Where do i start

It's only been a few weeks since i posted last, but they've been a very full two weeks. I thought about doing a bunch of posts covering everything, but decided to go with one super long post.
* (events from the past few weeks)

* Casey unfortunately didn't get a teaching job. He is still working for my dad doing construction for now, and he will be subbing in schools once he completes some training. It's quite a bummer to go through all of college to not get a job when you finish, but we're hopeful something will come along this year if not we'll try a lot harder next year.
* Moving on:
Since we are no longer students!!! - we knew we had to move; thankfully Vanessa's grandpa's home was available and her family is letting us rent it for a bit. The downside to being here is we had (and still have) a lot of things to do to it before i will call myself settled here. So far we've replaced every outlet (major hazards), and light switches upstairs, painted a few rooms (it's amazing how much paint can make a place seem more livable), fixed doors and their parts, cleaned a lot, and there is still more on our to to list, but it's coming along. I've had to remind myself to count my blessings with this home. The basement may give me the creeps, but we're not under contract (meaning if Casey gets a job we can up and move with little hassle) and the rent is low.
p.s. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all who helped us pack, move, repair, and fix things for us during this move out of Aggie Village and into the house.
*Family reunion:
Casey's extended Webb family had a reunion the weekend of the twenty seventh. We moved into our place on Thursday of that week and went up to the family reunion on friday for the weekend. It was a low key reunion. The Webb family lives close together and spend time together often, but now that the kids are getting older and spreading farther out it was time to bring the extended family together. Casey had fun playing volleyball, golf, and catching up with his cousins. Kendal loved playing in the water and roaming around getting the other kids wet with the hose.
*Back to work for Marianne:
As we were getting closer to school starting and no job had come along for Casey i decided to try and get my job back working for the after school club. Fortunately the very week i contacted my boss was the week she was hiring for the school year. I was able to get my job back at Hillcrest as the site Manager for the program. I've always appreciated this job and love working with these kids. I work with a diverse, sometimes difficult group of kids which can be hard (and lets face it i do have my complaints), but i truly love my job and the kids (most days)! I had training for my job for a week. Now this was hard because this was my fifth year doing training and i've heard it all, but i got paid for it so i can't be to sore about it. I started back on September 6th. It was a crazy first week, but things will calm down and get into routine soon.
* Surprise it's Twins!
We got a call the a week and a half ago that Nicole's (Casey's sister) water had broke and they were doing all that they could to stop things from progressing. Unfortunately the twin boys she was carrying didn't want to wait (they came over two months early) and a few crazy days later we welcomed Hunter and Jaxson into the family. Things were a bit scary at times, but these two boys have been a miracle. They are doing so well right now; off oxygen and iv's. They just have to keep on growing and getting strong so they can go home in a month or so!
* Happy Birthday Dad!
I missed a post for my dad's birthday. (No Internet) We celebrated his birthday on labor day by going up the canyon for a hot dog roast. Kendal got really dirty and loved every minute of it. I just can't say enough of how grateful i am for my dad. He is loving, generous, and just plain wonderful. He is in love with Kendal (and she loves him loads too) and spoils her like no other! Happy Birthday Dad, may this year be fantastic for you!
* Surprise number two (or is that three)
We get a text early this past Wednesday morning with a picture of Vanessa, Brett, David, little Rebecca. I guess she decided her twin cousins couldn't have all the fun so she came four weeks early. Vanessa's labor progressed so quickly that no one really had notice of Rebecca's arrival. She is doing well, and is now at home with her family. David is a sweet brother giving her kisses and love.
* Nicole's baby shower
When we found out Nicole had had her twins i didn't know if we were going to still do her baby shower scheduled for this past weekend. Nicole felt well enough and Casey's mom said why not so we trekked up this weekend and got to see all of the babies and help throw a baby shower for Nicole. I am in love with all of these little ones. They are all tiny and so adorable! (Hunter and Jaxson just under 3 pounds each, and Rebecca is near 5 1/2 pounds) I wanted to hold and love them forever. I cannot forget Bryker he's been learning to crawl and i got to see some of his new skills this weekend. I am one very proud Aunt right now!
* Gone a lot
We have been up to Idaho four out of the five past weekends for family events. Kendal has done very well in the Raft River ward's nursery : ) We attempted to go to our new ward last weekend, but had the times wrong. So, i guess well try again next week.
* Kendal is our little sweet pea / diva as she is rolling into her 22 month of life. She has a love of all things right now. She is still quite the talker and seems to pick up words everyday. She is in love with animals especially frogs, ducks, and giraffes right now. She even made friends with a worm the other day. Sometimes Casey and i here her talking to her animals in her crib near nap time and bed time. She is getting more active and mischievous. She discovers new things daily and is always keeping me on my toes. Some may think she is energetic, and loud. She can be but that's mostly around a group of people that she knows she can command their attention. I'm not saying she's a mild doll at home, but she definitely has a different level of active when she's around her extended family and friends.

I guess i'll have to put in a slide show on this post too. There's just too much to add and this post is already very long. I wish i could've had the patience to put on more pictures, however it took an hour just to get these so enjoy!

Cody's home!

Friday we went down to SLC. Casey and i took Kendal to build a bear and the gateway splash pad for a bit of fun. We met up with some of the family and went swimming at the hotel pool. It was fun having Bryker and Kendal bump around the pool in their floaties! Later that night we all went to the airport and welcomed Cody home from the Czech Republic. He had a wonderful mission experience; looks skinnier, and has that mission glow about him! The next morning we went with the clan to Hoggle zoo. It's a cool zoo; David and Kendal had a blast seeing the animals. David wanted to have one on one time with them all and Kendal was very happy to watch them from a distance. The only problem she had was when we tried putting her on a fake statue of a Rhino for a picture. She screamed and clung to Casey like no other. So so funny! After the zoo we all trekked back to Idaho and spent some more time with the family. Cody gave an excellent talk on Sunday. (Kendal even went to nursery on her own {HALLELUJAH})

Such a good weekend, i wanted to share a lot of pictures so i put them in a slide show, enjoy!

Darrington Reunion

This past weekend we were able to go up to Idaho and spend some time with Casey's extended Darrington family at a reunion. The reunion was held at the (Raft River) water slide. It has quickly become the traditional place to hold the reunion, and we can't complain it's loads of fun and we get to sneak over to my in-laws every night to sleep instead of camping with a toddler.
We went up Friday and enjoyed some dinner and a good chat with the family. Saturday we we had fun with the family going down the water slide, and doing an Amazing Race scavenger hunt (with GPS), bonfire, good food, games, etc. Mom and Dad Darrington even went down the water slide a few times. Kendal didn't love the water slide at first, but after a few rides she kept asking for more, more, more. (She had it easy though; we would carry her up the tall hill, and slide with her down. She just got to enjoy herself). Everyone had fun getting updated on every ones lives, and reminiscing about past Darrington fun.
It was a very good weekend! We loved seeing family, and look forward to next years fun!
Can't forget the pics.
Trampoline fun with Grandpa and David ("bouncy bouncy" as Kendal would say)


Water slide fun ("More side, more side" - Kendal would say)



Darrington cousins (There were around 98 people there, not all of his cousins were able to make it, but a fair amount came with their families)


Kendal loves baby Bryker



More fun to come in the next few weeks. Job for Casey (cross your fingers), Cody's coming home, we move, Webb reunion,
(I'm thinking i'll have to do a post at the end of the month with a major upload of our summer fun)

Homemade fun

Kendal is finally getting to the age where i can introduce more art projects. She loves to get her crayons out to color; however she usually just picks at or eats the crayons in the end. I introduced play doh recently and Kendal loves it. She pushes it around with her fingers and constantly says "scish" (squish).
I know play doh is pretty inexpensive, but i like to go the homemade route anyway. I've messed around with many recipe's over the years and found one i love. It doesn't dry out, get moldy, or leave much residue on your hands.
I thought I'd share this awesome recipe.

Play doh
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tsp cream of tar tar (this is what makes it so it doesn't mold)
- 1/4 cup salt (i use a little less so my hands aren't salt coated after play)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp. oil (i just use veggie oil)
- food coloring

Mix all of the ingredients, add the food coloring last. Stir over medium heat until smooth. (It will start forming clumps in the pan, just keep stirring) Remove from pan and knead until it is blended and smooth. (i like to knead it around in a bit of extra flour) Store in a bag or container when cool (DON'T FORGET TO PLAY PLAY PLAY!)

Music

Music always has a way of bringing peace, and happiness to anything happening in my life. I tend to turn to Hymns a lot for words of comfort. So i thought I'd share a hymn that has been on my mind recently.

I will not doubt, I will not fear;
God’s love and strength are always near.
His promised gift helps me to find
An inner strength and peace of mind.
I give the Father willingly
My trust, my prayers, humility.
His Spirit guides; his love assures
That fear departs when faith endures.

-Hymn 128



O i cannot forget another source of happiness in my life.
Casey & Kendal!

BFF's

We got to spend some time this weekend with some wonderful friends. Aria, Rhett, and Jenae were able to make a visit this summer from Washington, and we were able to steal away some time from their busy vacation. Casey and Rhett have been lifelong friends, Aria and i came together though our husbands, and then we were able to have two wonderful little girls close together. We REALLY REALLY miss having them around. They have been and will always be such wonderful people and our BFF's forever!

Picture overload, but hey we don't get to see them often

- Kendal and Jenae (Our blond, blue eyed beauties)


- Kendal warmed up to Jenae and Aria quickly

- HUGS


- Daddy's and their Daughter's

- Chillin before dinner

- The boy's

- Just playing around


- BFF's

How sweet it is!

Today has been a wonderful anniversary. Casey and i got to spend some quality time together and enjoy our anniversary. For part of our day we went to see the latest Harry Potter (Yes it was Awesome!).
I surprised Casey with a memento from our wedding day.

Why would i get a duplicate of our wedding cake?
Well on our wedding day Casey and i had a grand dutch oven luncheon after we were married. We had a personal cake (similar to the one above) and some cupcakes. Casey and i were so full from all of the wonderful lunch that we opted not to eat any cake at the lunch. We went away to our honeymoon shortly after; not having eaten any cake. Casey and i returned three days later with anticipation of cake on our minds. We arrived at my parents only to find out that the cake had been polished off while we were away on our honeymoon. So to fill the void of our lost cake i thought i would get one for today. Delicious and a good surprise.


- I couldn't forget to get a picture either!

Here's to five wonderful years; i can't help but think about my marriage and say how sweet it is!