my way to my seat. Had a light blown out? It seemed darker than usual in the little classroom. As I sat down on my cold, hard seat that suddenly seemed to be forbidding like I was disrespecting something by doing so, I looked harder at the students. Some had their hands over their mouths; some just had their mouths wide open, pure horror painted blatantly in their eyes. Some girls had tears streaming down their cheeks. Silent tears. It was then I noticed how silent it was through the entire classroom. The only sound was coming from the television set. The silence consumed all emotion, all happiness…all hope. Achill ran down my spine.
Finally I tore my eyes away from the class to look at the TV. My heart skipped, my mind blanked. The channel was on NBC. On the screen, buildings were burning, smoking. Was this a tape of nine-eleven? No, no it couldn’t be. There was a caption on the bottom of the screen that read “Thailand”. A scream of bloody-murder rang out from the eerie mist of smoke.
the screen changed to somewhere in Brazil. Suddenly I wasn't sure if this was real or not. What was this? A new thicker fog was looming over the doomed city. Even though it was hard to see through all the treacherous smoke, it was easy to make out the ominous figure of a… well, it looked to be human, but it walked slow in the midst of all the panic and mayhem.
A hand shot out in front of the camera. Something was just not right about this. Not at all. The hand was grey and sickened. Maybe it was just the lighting. But as the hand came closer towards the lens of the camera and a scream that obviously came from the cameraman, red stains became visible. Yellow ooze pulsed out of a part in the skin that seemed to be deteriorating. The hand closed around the lens and then… static.
It switched to a speechless, shocked newswoman. She stumbled on her first few words.
"The sudden outbreak of these supposed 'zombies'…"
Did she just say "zombies"? Was I dreaming? I shifted in my seat. It sure seemed real.
"…Entire world. We are not quite sure how any of this started," she said, her voice cracking, "But the armed forces are-"
Just then the power blew-out. Everyone in the class rose in panic. Girls were screaming, boys were shouting-I was shouting. Then a blood-curdling scream ripped through the air. This time it wasn't from a TV set, it was in the school. It was coming from downstairs. Other screams soon joined it. Sounds of glass shattering echoed eerily up the stairs and into the classroom.
I heard pounding. I could only hope and pray that it was only a scary bug and everyone was wigging out about it, even though I knew it wasn't true.
"Children! Line-up at the door," Mr. Fulka's voice rang out. "We're going to library." His voice felt strong and sure, and through that voice, a glimmer of hope streamed in through all the commotion. He said as everybody eagerly and hurriedly pushed and shoved to get in the front of the line, "We'll see what we can do from there. It's a little more protected. Everyone stay here, I'll go check to see if it's safe to go."
Watching him walk out that door it was like watching safety leave from our presence. All the sudden, full-steam terror seeped through my armor. I couldn't control it any longer, I dropped to the floor. I drew in a few quick, sharp breaths before everything went black.
I woke up in the library five minutes later. About six other classroom were there too, and more kept coming, little by little. I was feeling claustrophobic, even though I knew I wasn't. I was told to find out all I could about zombies. Well, there are only so many reference books with "Z" to use or other informational books about zombies, so it was hard to find a zombie book not being used. They said that each person was to read all that the book had about zombies. I guess they thought that we should at least know about what was going to kill us.
As I waited, I observed my surroundings. I started to wonder if I had missed something. People were in a hurry to do this lame research stuff. I also wondered how long it would take for the monsters to break in through that door. They should have already broke in by now. The entire time I sat there I just felt something was missing. I just couldn't think of it. Someone tapped me on the shoulder, pulling me from my deep state of thought.
"Allan?" They said. I whipped my head around. It was Mr. Holavka, my English teacher from last year. He was one of my favorite teachers. I was glad he made it here. He continued, "Have you already done your researching?"
"Not yet, why?" I replied.
"Well, we've been having kids go over to Ms. Jol's art room once they're done to get some supplies. But I think you ought to do your research before you go outside."
"Isn't it dangerous to go outside?" I asked.
"As long as your upstairs, it's safe. The zombies are desperate, but it seems their joints are too stiff to be capable of climbing stairs. Plus their too stupid and greedy to work together or anything else." He paused, hesitating. "It seems that things have taken a turn for the worst." He sighed. "I better go check up on other people. When your done, come and tell me, okay?"
I was left alone again to wait silently for an available book. I still couldn't think of that something that was bothering me earlier. It felt like it was very vital that it was there, yet it wasn't and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.
A girl tapped me on the knee. She looked at me with big hazel eyes from behind shoulder-length, black hair touched with blonde streaks that dangled gently over her round face. Freckles decorated her button nose. "Do you need a book? I'm done, so you can use it now," She spoke softly.
"Thanks." I said. She smiled lightly at me, handed me the book, and walked away. Something about that smile triggered something.
I lept to my feet. That's what was bothering me. I got up and practically ran to the nearest adult, whom I didn't know the name of, hauling the book along with me.
"Have you seen Kristen Close come in?" I asked urgently.
He said he hadn't. I asked about four other adults and students before I started hyperventilating. Each breath of air I took felt like another stab in the heart. People had stopped entering the library ten minutes ago. At least people who weren’t just returning. I would have passed out again if it hadn't been for someone handing me a paper bag to breath in, and even then it came pretty close. I just had to keep telling myself that she may have been able to escape. Maybe she's just hiding somewhere up here, afraid to come out. I had to find her.
They didn't let me go out of library before I knew what I was stepping into. I almost put the book to good use… on their heads. Furiously, I went to sit and read about the stupid zombies. You could hardly call it reading. Every moment I didn’t spend trying to find Kristen was another needle dug into my heart, another moment she could die.
I learned that zombies are strong, but their pretty easy to… should I say… puncture. All you have to really do is hit them on the head real hard with a club or any other type of sturdy tool or weapon. That's all I needed. I shut the book.
Mr. Holavka was happy to escort me to Ms. Jol's class along with Colton Prass from my band class and the biggest snob in the school, Courtney Larce. Of course, I saw the zombies and yes, they are really nasty looking. We all picked out a "weapon". I picked out a hammer.
By this time I had figured out the plan by myself easily. We planned to attack. Of course we couldn't just live upstairs forever. There were only so many little bags of chips from the librarian lady and so many sack lunches from miscellaneous students to exist off of for all of the survivors to live on for so long.
On our way back, Mr. Holavka told us how to properly wield our weapons. As I feigned hitting a zombie in head, a bright color caught my attention from the crowd of zombies downstairs. I looked closer.
It felt like someone just hit me with a brick. I was so hurt, I didn't even feel any pain. I didn't even start breathing hard this time, I just collapsed.
I awoke in the dim lit room of the library. The only lights came from the window and a few randomly placed emergency candles. Something tickled my face. I flinched away from it. I rubbed my eyes. I couldn't see very clearly, but it wasn't due to the lack of light.
"You sure do pass-out a lot, don't cha'?" a girls voice rang out. It sounded right next to me. The thing tickling my face was her hair. I waved it off me. "Wendy Gerts. You better get crackin'. They're preparing for the big fight right now." I sat up. My head hurt instantly. I groaned and laid back down. "What? You fall down too many times?"
I was too angry to talk to anyone right now. I pushed her out of the way and, slowly, sat up. As I walked away, I heard her mutter something behind me, but I didn't care. I needed to kick some serious zombie butt. Mr. Fulka gave a big fancy speech before we went, but I didn't pay attention to any of it. I just wanted to get it on with it. I wanted revenge.
When we walked out of that door that day, we walked out as warriors. the next time we would return through these doors, we would return as heroes.
*****
I will not tell any of the details of the fight, neither will I tell you how many I killed. What I will tell you is that everyone I killed, I did for Kristen. I am still haunted by images of that day in my dreams. Some things, no matter how hard you try, you can never forget. We who witnessed it, wish we hadn't.
Cremation is required by law now, so this will never happen again. All the remains were burned to ensure safety. It will take several years yet to come to completely rebuild what we once had.
The little black-haired girls name is Lumina Rose Jackson. Well, Hett now.
This world was given a clean slate that day. It will never forget all that it went through. History will be remembered. Children will learn of how it used to be….
We're going to start again.

Steve's Birthday!

2009-04-16T12:40:00.003-06:00

As you can see, in these fun, but somewhat rare pictures, Steve had a good birthday! The kids had a great time capturing these pictures of their dad smiling and laughing.
He picked steaks for his birthday dinner. So, with some fresh steamed asparagus and mashed potatoes, we all had a great meal. Then for his birthday dessert, he chose strawberry shortcake. They all enjoyed it!
Add some presents and the movie, "Bedtime Stories" and we all had a fun time.
In this first picture, Steve opens a cool present from Ty and Cami. It's a leather bound edition of "The Constitution of the United States" With related documents. It is very special and something he will treasure, as well as have to hide from Tori, who was practically drooling and a bit green with envy.
With some candy and a gift certificate for Amazon.com, he was pretty set.
Zuzu checked all the presents and pronounced the the candy the best one and was willing to help Steve eat it.

With some fun things from his mom and a call from Jenn, the evening was complete.

Cubby's First Dance

2009-04-10T22:48:00.000-06:00

After a month and a half of Cotillion classes at church, they had a very nice dinner and dance to have a chance to use the things they had learned.

So, all dressed up, with a cute "do" and all, she looked wonderful.

It seemed strange to have Cubby going off to a dance and then we realized that she is only a few months away from turning 14. Our little girl is growing up.

It was fun doing her hair and I think it turned out pretty good. It's not so easy to work with so much hair.

Trippin'

2009-04-10T19:50:00.000-06:00

Our second trip to UT since moving in August. It was hard to leave Steve and Cubby behind, but Steve couldn't take the days off and Cubby stayed home and took care of him. She cooked dinners and goodies and took good care of Steve and the pooches.

Anyway, we arrived at Ty and Cami's and they fed us a yummy dinner. They made Tori's favorite, "Cami Casserole".

We were having such a good time visiting, it was hard to leave and get Noah and Tori to the Prom. Thanks to being able to call Ty on the cell phone, we were able to find it. The Prom was held in a new place this year, up in Alpine.

We spent our nights at Grandma Kenworthy's. It was great to see her and to visit.

The next morning, Noah went out to the van to get something, only to discover that the right rear tire was flat in a major way. Although I could have gone out and helped, it was pretty awesome to know that I could call on JennAdam to help out.

So, to make a rather long story short, Noah and Adam did a great job, a friend from our old ward who has a tire store put on two new rear tires, and we were back in business.

Though it changed some of our plans, it ended up being kind of good too. Because they were so willing to help, we were able to have a longer visit with JennAdam than I would have thought. It was wonderful!!!

As planned, Jenn, Adam and I went to Adam's favorite restaurant, The Red Robin. I had never been there before, and I loved it.

Sadly, I was so busy having fun, I didn't take very many pictures.

I made this "Mickey" for JennAdam's 1st year Anniversary.
It took me so long to finish it, that I was late in getting it to them. They seemed to like it, and I was happy.

Tori took a picture of me playing

with Mulder, Ty and Cami's hedgehog.

He kept licking my feet and trying to

climb up the leg of my pants.

It tickled so much it was

hard to stand still.

It was a ton of fun playing with him.

He's adorable!

Here's Noah. He helped drive home. It was nice to relax for a bit. What a guy!

Senior Prom

2009-04-10T18:48:00.000-06:00

Our pretty girl goes to her senior prom!
We drove off to UT so Tori could go to her senior prom with her fellow students at Liahona Prep. Academy.
Noah, who graduated from Liahona last year, went with us and accompanied Tori to the Prom.
When we got to UT, we went to Ty and Cami's house and Tori and Noah got all fancied up.
Tori searched all over for just the right dress. She found this vintage dress in a small show in Longmont. It was a wonderful find and we all thought she looked beautiful!

Ty helped Noah out with a nice tie, matching pocket square and cuff links.

How did we get so lucky to have such good looking kids?!!

They had a nice evening. Very cool!!!

Snow, and Stuff

2009-04-09T21:34:00.000-06:00

Not long before we left for Utah, we had the biggest snow storm since we arrived in Colorado. It even closed the school for two days. Cubby was delighted. It made her Spring break 2 days longer.

Snow and more snow! Kricket loves playing in it, but Zuzu tends to think it's just an invitation of her space. We would open the door, she would stand there looking at it, reach her paw out and touch it and then look at us like, 'ummmm, you need to remove this cold white stuff. It's in my way'. The next day, after the top layer of snow had hardened, Kricket would walk on top of it and then it would crack and she would fall in. It was pretty fun to watch.

This is a view of the park from our bedroom window. It was coming down so hard I couldn't even see the walkway or the bridge, much less the street.

Zuzu says,"Hi! I'm just chillin with my peeps"

Awe! Here is our Cubby.

You might not be able to tell from this picture that Cubby is a great help to me when I have a lot of packaging to do, but she is. She just happens to also like wrapping herself up with the end of the label er tape.

She's sitting by some of the boxes she helped me package. Cubby, you're awesome!!!

Another Day, Another Concert

2009-03-11T15:14:00.000-06:00

Tori performed with the Allegro Singers from Skyline High School.

Tori is in the front row- 2nd from the left.

The concert was fine, but I guess with Ty haven't been taught by Mrs. Peterson in WI, no high school choir has measured up. Other schools version of the "Hodags" or even Ken's Jr. try-out choir in WI doesn't even come close. It really is a whole different kind of advanced choir. They use mics and have essentially no moves. I really wish I had some videos of Ty performing with the Hodags. It would be nice to show a choir teacher to give them an idea of what a high school choir can do. These are talented kids here, I'm sure they could do it. Anyway, she sang. It was long but nice.

Tori: Teacher Appreciation and A Night at the Opera

2009-03-11T13:32:00.000-06:00

For three years now, our Stake has done a "Teachers Appreciation Night". All of the Senior High School Students are asked to choose a teacher that has been either a favorite ( for a good reason) or has had a special impact on your life.
Then these teachers are invited to attend. They had it all nicely decorated and had plenty of yummy looking deserts.
The students each took turns bringing the teacher of their choice (if the teacher was able to attend, about 4 weren't able to) to the podium with them. They were given a framed certificate of appreciation and then the student explained why this teacher is special to them.
Maybe it was just me, but I found it interesting that the most touching and more heart felt tributes were delivered by a student who attends a small charter school and Tori, who has attended a private school. Don't get me wrong, the others were nice and you could tell that the teachers were touched, but there was a difference.
Tori's tribute was (and anyone who knows Tori will have already guessed) to Bro. DeGraff from Liahona Prep. Academy.
Tori doesn't want me to include, in this blog, what she said because it is, "too personal".
I would just add that I am most grateful for the wonderful teachers that my children have had in their lives. The ones that have really made the subjects come alive and MEAN something, stand out.
Tori was the beginning and the end to the evening. After the opening prayer, she sang Maria Carey's "Hero". She did an amazing job and afterwards, nearly everyone there made it a point to thank her and comment.
Then our Bishop asked her if she would be willing to sing at a wedding the next day. The day after that, at church, people who had gone to the wedding told me how impressed they were with her singing. Proud parent stuff!
______________________________________________________________
The next evening, Tori was able to attend a local opera with a family in our ward. It was fun getting all "decked out". She had a great time
and was blessed to have been asked to go.
This picture doesn't do her justice. She looked even better than this.

Cubby's Concert

2009-03-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, on the way to school, Cubby said, "oh yeah, I have a concert tonight".

Hummmmm

"What time?", said I. "Ummmm, I don't know", is the reply.

Arg!

Wednesdays are always busy. Steve gets home from work, just in time to gather things together so I take him to the church for Webelos. Then the girls are supposed to be to the church for cotillion class at 6:45 and Noah, as the 11 year old Asst. Scout Master, at 7:00. So, Cubby then needs to be to the school at 6:30 for the concert that would start at 7:00.

One of the complications of having one vehicle in a busy family is I end up doing a lot of back and forth.

Anyway, everyone got where they needed to go, and Steve and I made it just in time for the concert to start. (I had been feeling feverish and blah the day before and had been feeling better, but about this time in the evening, I was getting it back. Ugh!)

As for the concert:

Sadly, the one viola was terribly out of tune and added an unfortunate dissonance to the 5 pieces that were played, but Cubby and her purple violin looked great. I can't say that I could pick her playing out of all the others, but the violins sounded great and she certainly looked proficient and pretty.

Look Out, Mama's Got A Camera

2009-03-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy to say that I now have my nifty camera up and running!
The cool camera that Ty and Cami got me for Christmas is ready to shoot. It has always been taking great pictures, but I was having a problem getting them downloaded to my computer. Now that problem is solved, so the "Picture Queen" is back in business. I love it!!!!
If you see me coming, just smile. :)

Noah To The Rescue!

2009-02-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Out with the old and in with the new.

Sadly, about a month after we moved here, a piece of glass went into the garbage disposal, and we didn't know it and it ended up breaking. We haven't had the money to replace it until now. So, Steve and Noah went off Lowes and bought a new one. Then Steve had to go off to work. Noah, being the handy and adventures guy that he is, decided he wanted to install it. By reading the instructions and having a natural gift for this kind of thing, in no time at all he was asking me to go in and see it. He had even done ALL by himself and did the testing to make sure it not only worked, but didn't leak or have any problems at all.
This is a BIG proud parent moment, and a BIG help to us all.

So, a mighty "Way to Go Noah"!!!!!!! What a guy :)

Happy to see the old one go.

"See mom, no leaks"

OH NO, Another Random Picture Post Bwahahaha

2009-02-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

There is no particular order to these pictures. It has been such a long time since I have posted, I just browsed for pictures I have taken. I'm sorry to say that since I started working two part-time jobs, I haven't taken very many. Shocking to me, was coming home from our trip to UT, having taken only a few, and those were random and weird.

So, here we go.

First in line is Tori. In these pictures, she is in the Honors Choir Concert. This concert was the day after we returned from our trip. We got home at midnight, and the next morning, we were all up and going in all sorts of directions. Tori went to the day practice for the concert, Cubby went to school, Noah started unloading the van full of our extra stuff we finally brought from UT, Steve drove us around, dropped me off at work and then went back home to help Noah. He later worked his evening shift at the library.

While we were in UT, I broke down and bought some new clothes. I was getting tired of my pants being so baggie. I used to joke that I couldn't afford to loose weight. It's not a joke. It's hard to buy new clothes when you're not just replacing something here and there, but practically a whole wardrobe. So I just started with a pair of pants and a shirt.

Zuzu and Kricket. Cute as ever!

"I sure hope everyone is noticing how patient I am!"

Steve gets glasses! I'm not supposed to make a big deal out of it, so that is all I will say.
(Isn't he cute!!!!!)

A beautiful snowy day, shortly before we left on our trip.

It was funny how the wind,

that came with the snow,

stuck the snow to the road

signs on one side.

My (Karen's) jobs. In the first one, I have finished packaging these 60 cases of energy bars for Fiona's Granola and Energy Bars. Thankfully I had some help from Cubby and Tori.

Then I work 3 mornings a week at The Renewed Spirit Wellness Klinik. I love the ladies I work for and the people I meet. I am the receptionist, and it's lots of fun.

Great walls. Though this "Show me the Art" board isn't displaying their best work, it is a fun place for our budding artists to show their stuff.

On the same wall, on the other side of a door, is a great place to display J.A. Toons. My favorite cartoons by JennAdam. I have the two special editions, one about Ken on his mission and one of the people in our family, and then one place for the most recent edition. Big smiles and great times.

Well folks, that's it for the pictures. I will try to post more often and respond faster. I enjoy this very much!

Thank you to all we got to see in UT for making our trip a special one. Can't wait to see you again!

Movie Reviews

2009-02-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Howdy All!

I don't suppose anyone out there would like to share their thoughts about good movies? We tend to have limited funds for going to the movies, especially since moving from Utah. We don't have a "dollar" theater here. Unless it is either part of a series that I have been watching, and have been really looking forward to it coming out, or I have to have some recommendations from trusted family and friends, I don't like to take the chance. So let me know. It's a fun date night, or treat with the kids.

I would like to give y'all a big "Two Thumbs Up" for a movies I just saw.

It's called, The Adventures of JennAdam".

Though Jenn did have input, (they're a great creative team) it was mostly Adam's genius behind this amazing DVD.

The music, timing, use of video and stills, the themes etc were, in a word, prefect!!!!

Now, one of my goals is to get pictures together and some money saved up, and hire Adam to do this with our pictures. I'm sure it will take several volumes.

Adam has not only the know-how, but a real "sense" for it. The music was perfectly timed. He would zoom in and out, and transitions were flawless. It did not feel like I was watching a DVD of pictures, with some video tossed in. It was smooth and moved along at a perfect pace.

Anyone wanting a copy of this amazing DVD, let me know. I will talk to the producer about making some more.

Something New!

2009-01-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Karen's Crochet is branching out. I have an additional site that will be specifically crochet in all natural fibers. For more information, check out my site at:
http://www.karensnaturalcreations.blogspot.com/

Thanks for all of your interest and support. I would love any input or comments you might have. My family and friends are my best resources.

Hope all of you are happy and doing well!

Three Cheers For Steve

2009-01-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

Steve came home last night with some cool and unexpected news. He has now worked at the Longmont Public Library as the systems administrator for 6 months. He was told that they want to "keep him". I, his wife, was very happy to hear this, and very happy that I hadn't known that his job was in question until after the 6 month review. Had I known, I wouldn't have hung anything on the walls yet. This is not because I doubt Steve's abilities in any way, it's because the city of Longmont has a hiring freeze, and as with most cities around America these days, are struggling to make budgets work. People are getting laid off from all sorts of jobs. We live in precarious times.
So, with that in mind the next bit of news was also a big surprise. He was not only told he's a "keeper", but this news came with a raise!!!!!!!!
If I wasn't afraid that a jump for joy would end in me breaking through the floor and landing in Noah's room, I would have. It's so awesome to have the people that Steve works for and with, not only be nice, neat people, but also to appreciate him and see him for the totally great guy he is.
So, again, 3 big cheers for Steve!! What a guy!!!!!

More Crochet Fun!

2009-01-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

More Crocheting Christmas fun: These are one of the few projects I actually got finished for Christmas. These crocheted toys were next to the stockings for Noah, Tori and Cubby. The one I made for Steve is not in this grouping, but keep scrolling.

For Noah, a lemur!

For Tori, a hippo!

For Cubby, a lamby!

An owl for Steve!

A new scarf for Noah. Noah picked the colors. It's extremely soft, being made of a suede type yarn.

Check It Out!!!

2009-01-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am a mom, and I don't' want to look like I'm playing favorites, but I have to say this:
If any of you out there in Blogland haven't take the opportunity to check out JennAdam's blog yet; do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to do so. They are so creative, clever and talented. It will blow your mind. Just click on the link on the right, under Links related to the Kenworthy Family.
On their blogsite they have a link that will also take you to their J.A. Toons site. That is another "must see"!
I think you will all agree that it's a "Big Two Thumbs Up" for JennAdam!!!!!!!!!

Catching up:A few highlights

2008-12-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

A
Wonderful
Thanksgiving: Ty and Cami came to see us for Thanksgiving. They took the Amtrak train from Provo to Denver. It was a great moment when we saw them coming down the ramp at the train station. We loved every minute they were here. They brought our Christmas presents (for mom and dad) and wanted us to open them while there were here. Steve got some movies he had been hoping for, and I got a wonderful digital camera, as shown by our lovely model, Cubby.

Though it was hard seeing them go, we had a great visit and look forward to seeing them again sometime. The only sad part to Thanksgiving was that poor Jenn and Adam weren't able to make it because they both came down with that horrible cold/flu thing that's been going around.

Here's our cute Cubby, all dressed up for school. Just had to take a picture!

We're not sure how she managed this, but here's Kricket all cuddled up and taking a nap.

Christmas concerts: First Noah and I went to Cubby's Orchestra concert. It was very nice. Cubby's group was the best and it was great to listen too. It's hard to see Cubby, but she was there with her pretty purple violin. Cubby is front and center in the picture on the stage. In the other picture, Cubby's group is waiting for their turn to perform.

Then we all went to Tori's choir concert. Though much longer than Cubby's concert, it was nice. Sorry the pictures weren't better, but it was hard to get good ones from where we were sitting. In the first picture, Tori is second from the left in the bottom row. Then is the 3rd from the left on bottom row.

We had a great ward Christmas party. It was all decorated to be an Inn in Bethlehem. They had "coins" that were used to pay our taxes to the Roman soldier who came around to the tables. The young women and young men in the ward served dinner which was made of food that would be similar to the foods offered in Bethlehem.

Then we had a nice program. Cubby and Tori wore some pretty scarves to help look the part. All of the people involved in the program and serving were dressed up. Brandon Smith, a good friend of Cubby's helped Cubby serve and clean up and he and his father sat at our table. We all had a very nice time.

________________________________________________
Tori is back to crocheting as something fun to do to pass the time. She has been making some really cute baby blankets and also made herself a nice scarf. She created the pattern herself and unless you see it in person, it's hard to see in a picture the creative stitch she came up with.

Getting the Spirit of Christmas: We had a wonderful chance to do some projects for some very special young people. Tori helped me make a few ponchos for some sweet girls and a scarf for their younger brother. It really helped bring the spirit of Christmas into our season and it was fun to work on them together. Tori and Cubby help model them before we wrapped them up and sent them off. You will see more detail on the Crochet website.

Tagged by JennAdam

2008-11-16T17:02:00.001-07:00

Jenn and Adam got tagged, again, by a niece and passed it to me. So here are my answers. You can go to their blog to check out their answers. The link is on the right, with the other links.

I am... a woman. W. O. ..MAN!!! I know... lots of things that I can never recall when I need it. I want... too much I dislike... confrontations and deadlines. I miss... Ken, JennAdam, Ty and Cami, and Meg, John & Timothy!!! I feel... Excited. I just got a part-time job I think is going to be great. I hear... Ginger, singing to Gilligan on the TV. I smell... The seven layer dinner, cooking in the oven. I crave... Steve’s smile. I cry... when someone catches me off guard with an overwhelming kindness. I search... for new ways to drive Steve crazy(at least that’s what I hear) I wonder... how my family can be so amazing, even though I helped raise them. I regret... Not taking more time to “smell the roses”. I love... My family! They rock more than anything, except perhaps the Gospel. I care... about a lot of things. I worry... about……not remembering things I should worry about. I remember... Jenn, walking on water. I believe... in the 1st Article of Faith, (& the other 12 too) I dance...in my mind so Steve wont roll his eyes at me. I don’t... like doing the dishes!(and sadly, just about any kind of house work) I argue... with teenagers. I rarely win. I write... blog posts. Some of which embarrass my poor husband. I win... the “Best Family in the World” award! I lose... most of the time, but I’m not competitive, so I don’t care. I wish... I was better at lots of stuff. I listen... and listen and listen. I can usually be found... Blogging, checking blogs, commenting on blogs and/or crocheting. Sadly, you wont often find me taking care of my house like I should. I am scared... I am? I need... very little. I forget... pretty much everything. I have no memory at all.(this is a good answer, I’ll go with that) I am happy... Because I know my Redeemer lives and I have an awesome family.

Stuff from the last few weeks

2008-11-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

Cubby works on her "Anime" for art class. Looking good to me!

Tori has a "dance" recital at school. That some of them were considered dances and that some of the songs were allowed by the teacher are unexplainable. Tori was great and looked like she was having fun, vs most of the others who did not. Tori was in two different ones. The one where she is in the red tights was a "hip hop" type dance. The one where Tori is wearing the purple hoodie and baggie sweats is one that she mostly choreographed, and was done to the song, "I'm a Gummy Bear". It was real fun to watch. Hopefully we will have a CD to show anyone who wants to see the two she was in. It will be much better than having to see the others, just to see her.

Grandma came for a visit. It was so nice to see her again. She came on the train and had a pretty long day because of train delays. Too much time sitting was hard on her, so she chose to fly home. As you can see, she spent a lot of time reading, but she seemed to have a good time.

She also got to see Tori as the narrator in "Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat", with us and enjoyed it too.

And here we are during intermission at Tori's play. We had seats far in the back, which I wasn't real happy with, but it was still fun to watch Tori and the others, who had worked so hard to put on a good production. I really don't think it's because I'm her mom that I say, "she really lit up the stage". Good times!

Here we see a very excited Tori, right after the production. A full house, a standing ovation, 1/2 the ward, family and friends in the audience, and a great performance makes for a night to remember!!!

Here is Noah, very happy to be watching TV and not working. Well, maybe not completely happy, but at least a little jealous because..., yep here it comes, lets put our hands together, and give it up for..MOM!!!!! Oh yeah! I got a job. Thank you, thank you. You can all stop cheering now.

I will be one of the few, and the only new employee at Fiona's Granola. Here is her website.

http://www.fionasgranola.com/about.html

The pretty lady is my boss. I have met with her and her cook. It's a small operation, but it will be perfect for me. Between Oct. and April, things are slower and it picks up from Apr. to Oct. Spring and summer, she does a lot with the Boulder farmers market. Now she has some business picking up a bit because her small bags of granola are being picked up by some of the gift basket/box companies. Anyway, I will be the new packager. I will be bagging the granola in the different sized bags and packaging the power bars. I start on Monday. I love this because it will be very flexible and for now, between 1 and 3 days a week. Perfect for me. I can get some audio books, sit and listen and package my little heart out.

Hi All

2008-11-07T14:46:00.001-07:00

Hi All!

Just thought I would pass along my love to you all.

We are enjoying having Grandma here and some nice weather. It's supposed to be getting cold and we have had some cold weather. I'm happy to say that I have even felt it. That's not usual for me. The idea of getting out a sweater or a coat; putting on gloves and socks to take the dogs out. wow! A nice change from being too warm all the time and freezing my poor family out.

Life's good and we're all doing fine. Sure hope you all are too.

Love Ya!!!!

Opening "Joseph"

2008-11-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Last night the cast of Skyline High Schools production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" had their first performance.

Though I took a big crockpot of homemade soup and helped serve it to the cast and crew before the performance, I was not able to stay and watch it. No comp tickets, even if you help feed everybody. Oh well!

One of Tori's friends, Nikki, was able to go to opening night. He said it was good and that Tori did a great job.

After the show, they drove through Dairy Queen and got some celebratory ice cream.

Howdy Ya'll

2008-11-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

I know that some of you have been missing me, and I figured I should do a post to all my favorite people, and you know who you are!

Life has been very different for me since my family moved me here from Utah. For one thing, they still haven't put in my door. Can you believe it. This family couldn't be safe and protected or feel truly loved without me and yet they continue to ignore this very important issue. Of course Kricket/Little Dog or as I prefer to think of her, the annoying, ankle biting, food stealing (this one being by far the biggest difficulty about.....her) nap wrecker, is having a very hard time dealing with this. This little.....friend of mine seems to have very little self control. She not only begs our poor family for food all the time, but doesn't seem to think ahead at all. When she needs to be taken outside, she needs to go now. If someone in the family doesn't hurry, she starts to go nuts. Poor dumb thing. I really feel sorry for her. It's a good thing I'm around to help keep her in line.

Anyway, it's not too bad here.

I know you are wondering what I do with my time. Well, lately I have spent a lot of time trying to relax. It took some time after we got here, making sure the yappy little animals that live behind us to know who is the new boss around here, and a few other little things here and there. Now that they are falling in line, I have been able to keep my surveillance to unfamiliar people and unfamiliar noises.

I also make sure to keep mom and dad protected for any and all intruders at night. I have assigned Kricket to take the downstairs area at night. So far, we have everything in tip top shape.

On another note: I'm happy to say that mom and dad went and voted the other day.

Here is a picture of them with their "I voted" stickers on. Aren't they cute!

Well, I love you all and hope you are fine, without me around. I hear some of you will be coming in a few weeks. Cool! I look forward to sniffing you and giving you some much needed kisses.

So I just have one more thing to say:

I DO!!!

If you want to bring some with you, I'll help you eat them.

Halloween

2008-11-01T12:07:00.000-06:00

Only because I love to see cute and clever costumes do I tolerate Halloween.

I figured you all would like to see the clever costumes the kids came up with this year.

You should definitely go to Meg and John's new blog. Timothy is so cute, you don't want to miss the pictures of him. What a doll!

Last week, Tori went to a Young Womens Halloween party and went as a Monster Drink. Yep,..... weird!!

Yesterday, Tori went as: ?

She has told people she was one of two things.

If you can guess both, you win a big prize, if you guess one of the two you get a smaller prize, but a prize never the less. So you don't waist a guess, I will tell you that "hyper psycho" is not it. Try to think like Tori, but not long enough that it hurts your brain.

Nikki, you can only guess one, because I know she told you the other.

Robert Redford look out! Here comes Noah!!!

As the dashing lawman, Noah breaks hearts, but never the law.

He didn't go tricker treating, but waited patiently by the door downstairs while watching "Bite the Bullet", to hand out candy, but no one came to get candy or see his great costume. Oh well! I would imagine he also ate a goodly share of the candy himself. :)

Look out bad guys!

As a lawman of the old west, he's the original "licenced to kill" guy.

Sad? Yes. Pathetic? Most definitely!!!

Here, my beautiful little girl is transformed into a Hobo. She was so convincing that most people thought she was a boy and some gave her extra candy.

Cubby also got 1st prize in her 3rd period class at school for best costume.

Happy Birthday Adam!

2008-10-25T10:23:00.000-06:00

Through the air and ethernet, and from our hearts, we send out a big:

Happy Birthday Adam!!!

It's times like these that it's hard not living by all the family.

Adam, we all wish you the very best on you birthday and hope you know how much we love you. Hope you have a great day,
surrounded by the people who love you ,
minus us :(
We look forward to hearing all about
your speical day.
OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Pitter Pat Goes My Heart

2008-10-25T09:56:00.000-06:00

There he was. This handsome man, just standing there. I just couldn't help myself. Swallowing down my timidity, I walked up to him and said, "hey you handsome thing you, how would you like to go to dinner with me". He looked at me for a long moment, his beautiful baby blue eyes looking deep into my soul. Then he answered...., "sure". It was at that moment I realized I had hardly been breathing as I had awaited his answer. A a mixture of excitement and relief washed over me. Emboldened by his response, I brazenly stepped forward, put my arms around his neck and gave his a big slickery kiss.
Awe, such romance for an old married couple of 26 years. :)
Well we did go on a date and it was really fun. We were going to go to the movies, but there really wasn't anything playing worth spending the money on and Cubby needed Steve to help her with her math homework, so it wasn't a late evening, which truth be told, is the way Steve likes it.
We went to Red Lobster. Steak and Shrimp! Doesn't get much better than that!!!!!!!
I also dragged Steve through a craft store while I checked out yarn. He may not have been thrilled, but he was patient and kind about it.
So there you have it. A handsome date, good food and a craft store. Does it for me!!!!!!

I'm still sick

2008-10-24T11:53:00.000-06:00

Yo what up my homeys? It's me Tori, your favorite person. I'm taking this opportunity to say that I think whoever invented getting sick was either a genius or very disturbed...that is to say I'm tired of being sick...it's outlived it's usefulness (and you ALL know what I mean.) Now it's just a nuisance....so what do you guys want to be for Halloween? I'm going to be....a spy. That way I can dress however I want and just say I'm in disguise. It's brilliant. I think Ty should be Indiana Jones. Or Chuck Norris.

Tag, I'm it

2008-10-22T10:18:00.000-06:00

I have been tagged by Cami, so here are the answers to the questions:

8 favorite tv shows:
Well, the closest I ever get to watching a regular TV show is Heroes. I watch it the next day online. That may change though as I have been very disappointed in this season. I do watch TV series that we have bought on DVD, so here goes:

1. Stargate – Thanks to Cami, we were introduced to this. Love it? Indeed!!
2. Any Star Trek (except maybe Deep Space 9)– To infinity and beyond! Oops, wrong show. I’ve been a Trekie since before all ya’ll have been alive. Live long and prosper!
3. Alias – Kind of creepy sometimes, but it sucked me in.4. Monk – Makes me laugh, and feel like I’m not as crazy as I could be. Keep the rebuttals nice please. Hee Hee
5. The Dick Van Dyke Show – Hilarious! Good old fashioned fun
6. Colombo – I can watch these over and over.
7. Heroes – Getting frustrating. They can’t let the good guys just be good guys. Ugh!
8. The Muppet Show- Wow, such talent.

8 Favorite Restaurants - These are(No)t in order of preference (my mind doesn’t work that way).This one is harder. I have favorites from UT, but haven’t been here long enough to find new ones.
1. Mc Donald’s – I didn’t used to think this, but I love the Southwest Salad.
2. The Las Hermanos in Lindon. Love the Chimi’s
3. Mc Graff’s in South Orem. I LOVE seafood.
4. Porter’s Place in Lehi – It’s a fun dive with great food.
5. Sizzler – Look out salad bar, here I come!
6. Iceberg- Great shakes, and the best fries and onion rings ever. Wish I could still eat them.
7. Applebee’s – Though usually more crowed than I would like, the food is good.
8. Still looking

8 Things that happened yesterday:

1. Made Steve and Cubby’s lunches.
2. Dropped Cubby off at school, dropped Steve off at work.
3. Took the dogs for a walk.
4. Made my drink of milk, cocoa powder, cinnamon, Stevia, fresh ground flax seed, scoop of fiber, and chugged it down with my handful of pills for the day.
5. Laid back down to warm up and ended up sleeping until nearly noon. Ugh
6. Picked Cubby up from school.
7. Made Lemon Bars for Relief Society Enrichment Meeting
8. Picked Steve up from work and made dinner.
(and of course, crocheted in between it all.)

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:
1. Ty and Cami, and JennAdam coming for Thanksgiving.
Actually, I think that covers at least 4 of my 8 things I’m looking forward to.
5. Seeing Ken again at the end of his mission. Hopefully going there and picking him up.
6. Getting a better, more reliable vehicle. I don’t mind playing taxi all day, but it would be nice if everything worked and I didn’t have to worry so much about it breaking down.
7. Moving to a bit nicer neighborhood, in a place with a fenced yard for the dogs.
8. Tori’s play, because Mom Kenworthy might be coming out to see it and I know it’s going to be awesome!

Things on My Wish List:
1. A time when I wont even crave the things I can’t have anymore.
2. A small, hand held carpet cleaner for the small jobs.
3. One couch to be cleaned and the other to be reupholstered.
4. A self cleaning kitchen!
5. A king sized duck down comforter with a removable cover.
6. A small green house so I can grow my own veggies all year round.
7. To sell my crochet creations at a craft fair or something so I can, at the very least, make my hobby pay for it’s self.(& some extra for Christmas would be nice)
8. To have the money to go and pick Ken up from his mission in August 2009

Hummm, I think my wish list could go on and on. I need to remember “it’s not having what you want, but wanting what you’ve got”.
Now you all know me a bit better. Sorry!

Tori 2

2008-10-18T23:33:00.000-06:00

Here is a peek into Tori's life these days.

Well, we can see that she is on the phone. Hummm, perhaps a lot. Talking with.....a young man (and you know who you are)

Then she gets dressed up and goes to the Homecoming dance with a nice young man from our ward.

Then, besides rehearsals for "Joseph", she has been practicing and working on try-outs for All-State Choir. We took her yesterday to Loveland for her try-out. She was a mass of nerves and performance anxiety, but she went in and gave it her best shot. We should hear next week sometime about the results. No one was allowed to go in the room except her accompanist, so I can just tell you that what I have heard of her song, she was terrific!
So, more on that and the other exciting adventures of Tori coming soon! :)

Still Alive and Kicking

2008-10-13T17:14:00.001-06:00

I have changed my profile picture. For now, I will use this one.
Here I am, walking Zuzu in the park behind our townhouse. The reason I'm using this picture is because it was so funny to see Cubby's reaction to me wearing jeans. I had fished them out of a box of clothes I haven't worn in a while. It's been at least 6 years since I have worn jeans, and Cubby can't remember. Kind of funny. It seemed to up my "coolness" ranking. Stuff like that always makes me laugh.
The weather has been very nice. Just enough over cast to make it cooler and nice for walking in the park.

Thank you all for the wonderful calls on my birthday. That made my day special like only talking to my favorite people can make it.

Yesterday (Sunday Oct. 12th) I taught the Relief Society lesson. I had very little time, but I was grateful for the Holy Ghost that helped make the time I had very powerful. It was exciting to be a partner in teaching. There really isn't much more exciting than having the Holy Ghost teach through you. It doesn't happen every time. I hope I can be prepared/worthy to have that happen more often.

In this picture, I'm wearing the pretty glass necklace piece my dad gave me. I found a nice gold chain that it looks good on.

Saturday evening, Noah, Steve and I went to the Denver train station to pick up Tori. She has been in Utah for just over a week.
She had a great time seeing family and friends and also had a fun trip home on the train.
A fun new adventure that some of us wish we could do to.
Because the train was so neat, Ty and Cami are now looking forward to coming for Thanksgiving by train even more than before.
We are happy to have Tori back. It was a bit too quiet around here. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to JennAdam, Ty and Cami and Grandma Kenworthy and all others who made Tori's trip a good one and for taxiing her around and keeping her safe.
I hear from my dad that he and Lorene had made it to Mesa and are getting settled in. They had a good time in New Mexico at the Balloon Fest. It was too pricey to go up in one, but they had fun seeing all the cleaver and colorful balloons.
We're all doing pretty good around and hope you all are too.

Is 47 the Magic Number?

2008-10-03T11:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I turned 47. If you are an “Alias” fan, then you know that the number 47 can be significant.
I am hopeful that this year will be even better than last year. Even though Steve was out of work, last year wasn’t all that bad. We had a lot of neat things happen, which made the frustrating things not so hard to deal with. Counting your many blessings goes a long way in helping you keep perspective. I haven’t always been perfect at it. Sometimes I really loose my perspective and that can be destructive to me and others around me, but things are going good and I’m hopeful for a good year.
This last week, I was happy to see my dad. Though I didn’t see Lorene, my dad and I had a nice visit. The girls only got to see him for a minute, but hopefully we will have more time next visit. He was so sweet and got lunch for Steve, Noah and I and we met Steve at the library to eat. We had a nice visit, then Steve needed to get back to work.
Dad gave me a beautiful pendant. It’s made of layers of glass, melted together in a kiln. His friend, who has taught him a lot about stained glass, (and any of you who don’t know this, my dad has made a lot of amazing projects. I’m lucky to have a few of them) made it and dad says he’s going to learn how to do it too. This picture doesn’t do it justice at all. It’s so shiny that it’s hard to get a good picture of, but it’s really pretty and I have a red shirt and skirt outfit it’s going to look great with.
Dad and Lorene headed off to New Mexico for the yearly Balloon Festival. I’m looking forward to some great pictures.
Noah stayed and helped Steve at work that day. He impressed the people he worked with at the library and now he does volunteer work there. Shelving, making master copies of CDs and DVDs etc. Now, when he doesn’t go, they ask about him. Noah is such a wonderful helper
Wednesday, I helped Tori go off to her adventure in Utah. Those of us left behind are perhaps more than a little jealous, but we are also happy for her to go and see family and friends. So far the reports are that she is having an amazing time. Getting her home maybe harder than finding her a ride. I’m pretty sure that if she wasn’t in the play at the school here, she would just ask me to ship her things to UT.
Jenn and Adam were so sweet to go and get her. They had to meet her ride in Layton and it was really late at night. Then they had her over night and got her off to Liahona the next day. Pretty awesome!
I miss JennAdam and Ty and Cami something terrible and now I have to wait until Thanksgiving to soak up as much as I can until the next time.

I went to parent/teacher conferences yesterday at Cubby’s school. Two of the teachers are thinking that she should be in an honors program. They see a lot of talent in that little package we call Cubby. The one C she had has already been brought up to a B and all of the teachers say that she is getting in the groove of this new school and the new system. She has worked hard to catch up on her math and works hard to make sure her homework is done.
I think she’s pretty amazing and it’s nice to see that her teachers are seeing that too! Go Cub!!!!!
(Here is a picture I took of Cubby at the parent/teacher conference. Her hair is sure getting long again)
Throughout my life, I have been so blessed to be around some of the choicest people on the planet. We had to leave behind a wonderful and loving ward family and family family. Then, once again, we are blessed to be in a new incredible ward family here. They have been wonderful to us. Yet even with all of that, and I mean no offence to ANY of the afore mentioned people, my children are my favorite people in the whole world. They are so amazing and talented and loving. Adam and Cami, that means you too. No matter how weird, eccentric , in bad health, cranky or whatever I am, they show me an abundance of love that never ceases to amaze me. That goes for Steve too. Sometimes I’m laid up for days and he is understanding and caring. He does the little things that remind me all the time that he loves me. Pretty awesome if you ask me.
Well, to all of you out there in blog land, I’m looking forward to this year of being 47. It just might be the greatest adventure so far, and I’ve had some great ones already! Love to all!!!!!!!!

Just for Fun

2008-09-29T21:21:00.001-06:00

Cub was going to a "Best of EFY" activity and we decided to do something fun with her hair.
It's wrapped with embroidery floss and then I added beads.
Kind of fun!

Once Upon a Recent Time

2008-09-17T16:13:00.000-06:00

This last summer we had some pretty neat occasions to get together, to party, and to celebrate. With all the packing and stuff going on, these were wonderful times to take a break and be together.
Now that I have this neat new venue to share things with you all, I thought I would go back a bit and let you see some of the fun things we were able to do before we moved from UT.
I hope you enjoy them. We sure did!!!!!!
Thanks JennAdam for the idea!

Noah Gets His Eagle

2008-09-17T15:00:00.000-06:00

A very happy time! Noah receives the rank of Eagle Scout.
As proud parents, we get to be involved in bestowing this honor.

Mama Karen gets to pin the Eagle madallion on Noah.

Dad Steve gets to put the Eagle neckerchief on him.

Noah gets a neat honor. Because Noah is a decendant of a member of the Mormon Battalion (The Momon Battalion were Mormon pioneers asked by the US Government to help fight in the Spanish American War). So, Noah was given a special neckerchief slide and presentation.

With some congratulations from the Bishop,

and a mother pin for Karen, it was a special time.

Ty and Cami, Jenn and Adam, Grandma Kenworthy and some other friends and great leaders were there to help make it a memorable time.
As parents of 3 boys, we are very proud of our 3 Eagle Scouts. Our boys have learned a lot of basic skills and a lot about leadership.
Ty is still very involved in the Scouting program. Ken is on his mission, but Noah is now helping one of the young men in our ward to progress toward Eagle.

Cubby Turns 13

2008-09-17T14:27:00.000-06:00

Cubby turns 13, July 2nd. Here, Cubby shows the present that Ken sent her.

Ty and Cami were there

Grandma Kenworthy and Noah,

Tori, Jenn and Adam

and happy to have Cubby's Uncle Tom and Aunt Laura with us.

Of course, no birthday is complete without presents!

We always have the birthday person pick what they want for dinner and dessert. Cubby chose to have a BBQ like Ty.

So, another beautiful day and some great food. Wrap that all up with a gathering of awesome people, thrown in a few presents and whaa laa, a neat time for everyone!

A Dinner Invitation

2008-09-17T14:07:00.000-06:00

Jenn and Adam were so sweet to invite us to dinner at their new apartment. We have gone over to Ty and Cami's too, for a yummy dinner, but I forgot to take pictures.
Jenn made a really yummy dinner of white chili and rolls.
Then she made some wonderful baklava for dessert. Wow!
Sorry for the blurry picture. It's me, not Jenn. :)
We had a nice relaxing time. They were a wonderful host and hostess. They have a cute apartment and are decorating it up real nice.

Ty Had A Birthday

2008-09-17T13:30:00.000-06:00

All Ty wanted for his birthday was to have us all together and have a BBQ. It was lots of fun. Ty brought his BBQ that he got from Grandpa and Lorene Cummins. They take it everywhere. We added our electric one and had some great burgers and hot dogs. Add some of Grandma Cummins famous Strawberry Jell-O Salad and a great time is sure to be had.

It was a beautiful day! From lower middle around clockwise: The back of Noah, Tori, standing is Ty and Cami, then Adam, then sitting is Steve.

Ty, our best griller, cooked his own birthday meal. If you look at that handsome smile, you know he doesn't mind.

Of course, you add a beautiful, sweet wife, and any birthday is bound to be great!

Another cute couple: Jenn and Adam. So neat to have everyone together.

Then Kricket entertained us by jumping/climbing up into the apple tree. She's pretty amazing.

I look at these pictures and it makes me smile and perhaps a little sad as I think about how many fun get togethers we had and how few of them we will have now.

Hooray For Tori!

2008-09-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

Even though Tori is new to the school, I’m happy and excited to say that Tori was cast as one of the two Narrators for the Musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. I guess it’s in her blood. How fun it will be to see Tori have fun with this part, as I did 7 years ago.
I am so surprised that they picked an unknown. Usually the lead parts are pretty much picked from among Junior and Seniors that the teachers are familiar with. I’m so happy for Tori. Moving in her senior year has been a hard thing. Being able to be involved in the play will be a fun way to make friends and she’s have a great time doing it.
I just wanted to pass this fun news on to you all.

Oops!

2008-09-03T22:08:00.000-06:00

Well, being new at this, it looks as though it's all backwards. So keep scrolling down. I have 5 or so posts, with the last one being the intro to it all. So the best way to see this may be to go all the way to the last post listed and work your way up. I'm still learning!
Love ya'll!
Mama Karen/Mama Llama/What's her name?/Karen Kay etc.

Then up the stairs

2008-09-03T20:37:00.001-06:00

This is taken from halfway up the stairs. The rail that goes from the middle of the stairs to the top was removed so the people who moved out could haul things down and out easier. It made it nice for us to, but some of the parts got lost somehow, so it hasn't been put back up yet.

As you come up the stairs, Zuzu and Kricket are usually there to greet you. The door to our bedroom is on the left.

View from our bedroom door.

From the top of the stairs. The sliding glass door is in the back and the kitchen to the right. As you can see in some of these pictures, it has a nice vaulted ceiling. There are all kinds of hooks in the beams and above the rail for the stairs. I can’t wait to have some plants to hang on them! It would also be cool to have some plants that hang down from the top of the wall that divides the kitchen from the front room area.
View from the sliding glass window to the stairs.
From the hutch. You can see our bedroom door on the right and the kitchen in the middle
The Kitchen.
It’s not bad, but it has it’s quirks. We just got a new end for the faucet, so it doesn’t spray all over. You have to push the oven door in if you want to open the dishwasher. But ,hey, at least we have a dishwasher!
I’m sure you can also see the dishes on the counter. With everyone coming down with fevers, swollen glands and such, not many of us are feeling our best, but it’s actually been nice around here.

This is the dining room. It's a good size and our big table fits nicely. It sits in front of 3 of the big windows.

I love the vaulted ceilings. Besides the one ceiling fan that hangs over the couch/TV area, we have a swamp cooler that is to the right of the windows in this picture.
You can see the cupboard, I used to use for home-school stuff. We brought it over from the storage unit so I can use it for a pantry. We have a lot of cupboards in the kitchen, but the biggest ones are awkward and hard to fit things into because the doors are too slim.
Here is our master suite. It's pretty nice. We have two big windows across most of the back wall.

Here is where we have the computer set up. It will be better when we have our computer desk that is still in UT. Next to that is the door to the bathroom.
This is the view from the bathroom door to the closet.
Our bathroom is really nice. It has two sinks, a nice sized shower and even room for our love seat bench. We also have a big/tall linen closet and it is very deep. Always handy!

Just me being silly! You can see the tall windows behind me.

How about that, I'm really cookin now! I hope you are enjoying this, I know I am. This is fun!

Downstairs

2008-09-03T19:51:00.000-06:00

Come on in!
When you first walk in, to the right is a big closet. To the left of the closet is the stairs going up.

The door straight forward (left of the stairs as you pan around) is the bathroom/laundry room/second big closet. Then, as you continue left, is the girls room, then Noah's room.

This is a picture of the front door from the girls room.

Here is the downstairs bathroom. It's fairly spacious with it also having the washer and dryer in it. Although having enough room for all of Tori's beauty aaccouterments is always a challenge!
We bought a tension rod for the laundry area so I can have something to hang the hangers on and to be able to hang up clothes as they come out of the dryer. Behind the hanging dress is the water heater.

A Place for Cubby:
This is Cubby’s play closet. The door to it is in across from the water heater. It goes down, then turns to the left and left again, kind of like a “U”. She has shelves, a bean bag chair, a pillow with blanket for Kricket, some books, and her toys. It gives her some space to have her things to play with and for them not to get in Tori’s way. She has also made herself a curtain and has lights etc.

The girls are finding it an interesting challenge to share a room. They haven't for a long time and even with putting a lot of stuff in storage, they still have a lot of .......stuff. You can see in the first picture that Cubby is trying to make it feel a bit more like home, thankfully using tape and not putting a bunch of holes in the wall.

In front of Tori's bed may look like a big mess, but it's actually all her stuffed animals. Ready to greet or attach anyone who comes in.

Tori was taking a reading break.

You can't see the door to Noah's room when you walk in the front door until you close it. His room is to the immediate left of the front door.
As you can see, this is Noah’s room. He hasn't spent a lot of time putting boxes away and such, but he has helped me put a bunch away. Soon he will take the time to fix up his room. He’s been getting a lot of use out of his bike, running all over the town looking for a job.

Well, that's it for the downstairs. Stay tuned for more fun to come!

Welcome to our home

2008-09-03T19:23:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Kenworthy's of Longmont.

Hope you enjoy the tour. For an unexperienced blogger like me, we will take it in small steps.

This front of our “town home”. You can see that the van is parked under the deck. The deck is as wide as our whole place is. As you are looking at it, the right 3 windows are in the living area. Behind us is the sliding glass window. To the left are the 3 windows in the dinning room.

Just so you know, you have to walk past where we park the van to get to the front door.

To the right of the door knob and up a bit, you will see a small box. This is an intercom. Cubby seems to love this new toy and is the only one who uses it (just when she knows it's us).

These are the views from our bedroom window. It's a really nice park with baseball diamonds, volleyball area, a winding walking trail, a river, a covered picnic area and nice trees. It’s used a lot, but never crowded.

I guess that's it for this one. More on the way. Betcha can't wait!

2008-09-02T13:50:00.000-06:00

Here we are in Longmont. It's not a great picture and it's hard to see that Noah is holding Zuzu and Cubby is holding Kricket,but here we are, and we're settling in.

Steve is enjoying his job at the Library. It is especially nice because the people he works with have been so nice and welcoming.

I have been enjoying the challenge of making this townhouse a home. Thankfully I have a lot of help from my great family. Because this place is smaller than we have had in a while, the challenge is in knowing what to have out and what to put into storage. My other challenge is in not buying a ton of plants. As most of you know, I'm a plant fiend! We have a vaulted ceiling and it’s pretty cool. On all of the beams and in a few spots above the stairs are hooks for plants. Woohoo! I did buy one Pothos, but being the greedy person that I tend to be sometimes, I can’t wait to have more. To me, plants really liven the place up and with the neat places to hang them, I’m pretty jazzed.
Another challenge for me is trying to remember all the new names of all the people we are meeting. At church, we have been so blessed to have so many come up and introduce themselves to us. I sure hope they don’t mind being called, sweetie, handsome, cutie, beautiful etc. I have always been bad at names. Just ask anyone of my kids!

Noah has been a tremendous help. He hauls boxes, helps with dishes, hauls my laundry up and down and a ton of other things. He is also very good entertainment as he practices the guitar and writes clever songs.
He is also looking for a job and we just got a few leads, so I guess he will be working full time soon. Though it will be good for him, it will be kind of sad for me and will mark a whole new season of life for me.

Tori is going to the local high school every other day. I told her she could sign up for anything that interested her. So, she tried out for the advance choir, and got in. She is also taking a World Issues class, Drafting and a dance aerobics class. Tori is also taking the Liahona Distance Education program and plans to go back to Utah in May to graduate with her class from Liahona. It goes without saying that moving just before your senior year of high school is hard, but I have been so impressed with Tori. She may have some hard days, and I’m sure she misses her friends from UT, but she is doing remarkably well.

Cubby is just as cute as ever. She is doing a major effort to be more out going. She attends a middle school here. The system is different than in UT. In UT, she would have had another year of Jr. High. Here she will be in high school next year. Yiks! I’m hoping and praying that she will do some real growing and filling out in this next year. She is still our cute, petite little violin girl.
She is in the orchestra and it’s been a good challenge for her. She also loves her English and art classes. She is looking forward to joining the art and the drama clubs that are after school and start towards the end of Sept.
One of the two big closets we have here has been turned into a fun place for Cubby. She likes going in there to play and read undisturbed. It also makes the girls bedroom, that they share, a quiet place to go to read and listen and practice music.

To say that we miss our family is the understatement of the year! We miss Ty and Cami coming over for Sunday dinner and visiting. We miss having Jenn and Adam dropping by to say hi and catch us up on what’s going on in their lives. We miss seeing the members of the extended family that would stop by to visit Grandma Kenworthy, so we would get to see them too. We miss Grandma! She has a been a big part of our lives and it was so nice to go and talk to her and to have her join us for meals and games.
Well, as you can see, we are all doing ok. We are looking forward to having some of you visit. I’m hopeful to see my dad and Lorene soon. Depends on their plans. Tori and I am also looking forward to heading back to UT the first week in Oct. It will be so wonderful to see our family and friends again!
Well, being the chatty gal that I am, in no time at all, this blog will fill up. Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat blog! Hee hee