New Mexico Take 3

Sean watches on as Brenna & Seth do some late night yoga


Seth has skills!


The Jenkins Family



We girls love our dad!


Jayden, Seth, Brent, Sean & Daisy


Chloe & Jay

The Enchantress goes to Maui

Who knew they named a store after me?!

Here are all the girls (plus Rob) having lunch at Tommy Bahama courtesy of Dad Jeppson. All I have to do is think about that food, and I'm suddenly hungry! Pina colada cake or Barbados brownie anyone?

Some pictures from our San Diego trip

This week Matt is in Walla Walla, WA for work so to help the time go by, I am trying to get up to date on my blog. We are fortunate to have had such fun trips so close together. San Diego, New Mexico, Hawaii. No wonder I'm behind!

It's amusing to me that I am so much better about journaling our lives through a blog then with pen & paper. I think it excites me just a little bit to know this will be a book that will make up some of our stories. I also love that I don't have to do any cutting or gluing of pictures/paper.

San Diego Trip May 2008
At the K.C. airport waiting for the non-stop flight to S.D. Anything non-stop is great, especially with kidlets.


The family at Sea World watching the Shamu show. If you look behind Matt's head, the white ball cap is Sam.




La Jolla


Through one of Matt's herpetological connections we met up with Jeff Lemm who works for the San Diego Zoo/Wild Animal Park. He graciously gave us free tickets to both, and pointers on the animals to see first when you go to the zoo. (The Pandas and Polar Bears.) They are awake and waiting to be fed. We were rewarded for our efforts to book it to the back of the zoo first thing:



Behind the scenes tour with Jeff Lemm & his son Matthew. I can't remember the name of this rare iguana, but will put the name in when I find out.





Jay thinks this is a glossy snake. He and Matt went road cruising many times.

An answer to prayer

We had a neat experience with the boys and prayer while we were in Maui...
On Sunday we were trying to get to church. After driving around for 30 minutes we were definitely lost. We were going on previous memories & we didn't have an address.
So, I say to the boys, "why don't we say a prayer to ask Heavenly Father to help us find the church so we can go to sacrament meeting today?" They agreed and so I prayed while Matt continued to drive, asking the Lord to help us find the church, but I also had a prayer in my heart that He would help us teach the boys about prayer.

Well, right when I said "Amen" our phone rang and it was Jamie (s.i.l.) & Wendy who were in a different car, they had found the church after also being lost and gave us directions so we could get there. Also at that exact moment Matt's GPS started working (which hadn't been working in Hawaii at all up to that point).
We talked with the boys about how Heavenly Father had answered our prayer (the phone rang with directions and the GPS started working). We told them that they could pray to Him for anything they need. I was emotional and am again as I type this, but wanted to write it down as one of our family stories. I am so thankful, the Lord knows our hearts and needs. In this circumstance, not only to find the church but parents' desire to teach their sons about prayer. I am humbled that the Lord is aware of us so personally. I need to be better about being more open to receiving his blessings.

On a cute note, after church on the way home Jay asked "Should we say a prayer so we can get home?"

Big & Majestic

Funny story told short:
My sister Sariah commented to our mom one time that she wished she was shorter and petite. (She is 5 foot 9.) Mom answers off the top of her head "we Jenkins women are just big & majestic!" Not the answer Sari was looking for, she tells Brent her hubby who then had these shirts made while we were in Carlsbad. Mom & I couldn't stop laughing. Sari wore hers with pride that weekend.
The End.

Maui 3

Here are some more pictures from our trip to paradise. Up until the last day, Ridge was wary of the sand and noisy waves. Then he decides to literally roll around in the waves and get into Rob's sandcastles! Uncle Rob was so patient & soft spoken with all the kids. They all love him and wanted to play with him. (Thanks for sharing your hubby Stef.) We are so glad he is in our family.

This is one of our family shots. Most of them look like we are trying to herd a bunch of cats.

Here is one of Sam & Wendy with all the grandkids. They had such a great time playing together. Trips like this are really special. They help the cousins get to know each other, play and just BE together. My boys are still waking up asking where their cousins are. THANK YOU Sam & Wendy for such a wonderful trip!

This is Matt & his dad Sam. Aren't they both SO handsome?

This year our awesome wardrobe was put together by Stefanie. She was working at J. Crew in Honolulu and got us all outfitted really nice. Thanks for all your work on that Stef!
We tried to do family pictures in the afternoon, but it was super windy. Hopefully someone else got a better shot on their camera. At least we are all together, with a gorgeous background!

This picture makes me smile everytime I see it. The 2 super skinny boys finishing off the ice-cream. It was a funny sight.

I'm so lucky that Matt is such a great husband AND father. Our boys love him so much.

Asher checking out the shells Jay and Matt found while snorkeling.

Ash also had to kind of warm up to the waves. Once he got the hang of it, the ocean waves were built in entertainment. Today he woke up and said "we should go to the ocean today mom!" He also has been asking for POG everyday. (Passion, orange, guava juice.)

Best Buds!

Maui 2

Here is one of my boys at Kula Lodge. We love how Ridge is peeking behind Jay's head as if to say "I'm here!" Asher is holding a Jackson chameleon. I think we found about 14 of them in about an hour. They are really neat lizards. I like them because they are SLOW, not fast and creepy.

Rob, Spencer & Aniston making sand castles.

Spencer is such a fun kid to be around. He really did not like this life jacket since it was obviously too small, but when I said, "Hey Spence, let me get a picture of you in your jacket" he graciously paused his activities for a pose.

Matt, Stef & Rob found these treasures while out snorkeling. Yes, the shells are beautiful but the ones that still had snails inside are stinking up my back yard right now.

Ash holding a male Jackson chameleon. I know I've said it before, but I seriously love this kid so much. Just LOOK at that face!

Some shots while playing in the sand.

Gage & Asher playing with a cockroach (of all things!) Yes, I know it's disgusting, but they were calling it their "little friend", and saying stuff like "be careful with him, it's my turn!" Had to get a picture.