Congratulations Region Champs!!!

At last.

I can not believe it has been over two weeks since I have blogged. My mom called me today and mentioned that I need to think about updating my blog. I have thought about it numerous times but life has pretty much revolved around volleyball and you can only blog so much about that. However, I will mention the girls are doing awesome and we are #1 in the region and are two weeks away from the State finals. It's been a really great season. It's a real family affair. I keep the books, Kenny is a line judge, Meg helps in the concession stand and Chandler run's around playing with balls that often end up rolling onto the court...during a game! Club ball tryouts start in three weeks!
On a different note, we have gotten Hayli's pictures back from her photo shoot. Hayli is very critical of herself but I think they are great. Jena did a wonderful job! She is very talented! She is also very fun on the actual shoot. It is suppose to be an hour on location and an hour in-studio but she spent way over that! You can tell she loves what she does!

Finally, a new post.

I have been needing to update my blog but have had zero time to do so. We have been so busy lately.
As I was looking through all of my pics (over 1500) on my computer, I came across some really cute ones. It's amazing how time flies and my kids have grown so much. It's bitter sweet.
A little hoochie but her aunt made her costume for her. She was Jasmine, of course.
Chandler with a very severe case of chicken pox two weeks after having had the ChicPox vaccine.
This sums up Kayla's personality.
Meg at Thanksgiving.
Meg and her cute little smile.
My girls on the day I had Meg.
Chandler lovin him some cake.
Hayli and the first love of her life.
Halloween. The bee and the cheerleader.
Somethings never change.

For the Medley's.

Today was Stake Conference. Jody and Kelly are here for the week and got to see Elder Medley. When the mish Prez. was talking to Kenny this weekend he was telling him (Kenny) all kinds of awesome things about Elder Medley and what a wonderful missionary he is. A missionary couple that helps with transfers and I were talking at conference and I was telling them that we lost Elder Michaelis to another ward and she said "Yeah but you got Elder Medley and he is a sweetheart"... she went on to say that he is always helping out and that you could tell "his momma raised him right".... I printed out the comments you guys left about his pic and gave it to him. I had a thought before giving it to him that it might make him homesick but he assured me that it was not the case and he absolutely LOVED reading the comments.

Lady Mustangs Varsity Team

Hayli is front row, last one on the right and Kayla is back row, second to the last on right. Thursday night was a special night. It was Senior Nite and yes, us parents were already shedding tears...I will post some more pics later. As for the game, they one one, lost one. The lost was tough but both of the girls played GREAT!!

Guess Who?

Guess who just showed up at my house? Elder Medley. Not everyone will know who this is but for those who do, know how excited I was. Get this for a coinkie-dinkie...I knew he was in our stake because I had caught wind that he was transfered in 6 weeks ago. I had 5 of our missionaries over Monday night for FHE and they were talking about the upcoming "phone call" for transfers that night. Tuesday morning one of our missionaries called and said that he and one other was getting transfered. Elder Medley is officially serving in our ward, as of yesterday. Crazy. He came by to see who exactly the crazy woman from Griffin Ward asking his where abouts all the time was.
Sad thing is I kinda look the part tonight...need a shower, no make-up, probably a little smelly.. just how you want to look when someone comes by to meet the Bishop's wife. Geez.

P.S. I blogged earlier today..see below.

Edward.

Who could be Edward? I don't know but now that there has been progress in making of the movie (according to Stephanie Meyer's website) and although she says she has little or no say in who plays who, I was shocked to see one of her picks to play Edward. No. This can not be. This is not Edward. What is she thinking? Originally, she liked Henry Cavill as Edward but she now says he is too old (24 years) to be Edward. I have yet to find an actor that I can say YES, that is Edward...why do I care? I am not going to loose sleep over it BUT if Edward in the movie does not measure up to the Edward in my mind, it will be just wrong.

America's Next Top "Spokes" Model

Okay, so maybe she doesn't represent America and maybe she isn't necessarily the "top" but she is the next spokes model for Jena Golden Photography. Ironically, she got a call the very same day about being a spokes model for another photographer. She can only represent one, obviously, and she has signed a contract stating that. Hayli chose Jena (pronounced Gina) because WOW, she does fabulous work!! She is this little, bubbly lady, probably in her late 20's early 30's, and you can tell she LOVES being a photographer. We went to her studio last night and it is fabulous. Hayli will get a thick book of all her pictures (approx. 30-60+) both indoors and "on location" shots, personalized cards that have her pictures on them, a online gallery of her pics to send people to see, and a T-shirt. I am WAY excited. Hayli's "job" as a spokes model means she has to be walking advertising for Jena. (The idea is to expand her senior-client base). Hayli will get a $50 credit or cash for every person that books a session with Jena. The credit would be for more prints. Being at her studio made me think I would LOVE to be a photographer. How fun would it be to do what she does? She has two little boys and she is very conscientious about having time for her family..love that. Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HAYLI!! Today is her birthday and I can't believe my baby is going to be in college next year! Where does the time go!
P.S. I have to mention this thing that happened on Sunday...about a minute before sacrament started, every ones in their seats, prelude music is playing, one of the Bishopric members comes and kneels beside Hayli and I think he is asking her if she will give a talk. Like as in now. She says "Sure, on what?" Whatever you want, is what he replies. She is the first speaker and gives about a 7-8 minute, wonderful talk on missionary work. Could I be anymore amazed?
P.S.S. Obviously, looking at my pics on this blog,it is safe to say I will not be entering into the world of photography.

Vball.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My girls had a big tourney this weekend and won all ten games straight! WHOOHOO! I took a ton of great pics with my brother-in-law's awesome camera but when I uploaded for a slide show, it cut the photo's off in places and made them look blurry. Oh well.

Top Ten Reasons Why Life is Good...

10. Today there was an actual breeze that didn't feel like a hairdryer blowing hot air in your face.
9. Stephanie Meyer is for sure publishing book #4.
8. I only live 45 minutes from the Cheesecake Factory.
7. My Griffin Girls are awesome.
6. I got to go to the Temple twice this week.
5. I am a seminary teacher...love it.
4. My parents are my dearest friends.
3. Families are forever.
2. My kids rock!
1. I am married to my bestest friend who I am totally in love with, forever.

Awww..I love it.

I am on page 207 and I love, love, love the new book. I am trying to take my time with it (although my girls are chomping at the bit) because I know that it will be a good while before she is done with book number four. I don't know what is going to happen in this book but I still love me some Edward.

School, school go away, come again a month or so from now.

Sadly, school has come. Summer, although it is 100 degrees outside, is gone. I remember when summer seemed like it lasted forever. That was when I was young and a year seemed like a decade. All of my kiddies have gone back to school except Meg. She starts next week. Her private school schedule is different form theirs and she only goes to school Monday-Thursday. That will be fun.
This is the last of Hayli's high school years. This time next year she will be packing up and moving off to college. We won't think about that right now.
Kayla has officially become a high schooler! She will hopefully adjust well and most importantly right now, find someone to sit with at lunch...
Chandler is a big fourth grader! He loves school and the girls love him!

Now for the big news. My girls are big volleyball players. It's what they do for sport and it's what they do for fun. Hayli is one of 7 Seniors on the Varsity team this year. There are 5 Juniors, one which is an alternate. There is one big, bad Freshman named KAYLA who made Varsity!!! Kayla is the Varsity setter! It's a pretty big deal and we are proud! My girls will get to play together again!!! I am thrilled. Hayli is super thrilled because she thinks hands-down Kayla is an awesome setter and she loves the way she sets (Hayli plays Outside and Middle).
I love to watch them play. Can't wait until next week!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

July

July has been a busy month. Meg had her 12th birthday and is now in YW's. That is so crazy. I only have one child in primary. Meg had a swim party and had about 9 of her friends over. That night we went out for Mexican with her aunt Eileen. I left the next morning bright and early for California. I got to see my new little niece Rylee and my sweet nephews, Ammon and Cohen. They are all so adorable! I could hug and squeeze them all day! Holding Rylee did make me a little baby hungry. It was fun to see Jody and Kelly and their new home. I am so proud of them both. They are awesome individuals and great parents. Their children are very lucky to have them as parents. It makes me so happy to see what an incredible man Jody has become. I know the gospel had a lot to do with who he is today. Speaking of the gospel, we had a combined RS/Priesthood meeting today and it was so amazing!!!! We have EIGHT missionaries serving in our ward right now and they all stood together in front of the chapel and shared a message about Christ, the Atonement, and The First Vision. It was SO powerful. When they got to the part about what Joseph Smith saw in the Sacred Grove they had one of the missionaries say it in Bulgarian (two of the missionaries are serving here while they wait on their visa's..Bulgaria is where they were called) Then one of our members (a sister in her 20's who is the Primary president) said the same thing in Dutch which is the language she spoke on her mission. Two more members did the same, one brother and one sister. The brother said it in his mission language which was French. The other was a sister who served in Argentina and said it in Spanish. I cried along with these individuals as they were filled with emotion sharing the story of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appearing to Joseph Smith. Even though it was in a language I didn't understand, I clearly understood the Spirit. It was so wonderful. The message for our lesson was that we have such an amazing gift and we need to share it with others. It was so inspiring and uplifting.

We had about 150 people at our house last night for a Luau. It was so much fun! I will post some pics of it later. Here are some pics of my California trip.

I can not believe July has already begun. Time flies when your having fun.
The girls are back from EFY and they had a blast!!! It was a very spiritual experience for them both.They really enjoyed being with other teens who have similar standards.



We are all in reading mode right now. Hayli and I have finished both Stephanie Meyer books and are anxiously awaiting the third, as I blogged about before. Kayla just started reading Twilight yesterday and is in love with the book. She will probably finish it today. We went to the book store today and I now have numerous choices of books to read. I have just recently started reading two books, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Historian. The Historian I picked up one day at Sam's Club because it was a big, thick, hardbound book and was only $4.00. I had seen it in one day surfing the blogs on Heidi's site (a friend of a family member's family, if that makes sense) The Historian is VERY interesting but I don't know if I will be able to read it through....it's kinda scary. But I find myself drawn to it to see what's going to happen. So we will see. I also just bought the first two books in the series The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This may be hard to believe but I have neither read the books nor seen the movie. I have heard much good about them, so they are now on my to read list. My girls are having to read the good ole summer reading and Hayli has Their Eyes Were Watching God. Kayla has to read Jack London's Call of the Wild. Our days are pretty rough with swimming, lounging by the pool, and reading. It's a tough job but someones got to do it.
I had the awesome opportunity to go on splits with our new sister missionaries. It was so fabulous. I am really excited to be able to do that on a regular basis. Hayli has been so happy to finally have the opportunity to go out with them. She really wants to serve a mission so it will be a great experience for her. What a blessing!

I LOVE summer!

Summer is hot but I love it! No set schedule, sleeping pass 5:45 am if I choose,(which I always do) and lot's of pool parties. However, summer is not a good blog time for me. I just can't seem to do it, or at least do it often.
We are headed to my favorite place this week, Big Canoe! I can't wait. When I enter the gates there I feel like I am home, truly.
Okay, here is another random thing..In the summer, I love to read. Well, actually, I love to read anytime but I get more opportunities to read in the summer. I am little late in the game here but I just read the book Twilight. I know many people have already read this book but I honestly thought it would not be a book I would like. It is different but I could NOT put it down! I read the whole book in less than a day (I was sick and in bed) Kenny and I's anniversary was Friday so that night we went out. We stopped by Barnes and Noble and picked up the book. Kenny said that I needed to go ahead and get the next one, New Moon, but I didn't do it! So today, I drove 30 miles back to the book store and bought the book and pre-ordered the third in the series, Eclipse. I am not saying it is the best book I have ever read but it was the best book I have read in a while. I love, love ,love books. I remember when I was a young girl, I loved going to the library. I loved the smell and feel of books...is that weird? I would check out the maximum aloud every time.I used to pretend to be a librarian. Ya know, back when they had to stamp your card in the book. Loved it! I feel sad for those that don't like to read. A good book is like....I don't know how to explain it but those of you who do enjoying reading know how great it is when you have that book that is so good, you don't want to do anything but read it. Then it's kind of sad when it over, unless it's got a sequel, which I love. As you can see, my main problem with reading is I don't get the other things done that I need to. I neglect my daily duties if I read in the day and if I read at night, I don't want to go to sleep. It's a dilemma, for sure. Good thing it's summer.

P.S. On Stephanie Meyer's website she has a story written that is basically Twilight but is written in Edward's view instead. Very interesting.

What a week...

Monday we kicked off the week with our Memorial Day party here at our house. It was so much fun. We had a game of softball and kickball first, and then we swam and played volleyball for the rest of the day. I think the kids were totally worn out by the end of the day. I know I was.
This is also the last week of school. That means awards and parties and all that crazy stuff the shove into the last week. I am glad today it is finally over.

Last night, I had a Lingerie Shower at my house for a good friend of mine who is going to the temple today at 1:00 pm to be sealed to her sweetie. There were about 20 people here and it was crazy!!! We had the best time! The Bride-to-be happens to be 65 years old. She is notorious for always giving lingerie at bridal showers so we decided to return the favor. She got some really awesome stuff and boy, did we have some laughs! She is VERY excited and can't wait to use all of her new gifts! I couldn't be happier for her. She is a wonderful person who has been alone for a very long time. Her soon-to-be husband is also a very dear friend of ours and he is a great man...and about five years younger! They are adorable together. I am can't wait to see them sealed. Later tonight, they are having a huge shindig/reception/BBQ/dance. It is going to be some ordeal. Love is wonderful and I am glad she has finally found it.

Happy Retirement!

I am not sure if you say Happy Retirement or what but I know my Mom is thrilled to be retiring and I am happy for her. She has worked in the school system as long as I can remember and volunteered in many areas. I am sure she will continue to volunteer often. Her retirement party was yesterday at her school and it was really well done. They recognized three other individuals who were retiring, as well. I know she will definitely be missed by her co-workers but especially the kids. I will certainly enjoy having my friend available to do things with! I took some pictures but sadly, I never got one of my mom. I think that is pretty pathetic. I also didn't get any pictures of my aunt and uncle or my sis and her hubby Scott....geez.
Next week is the last week of school! YEEHAW!!!
Memorial Day we are having our annual ballgame and swim party here at our house. We will play softball with family and friends and then swim and relax for the rest of the day. Well, we usual have a couple of mean games of volleyball throughout the day but basically, it's just a chill day. I love summertime!!!!!
Above:My bro Jeff and his wife Lori Jean
Below: My Grandmom, who's birthday was on Wednesday, Kayla, and my Dad.

Above: Grandmom, Hayli, and Dad.
Below: My gorgeous kiddies!

Karson, Kierstyn, and Taylor.