Thursday, October 8, 2009

Baptisms, Baby Blessings & Swine Flu

Well, Saturday Jaxon is getting Batized. We are so excited for him. It looks like just Derek's part of the family is coming. Derek and I both come from large families. So you just can't go to everything. My Brothers would come up with their families, but the cost of gas is crazy. Especially they both have family vacations planned the following weekend.

It is actually less stressful this way. I usually don't mind a house full of family, but I don't have the energy or health right now to go running allover this house cleaning like a normal person. It is going to be relaxed. We are going to keep the meals simple and after Jaxon gets baptized on Saturday, our newest nephew will be blessed the next day. Nice...I love a two for one!

The stressful part is: Austin, Kason, Megan, Jaxon and Hubby are sick! I am nervous. We got a note from the school asking us not to send our kids to school if they have any Flu like symptoms. Apparently, They have had a few kids with Swine Flu at school. GREAT!!! So I am going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I was just staring to feel better and now my throat is raw and I am achy. But really that is a cake walk to what I usually have. I just need to take care of everyone, Clean the house, Prepare food for 40 people for a weekend, do the Laundry, and then enjoy and try to enjoy my son's Big Day. How hard can that be? Monday, I will have a nervous breakdown or go to the dollar movie by myself, while the kids are at school. The latter sounds more fun.

Have a great weekend everybody! I sure hope we will...with no swine flu. The ironic part, we are serving Kalua Pork for his Baptism dinner. You gotta love it!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

High Ho High Ho, I just gotta know!

(If you leave a comment and say who you are like and why, I will find a pic and Post it on my next post. Have fun with it. Pick up to six. I do have other silly things to do like laundry, dishes, etc.)
M-I-C see ya real soon! K-E-Y why? because we like you! M-O-U-S-EEE!

Ok, so at Disneyland there's is a place called "Belle's Library" Well, Actually it is in California Adventure in ANIMATIONS! If you go into Belle's Library there are places to sit down and the touch screen in front of you will ask you questions about your personality. I thought for sure I was going to be Ursula, but Austin was right. The Computer dubbed me as Tinkerbell, because I am a hot tempered girl, but will do anything for the boy she loves. Derek answered all the questions the opposite of how he is and he was dubbed HOPPER from Bug's Life! Derek likes to shake things up a bit every now and then.

So here is my first question for all of you: Which 3 (good or mostly good) Disney Character do you relate too? Are you Mushou, Mulan's sidekick who is always messing up, but his hear is in the right place? Is there one of the Seven dwarfs you relate too? DO you ever feel like the blow fish in Finding Nemo? Or are you a Will Turner a self made Pirate? Perhaps you are Captain Jack Sparrow himself or are you Goofy?

Second question, who is your alter ego? Which 3 Villains do you most relate with and love to hate?

Here is mine:

Disney Gals I relate too:


Tinkerbell. When she looks at herself and measures her hips, she's not mad at herself. She is mad at the mirror. One time my scale did not show me what I wanted to see so I put it in the tub after my kids were getting out and the tub was still full of water. That Scale never went over 100lbs again. I thought it was funny when it said I weighed 47 lbs, I felt like "I showed you!" But as Feisty and as bad tempered as she is, in the end she wants to help those she loves.




Dori, from Finding Nemo. When I go downstairs for something, I completely forget and I have to ask someone what I was looking for. I will be talking to someone and then all of a sudden I am thinking, "What are we talking about again?" Yes, I remember some things well, but I don't know how to utilize that part of my brain very well and most of the time I have short term memory loss.




Jane, from Tarzan. I remember watching that movie for the first time and I thought Tarzan looked like Derek. You know blue inset eyes, distinguished nose. (the hair, thankfully not so much.) Derek is adventurous and I am a chicken, but I feel braver when Derek is there holding my hand or when I wrap my arms around him. Yes, when us city girls fall for our small town boys, we will give up our city living, Yellow dresses and parasole (or in my case High Heeled shoes) to swing through this Jungle we call life, hanging on to our MAN!. (Oh and Heidi and Matt, I still remember those "Halloween Costumes" you made for Derek and I, for our birthdays. Too Funny!)


Alter Ego's



The Queen of Hearts, she is funny. She has one way to take care of everything, "Off with your head!" It just seems to be efficient because everybody does whatever she wants them to do and I think this shows organization and management skills I want. I just have a whistle! I love her heart printed bloomers, too cute! And the way she stomps off when she is angry. You know that back when she went to "Deck High" School, she was the only girl on the football field and must have been one heck of a Linebacker. She is not afraid to really get down to business, when she pushes up her sleeves to play Croquet. Yep, that's the girl I want on my team.



Ursula. You gotta love her! She's a plus-size chic who is embracing her wider curves. She is all about CURVACEOUS!! She even has the guts to wear that tight Black cat-octopus outfit. Don't be fooled she is wearing a girdle under there. You can tell because of the fat rolls on her back. But with Purple skin, you have to admit, it kind of works. Her swim is a strut! When she gets Angry she grows into this massive form of herself and that is just how I feel when I have lost it! Like when I've told each of my kids 10 times not to leave their shoes and socks on the floor of the living room and go and put them in your shoe basket in the mud room, that is only 7 yards away. But then right when I think I have controlled it, Derek comes home and sits down and kicks his shoes off. AAAHHHH!!!! (Just making point honey, I know you hardly ever do that now.) Ursula is a woman who knows what she wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it. (Well, until Eric kills her at the end.) But that's just a miner detail.






This is a tough one, I really relate to Mad,Mad, Mad Madam Mim from Sword and the Stone, but I really like Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. Because man she is Just COOL! She is Beautiful, graceful, and has a great smile and yet so Evil!!! Sure, she's got green skin but she makes it look good. (I'm thinking Botox injections!) And Man, that long Black leather dress, robe, and a hood to try and hide her horns, She makes that layered/gothic look, look pretty good. (Dad, I threw the black leather dress in their for you.) Maleficent is one clever gal. When she does not get invited to the most happening party of the 12th hundred century, she is pretty upset, but she takes it in stride. And gave the baby a little token, curse, whatever you want to call it even though she was snubbed. WooHoo! She takes it to a whole new level when she turns into a dragon. Not alot of woman can pull it off. We might act like it for one week out of the month, but to actually turn into a vicious dragon. My hat is off to her! But then she dies too. Again a miner detail.



So who are you?

Saturday, September 12, 2009

....and then he came into my life. Part one

Someday I want to write a book about Falling in Love. I think it is Heavenly.

The September after I turned nineteen, I found myself at a crossroads in life. This crossroad came much faster then I was expecting in my life. I had met Derek in the begining of July and we hung out as friends about everyday after that. We were having fun with water fights while washing my car, hiking, Debating our opinions, talking on the grass during a rainstorm in Ivins. (I love the smell of Ivins after a storm) When we met for lunch at Taco Bell or whereever, I would drip somehing on my shirt, everytime. I was so embarrassed, but it was just Derek and as I would try to clean it up, he would laugh and say, "Jennifer, I am sorry, I forgot to bring you a Bib."
We planned a trip up to SLC and I was going to visit with family, while he was away. After a few days, I was going to the Airport in SLC to pick him up. I realized....I liked him more then a friend and it spooked me. He had had such a horrible trip, (I did not know this at the time) and when he saw me he just dropped his bags and grabbed me up in a huge hug. Now I was freaking out. Because maybe he feels this way too. My instict was RUN!!!! But he was my ride home.

On the trip home, he told me about his trip to Arkansas. It was awful and I was just sick for him and wished I could have been there for him. When we stopped at the gas station he said, "Hey...don't think I forgot it was your birthday, today! I got you a gift at the airport." ( I know...precious) He just had it in a bag and I opened it and it was a hand held mirror that whistled when you lifted it up to look at yourself. I laughed nervously. He laughed and with a smile said, "Well, it was that or the Death March Mirror. I thought this was better." He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips as he was geting ready to get out of his truck and get it gassed up. By this point my face was burning. He had nerver kissed me on the lips before, granted it was a friend kiss, but I was aa bundle of nerves.
I thought I was just going to have to tell him when we got home that we can just be friends, I did not want to have any relationships. I already kknew how it felt to have your heart broken and I was not going to let that happen again. Well, it didn't work out quite that way. He took me to BYU to walk around the campus, because he knew I wanted to go to school there. It was a Sunday and the campus was empty. WE walked with me holding onto him from behind and I realized, I did not have it in me to stay away from him. So we had the best time on the way home. That when we got to Cedar City, only an hour away from our destination, I was sick. I did not want the day to end. He dropped me off at home and asked for a kiss gooodnight, but I said, "You are going to have on that." His Birthday was two day later and I think on that day he was spooked. We took turns being nervous of what was going on in our friendship that was quickly becoming something else. On a lovely Ivins August night, he was leaving the house where I lived as usual and I normally did not walk him out. But as he got up to leave, I told him he forgot to kiss me goodnight. If there is a top 20 list kept on the sweetest most amzing first kisses that last over an hour, Derek and I are at the top that list. Everyday after was pretty amazing. Falling in Love is truley a heavenly feeling. One Night Derek and I went to a dance at a local church and I could tell he was distant. His buddy, Bud, was with us. He started speaking Spanish to Bud, and he was telling Bud, " Man, Bud there are alot of cute girls here tonight, I wish I came to this alone. Little did he know that although, I do not speak fluent Spanish, like he did. I was from So. California and I could pick up on what he was saying. I was heart broken and after a couple of dances, I told him that I had to go to work early. He picked up on that I was hurt and asked me if I was OK. I said, "I am fine. Go have fun. Like you said, 'Their are alot of cute girls here.' I laughed as I got in the car and in my rear view mirror I saw him standing there watching me drive away with his hands in his pockets. I think they were. My laughter was covering up the unevitable sob that was coming up my throat. My face was wet with tears and all I thought to myself was, "How did I let this happen to me again?"

Friday, September 11, 2009

Jaxon turn's eight!

Happy Birthday to our Peanut! We Love Jaxon! It's great to be eight.

Mom got very lucky and got an Ice Cream cake from our local grocery store that someone did not pick up. Got a good deal and no need to buy Ice cream. I love all in one items!

I can do it. I can blow all eight candles out.

....phew....eight candles is tough to blow out!


Austin & Jaxon
Austin gave a really special gift to Jaxon & his parents.

Megan & Jaxon
Sis loves her brothers

Jaxon & Ryan
my little men

Jaxon & Kason
Kason stop smiling so much.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Back 2 School August 19, 2009

Here they are. Man... They grow up fast.




Austin: My Freshman. You can usually find him at a scouting activity or strumming on his guitar. He might live in Utah, but this boy is a California Boy by heart. Surfer Boy.


Kason is in 7th grade and we are doing Homeschool together. So far so good.


Meg started 6th grade. I don't know if I am ready to send her to Jr. High next year. She is all girl!!


Jaxon is now in second grade. Two days after school started he turned eight. There is only one person in his class taller then he and and she is a girl. (Too Jaxon, that is weird.)


Ryan: This little guy is doing at home preshool with Mom He is a sing song kid. Every night lately he will just start singing, "I am a child of God" We love it.



These people make my life amazing!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Welcome Everest Jason Castle



I am going backwards, but I wanted to post some pics of our newst nephew, Everest. I was going to post about our Vacation, but time is short right now. Everest was August 18th at 7:36am. He weighed 7lbs 6ozs and is 20 inches tall. Two days after we got home from vacation. (It was great of Wendy to wait for us to get home.) The night he was born, I went just to visit for a little while, but stayed three hours. This baby is just so sweet and he like a magnent. You just want to be near him. So theses are some pictures of me taking the kids the next day to meet their new cousin.



My five with Aunt Wendy and her first baby, Everest.


Aunt Wendy shows the kids the baby's tiny toes.


Everest's toes with Ryan, Jaxon & Kason's Hands


Austin & Everest
Everest is thinking, "I'm Hungry!"


Kason and Everest
Everest is saying, "Where is my food?"

Megan & Everest
Everest saying, "No food is coming out my fingers!"

Jaxon with Everest Everest saying, "I am serious. I am really hungry."

Ryan with Everest. Everest saying, "OK, now I am mad and I want my Food!

I got a turn to hold Everest too.

Everest is Hungry and looking for something to eat. Mommy is loving on him and he was making the funniest sucking noise.
WHen he finally found what he was looking for, Daddy (Jason) was making Mama (Wendy) was laughing and telling Jason to stop because it was making the baby shake. Jason just commented that that's even better. Now Everest is getting a Milk Shake. We were all crackin up as we were hanging out in the room.

Derek & Austin waiting for the baby to be fed.

Megan, the only child of mine, who behaved themselves during our visit.

Itchy and Twitchy finding amusement on the recliner as Everest is fed.
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Uncle Derek finally gets to meet him the next day. I asked Derek, "Does it kind of make you jealous that they are just starting out and get to enjoy a new baby? (I was serious) He laughed at me and said, "NO! I know what their in for and I wouldn't go back. I like sleeping and not carrying around a Diaper Bag." OK, this is coming from the guy who kept warning me that we were suppose to have five kids. As amazing as a new baby is and especially, one as sweet as Everest. I have to agree. You just hit a point when you know your done. But it sure is fun to have a big family and enjoy being a an aunt. I have loved being an Aunt for almost 21 years now. It is GREAT!
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Megan looking longingly at Everest
Everyone is Drawn to this little guy


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Fourteen Years ago, I became a Mother

Disclosure: This is full of typos and spelling errors, but I only had so much time and I really wanted to post this for Austin's Birthday. Please excuse the errors and understand that I am just typing this as fast as I can. (Because I have got to go to sleep.)
My Baby, who is not a baby anymore, but this amazing young man.
Oh, How I love him.



Today Austin turned 14. It is so hard to believe that it was that long ago that that little person came into my life. It was truely the best day of my life. So here is my long story:

(Austin at 8)

It was a Wednesday, April 19, 1995. I was HUGE!! I had a doctors appt. early that morning and was praying the doctor was going to tell me I was ready to have a baby. I was still five away from my due date, but I could not stand being pregnant one more day! I had done everything to try to put myself in labor. I thought it was ironic that I found myself wishing for pain! Pain of Labor. When I went to the doctors appt. they checked my urine sample. The nurse said my protein was high & I had gained 5 pounds in a week, so she thought the doctor might induce me. The Doctor came in and said, I was mot Dialating & the protien was not too high. I started to tear up and told the doctor, I just was done being pregnant. He was compassionate and said he was inducing a couple of other ladies on Friday and if I could get here by 5:30am, he could fit me in and see if we could get this rascal out. I about kissed that man!! I waddled my swollen self out of that doctors visit and went straight to the COllege (SUU, We lived in Cedar City, Utah at the time.) I found Derek between classes and said, "Derek, we are going to have the baby on Friday." He went three shades whiter. It hit him. We were really having a baby. I was as happy as could be. I celebrated by going and grabbing a bite to eat. (We were starving COllege students, with our first motrgage, so that was huge to me.) I felt a bit reckless getting the Nachos and hoping I would not regret it later. I got home. I was suppose to be on bed rest from that point on, because of the toximia coming on. So I plopped my swollen self on the couch and decided to watch The Price is Right. (It was still early) But to my shock, I turned on the TV and learned that the OKlahoma Bombing had just happened.

(Austin at Family Home Evening)

It had just happened and was barely being televised and then they said, that their was a daycare center in the building. I sat, I sobbed, and I prayed. I felt so selfish. Here I was so anxious to get my baby out of me, when people were losing their babies in such a horrible, sensless way. My Nachos went to waste, I could not eat, I felt sick as I watch the news for the next 9 hours of the day. Derek came home later that day and had heard what had happened. He had to head to work and asked me not to watch the news anymore. Derek did not like that I was so upset and did not want it to effect me or the baby. So I sat in the tub that night and read, my lamaze exercizes book. I had this thing Underlined, dog eared, Highlighted. Derek had school the next day & promised he would be home around four. I didn't watch any TV. I cleaned my house and that was the last my house was clean. Derek came home & I drilled him with question of how to suppport me during labor. I was all about the Epidural! I figured, that I was going to the same prize at the end, so why not have some pain relief. But Derek & I took the Lamaze class, just to have that full experience of "Having a Baby".

(The weekend Austin got baptized and he is hanging out infront of our house with his brothers and his cousins. My Brother Jim's Boys.)


He fell asleep about 10:00pm. He asked me if I was going to be able to sleep. I said I would, just to soothe him so that he would fall asleep without worrying about me. I set my alarm for 3:30am. It was like Christmas eve and The day before my Wedding; Nerves, excitement, wonder, worry, etc. I felt my eyes start getting heavy and as I looked at the clock it was 3:15am. I shut them and in what felt like a few seconds the alarm went off. I wanted to look good that day. (Well as good as a 200 pound girl could look.) I remembered, the videos in the lamaze class and the ladies who had the epidurals, still had their make up on and hair done after the baby came out. So as I showered, I felt Austin moving around and again I felt a mixture of emotion. By this point every tome he moved, it hurt! But this was the last morning of my life that I would feel this little person inside of me. And...well..I had kind of grown attached to this little person inside of me. It was like carrying a little piece of Derek with me, were ever I went. I proceeded to do full hair make-up and Extra Hairspray, just to make sure I looked decent in the pictures. (Silly..Silly Girl!)


(Austin & Jaxon)
Derek and I had a prayer and then Scripture study. Then I ran and cleaned the last toilet. Derek was thinking I was crazy. I was. I am. When we walked outside of our door on that APril Morning, it was still dark and snow flakes were falling and starting to stick to the ground. We both laughed and I felt this amazing felling of peace. The past few weeks had been sunny even hot. But not today, it was going to snow. To this day when I get snowflakes in my eyelashes, I think of that dark peaceful morning when Derek & set out to "the unknown" with excitement in our eyes as we kissed and knew, our lives would be forever changed. (We just did not realize how different.)
We got the hospital, got suited up, had the IV put in, the Doctor broke my water and at 7:30 I was thinking, "You know this isn't that bad, maybe I could do this without a Epidural. By 9:00am I was pulling the sheet over my head and asking if the Epidural man was coming!! By 10:00am relief. I did itch terribly. I was begging Derek to scratch my back so hard that he was nervous that he was going to scrtach my skin off. My back was wet from sweat and the water seaping out of me ontoo the blue pad above my sheet, that I lay on. By 10:30 we figured out I was allergic to the epidural. By 11:00am the epidural was not working and I was feeling EVERYTHING!!

(Autin crushing Jaxon in a heated game of Twister.)

I begged for a epidural refill, they gave it to me, but it did not do anything. The Epidural guy, Smiled as I told him how bad I hurt. He just replied that my body was doing what it was suppose to and that the baby was coming. He also rolled a closed, cold can of soda over my belly and asked if I could feel that. My reaction told him, I did. By Noon Derek & I were in heavy Lamaze mode and I was telling him I wanted to go home. THe baby was not getting enough oxygen and between, the mask, the sweat dripping down my face, the itching, and transitional pain, I was done! The nuse checked me and said I was alomost a seven. She had to check a few other things and less then fifteen mintues after she had checked me I asked her to sheck me again, although she thought it was pointless, she did. Next thing I know she is yelling, "Your at a 10! I am getting the doctor." By 12:45 the room was filling up and the doctor came in. The nurse was in our ward and she told me that sometimes pushing can take a few hours. I was so tired at that point and was feeling this overwhelming pressure that all I thought was, "That was the worst short pep talk, ever given!" Derek was by my side counting my pushes, telling me I could do it. I just focused on him. At 1:10pm. Our baby was out. My first question was, "What is it?" We did not want to know the sex of the baby during the pregnancy, but we both felt like it was a boy.



(Austin with Kason, Megan & cousin's Jaden & Derek "the Football Star" My Brother Jim's kids)


Sure enough the Doctor answered, "It's a Big Baby Boy!" I was so relieve to hear him cry and see his "Boatright scowl" (As Derek puts it.) He was perfect. Austin Derek Keller was born at 1:10pm on April 21, 1995. He weighed nine pounds & six ounces. He was 21 & 1/2 inches long and he had auburn hair. (not much, but he did have some.) The Grandparents filed in with cousins, aunts, & friends to see our new baaby. Later as the day went on and everyone went home. Just my Mom stayed and combed out my matted hair. Needless, to say the Make-up melted off and that extra hairspray just added to the mass of sweat and knotted hair.


(Austin playing Clifford at the ELementry School Book Fair)


Later that night, after everyone went home, I was walking around and in no need of help to get around. The nurses were amazed, but I felt so exhilerated to have the baby out, that I enjoyed walking around without the pressure of a nine pound baby against my pubic bone. I came out of the bathroom and Derek said, "I think the baby is poopy" I said, "Well I think we should have a tradition that you change our kids first diaper. He was the oldest of seven and shrugged his shoulders and said, "OK." He did not realize that the first poop was a sticky tar substance. He was like "Holy Moly KiD" We were both laughing. Then later on that night, "The nurses came in to take hime to the nursery, so I could sleep." But I told them I wanted more time with him. So Derek and I layed in bed, sitting up so we could hold our new little baby between us. The room was dim and Austin was peeping his eyes open at us. Their we sat, a little family. I turned to Derek and said, "Thank-you for making my dreams come true." That song, "Can you feel the love tonight?" Came to my mind and I sang it to my little guy as tears rolled my cheeks. What a Heavenly Moment.

The birth was harder then I thought it would be, but in the end it was worth it. I learned then that Life is not always what you think it will be. There will be hard times. Times were you want to throw in the towel. But There are perfect moments that get us throught those times. And Focusing on the good moments makes life so much easier. (Not easy just easier) And in the end, it is all worht it!



(Austin for Halloween, being a typical 11 year old boy.)

How thankful I am to have a son who honors his priesthood. Who tries hard to be obediant. He is nicked name "My right hand Man. Even though he is left handed. My Mother in law gave me a book called, "I love you Forever" It is a book that still makes me cry when I read it. (I know I am just a big baller.) But I sure love this young Man and I am so grateful he is my son.


Saturday, April 18, 2009



Wicked has finally come to Utah! Yep! I am so excited. We got tickets eleven months ago and finally in just two more weeks, and we go to the play on May 2nd.
We are going to have a blast! Derek's Mom, His brothers, His sisters and their spouses are all going with us. Derek's Dad is not big on Musicals, so he offered to stay home and babysit grandkids. (Poor guy has no idea of what he is in for.)