Landen just looking too cute, not to take a picture of!

Mommy and Landen hanging out on the grass.

Brynn with her daddy!

Memorial Day Tradition

Every Memorial Weekend we go with the Tyler's family and visit all the graves of family members and decorate them with flowers. I love this tradition! The kids enjoy it alot. It is funny, because we go to about four different cemetery and at each cemetery they remember something fun there is to do there. For instance, at the Burley Cememtery there is a cement platform, that looks like a mini theater that they like to play on and in the Rupert Cemetery there are big trees, where they can play in their "hide-outs." The kids also get to see and talk about those relatives that they didn't get to meet in this life. It is nice to think about and remember those who have passed on before us. That is what Memorial Day is all about!

Congrats Jordan, Chelsea, and Ben!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my 25th birthday. It was a hard birthday for me. I always remember when I was younger thinking that twenty five was soooo old. And now here I am. I don't know whether it is my age or the fact that I have three kids now, that makes me feel old. Anyways, it was great day! (Other than the fact that I had to go to the dentist for a check-up and I have two cavities and have to get my wisdom teeth pulled.) Tyler worked extra hard to make my day special. He brought us home dinner (Little Cezar's Pizza) and arranged for baby-sitters (Mark and Savanna, THANKS) to come and watch our kids while we went to a movie. It was very sweet! Thanks for everyone's phone calls and gifts! It helped ease the pain of turning the big 2-5!

Growing A Garden

We finally planted our garden for this year on Monday. It was a lot of fun seeing the kids getting excited. Especially Peyton. He has a love for planting and harvesting gardens. Thanks to Charles, who always has Peyton help harvest their garden when we are in Florida. We planted corn, potatoes, watermelon, and pumpkin. We had to keep it small because we are going to be gone alot of the summer. It was Peyton's idea to plant the watermelon, so we will see how it goes. Peyton reminds us every day to water the garden and he goes out there to see if we have any plants starting up. He will be so excited when our little garden begins to grow.

Summer Days...

I just love summer. The kids get to play outside in the sunshine and enjoy the great outdoors. This last Monday, the weather was warm (sort of) and I knew that it was going to be short-lived, so we had some friends over to swim and play in the water. It was great fun and what was even better was that it wore my kids out. I had all three of them napping which has NEVER happened before. I wish summer would come and stay!

I am a sucker for big bows. And I of all people have a girl with NO HAIR! I went on a bow making frenzy and made every type of bow in every color, and I noticed that because I was putting them in, it seems that she is losing hair. I don't know if the barrettes pull her hair out or if I am just imagining it. So I have returned to headbands. I made this flower bow and thought it was so cute I had to take a picture. Maybe one day she will finally have hair...

Who's Who?

I found these pictures of my kids and thought it was funny how much they look alike. These are pictures of all three of them at the same age! They may look alot alike, but it is funny how different their personalities are!

Girly Girl!

This is what I found Brynn doing at the dinner table instead of eating her Lasagna. Mammaw gave her this make-up when she came out last and Brynn found it in one of her purses after church. She is definitely my "girly girl" and I love every minute of it!

My Mom and Me

This is mom pregnant with me!

My mom and I hanging out!

Walking in her shoes!

I just wanted to wish my Mom a Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for all you do!

Happy Mother's Day!

We took these pictures before church and I just think my kids are the CUTEST! I just love how Landen's tongue is always sticking out? And Peyton looks real jolly and happy. I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Tyler and the kids gave me some roses and a sweet card. And Tyler cooked breakfast for me this morning. Yesterday Tyler kept the kids for the whole day while I went and enjoyed a day off! I just love being a mom, even though it has been the most demanding, toughest, and rewarding thing I do. I have enjoyed it and wouldn't want my life to be any different.

Landen's first mess

This is what I found Landen doing when I left him for a second, to help Brynn. He had pulled down my trash and was playing with all the paper. He was giggling and have a good ole' time! I know this is probably just the tip of the iceburg. I feel that I am going to have a busy body on my hands. Even though he can't crawl, he rolls around to where ever he wants to go. Boys will be Boys!

Treasures

Peyton went on a field trip to Walmart yesterday with his preschool class. And these are just some of the "treasures" that he came home with. It took two of us to take all of his stuff to the car! In addition to these things, he got a bag full of goodies. And he is very proud of his new goldfish, Goldie. Every morning he is ready to feed him and he and Brynn are constantly trying to "pet" him. I have to remind them that he isn't a dog and doesn't want to be touched. I am hoping now that he had a good experience at Walmart, he will be more willing to want to go when we go run errands. (Just a side note: Goldie passed away shortly after writing this post, so it has been a hard day today.)

D-day Has Arrived!

The day I have been dreading is finally here! Yesterday I officially started potty training Brynn. I was going to wait until I was in Florida to start potty training her, but since we are going on our Scotland trip I decided to do it now. She has done pretty well so far, she will not tell me when she has to go though. I just have to take her every 10-15 minutes. But she is getting it, today she felt really bad when she went in her princess panties, and yesterday she didn't care. So there is progress! I just had to take pictures of her in her panties, she is very proud of them. And I am very proud of my pot-bellied little girl! She probably won't appreciate this too much later, but oh well! Parents are suppose to embarrass their kids, right? She is eating a sucker because she just went in the potty and that is her reward. (Leslie these pics are for you!) If anyone has any tips of trade, please pass them on!

My Little Brother

This article was printed in the Tallahassee Democrat and the LDS church news and I felt that I had to post it. It may be a big sister thing but, I am so proud of Jordan and all of my brothers for deciding to serve missions. I know that it can be hard sometimes to make that decision and I am so glad that they do not hesitate to go serve the Lord. All of my brothers have been very athletic and probably could have played college ball, but they know what is most important. And although I am disappointed that I wasn't mentioned in that article, I am proud of Jordan :) Those of you not from Florida probably have no idea how big of a missionary tool this will be. Way to go Jordan!

Jordan Gentry

April 29, 2008

Liberty's Gentry is a baseball player on a mission

By David Saez
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Knowing he'll probably never play organized baseball after this high school season is a bit of a downer for Jordan Gentry.

But it's something that comes with deciding to undertake a religious mission.

"That's something hard for a young man to do," said Tranum McLemore, Gentry's baseball coach at Liberty County High. "But that's first for him."

Gentry said he has known he would become a Mormon missionary since about the time he was 8 or 9 years old. Now a senior center-fielder, Gentry may be 21 outs away from playing his final baseball game and months from departingfor the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints.

Over the years he's been saving money, attending church, and studying for a two-year mission that will send him somewhere in the country or overseas; he doesn't yet know where he will go. Once he turns 19 in November, he will be eligible to become a missionary for the Mormon church.

It's not something new for Gentry's family. Gentry has one brother who was a missionary in Mexico City and another brother who is currently in Rio de Janeiro.

"I think it will be a good experience," Gentry said. "My brothers have said they are the best two years of their lives and the hardest.

"I'm looking forward to having a new experience and getting on my own."

Today, Gentry and the Bulldogs (20-8 overall record) travel to North Florida Christian (20-7) for a Region 1-2A quarterfinal game.

This season Gentry has had the kind of numbers that might lead an athlete to pursue the chance to play in college. His batting average is .454 and he has 28 RBIs and 15 stolen bases — yet the possibility of college ball is not an option.

"Knowing I won't play baseball again makes me appreciate it a lot more," Gentry said. "It's hard knowing I won't play in college, but I've been planning this my whole life. If it was something that had just come up, I think it would be really hard, but it's not.

The comments

1. Jordan may play ball again after a mission -- the added maturity can compensate somewhat for taking a couple of years away from the game. Looking back, my life was sure different because I choose a mission -- but I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
   I was in my sophomore year of college before I even began a serious investigation of Mormonism, so I was older than most missionaries. Still, I was allowed to serve.
   In the two years of college before my mission, I drifted through four majors. After my mission, I knew exactly where I was going, and that maturity and focus led to scholarships and a doctorate from Duke University.
   You go, Jordan. You'll be blessed for your service.
   
   
2. I think it's remarkable when anyone shows dedication and faith in living their religion... whatever religion that may be. Way to go!
   4/30/2008 6:05:50 PM

3. Jordan: Talk to coach law at BYU
   4/30/2008 4:29:47 PM

HERE ARE SOME COMMENTS MADE ON THE TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT WEBSITE AND THOUGHT THEY WERE GREAT!