We are so excited to get a chance to go to Cleveland for Ali's baptism! The kids have all had a chance to go visit once before, but, this will be my first time. We have had a great time. We have eaten way too much . Brandon seems to always be cooking up some huge meal. Our first night there we went to the famous Mitchell's ice cream! Yep, it was as amazing as we have heard! We all felt a little sick but boy was it worth it! Ali got baptized on Saturday. It was a great day! She looked very pretty in her white dress! She was very excited and we were so happy to be there. We have stayed around the house and played and played! The kids love catching "fire bugs" at night and watching the bunnies that roam freely. There are even deer that live in the backyard. The kids are amazed by this. All we have at home are cats and dogs roaming the streets. I think we have ripped off! Sunday we went to church and then to Cracker Barrel, (did I mention its a little hick -ville here?) where Haley an Brandon live it is beautiful with big homes and huge yards, but on the outskirts of town....let's just say overalls and a few less than a full mouth of teeth are the norm! (I'm kidding!) Kenz met a girl named Taylor and they made cookies today and went to see Mama Mia. She seems to make friends wherever she goes. She's not my shy Kenz anymore! We will attempt to go home tomorrow, the kids aren't very happy about that but, we have lessons and chores to get home to. We are off to Spring Haven this weekend so we need to catch up before we leave again. Congratulations Ali!! We are so proud of you and so happy that you turned 8 so we could come and visit!! Oh , by the way, while we have been here Caroline lost her very first tooth!! She was a little scared at first, but now she love sticking straws through it and talking funny. The tooth fairy brought her $5.00 we told her that she usually only brings that much on the first tooth, hopefully a dollar or two for the ones to follow!

Ali's baptism and our trip to Cleveand

Stranded in Hawaii!!

We decided to take the family to Hawaii for Spring Break this year. It was suppose to be fairly low key and simple. Boy, were we wrong. Mark and the kids were all going to leave on Wednesday morning, because that was the day the flights looked the best for standby travel. Kenzie invited a friend, Ashley Anderson, to come with us and use a buddy pass. Wednesday everyone but Kenz and Ashley got on. This was our first experience traveling with buddy passes, we never would have thought it would be so difficult! Wednesday the girls missed two flights, no big deal we'll just come back tomorrow. Thursday once again, they missed the direct flight and then probably three or four flights to LA. No big deal, we'll try again tomorrow when Holli could fly with them. After missing the direct flight Friday we decided that Holli and Kenz should go on their own and have Ashley stay home to keep trying to get on the direct flight. After missing four more flights to LA we made it on thanks to a kind pilot who gave up his seat for us. Yahoo!! We were on. Our flight landed in LA and the connecting flight had already boarded and had cleared the standby list. Kenz and I were on and in first class but, we were still sitting on the incoming flight. Mark was in Hawaii watching everything from his computer and called to tell us we had to sprint not jog to the gate or we would be stuck in LA for the night. Holli left Kenz on the flight from SLC to get the carry ons and ran to the gate. When I got there they told me that they had given our seats away because we were no where to be found. For some reason, the people that had been given our seats were still there and were so generous and gave them back. We had bearly made it!! We were so lucky, but we were on our way! Ashley kept trying to get on the direct flight each day to no avail. Finally, Tuesday she and our cousin Hunter made it on!! We were so excited, we didn't think they would ever make it. Our other cousin Marcus, ended up coming over as well. He made it on Wednesday. His mom, Mark's sister Kristy, also works for Delta so he has flight benefits too. We had such a fun time! We snorkeled, swam, surfed, ate, shopped, played in the sand, hooked up with our friends the Koelikers, and just had a great time. Then came time for us to try to get home. Flights looked good on Thursday night so we packed everyone up and headed for the airport. Nobody got on either one of the flights that night, no big deal, we'll just try again Friday or Saturday. We really hadn't planned on coming home for a few days anyway. Friday, we decided to try again, nope, no one got on. Saturday we tried again, nope, didn't get on. Sunday, tried again, no one got on again. We couldn't figure out what was happening. Finally, it made sense. Aloha Air had stopped flying that Thursday, so there were hundreds of stranded passengers who were being protected on Delta. Thus, taking OUR seats. We tried again Monday, and Tuesday and didn't make it. Finally flights looked wonderful for Wednesday. We would finally make it home. We went to the beach Wednesday morning and played on last time in the ocean. The waves were exceptionally big that day and it was a little breezier than normal. We even had the thrill of watching whales jump right out of the water. It was amazing to see! We didn't think much of it, just another day in Hawaii. WRONG! We went home and started packing for the seventh time when there was a knock at our door. It was the cleaning lady for the condo. She informed us that there was a hurricane coming and we needed to prepare. All I could do was laugh. A hurricane? You have got to be kidding!! She told us not to worry because the last time this happened the airport was ONLY closed for four days. NO, no, no, I was freaking out! This could not be happening. We had to get home! We finished packing and I told Mark that we were just going to go to the airport and check it out. We did and things actually looked okay for us to still leave that evening. We hung out in the city for the next few hours and went back to the airport. The hurricane didn't seem to be a problem and at about 10:00pm we were on the plane to LA. Not 30 minutes into the flight, you hear the pilot come on the intercom and ask for any medical people to come to the front cabin. I was dying. Half the family was in first class and I was sure that someone had gotten hurt or worse. Mark came and found me in the back and said that a man had collapsed right at his feet and they were working on him. At this point all my unsympathetic mind could say was," they had better not turn this plane around and take us back to Maui." I know, how rude, I was just so done. I was desperate to get home. Luckily the man was okay, and they didn't need to take him back. We made it to LA, where everyone but Hunter and I made the flight to SLC. We stuck around and made the next flight, a few hours later. Now we have been home for three weeks and I could use another two weeks stranded in Hawaii. Our trip ended up being 15 days instead of the original nine. Talk about a crazy and eventful Spring Break! We won't be going to Hawaii next year for Spring Break. That is for sure!!

Junior Prom for Kenzie

Last weekend was our first experience at the McDonald household, with Junior Prom. Kenzie went with a very cute boy named Zach Gardner. We have known the Gardner family for years. Mark even grew up with Zach's mom Shelly. We were very excited that he had asked Kenz to go with him. For a girl, other than being asked, the most important part of Prom, is what she will wear. Kenz and I looked and looked and didn't find much that we loved. One day last week, I got off work early and decided to take Kenz to LA in search of the perfect dress. (Gotta love those flight benefits!) We had a whopping four hours to find the dress. We flew into Burbank and headed right for Beverly Hills. All Kenz could say was "why don't we live here?" Let's just say she was in heaven. We looked in some ridiculous stores like Chanel, Juicy, Tiffany's, Ferragamo, Fendi and Donald J PLiner. I must say I was a little more concerned with finding Sprinkles, the cupcake store, in the beginning. Once I had conquered that I could focus on the main task. We ended up at Saks Fifth Avenue, and were determined to find something. After searching and only purchasing perfume, I found it. There was one lone dress on the rack. It was Kenzies size and the color she wanted. I grabbed and took it to her in the dressing room. She put it on and fell in love with it. We had done it, we found her "perfect dress!" She looked very pretty and had a great evening with Zach. A group of the girls came over and got ready together. They all met for a brief minute at Sam's house to take photos together, then dispersed to their own homes to be picked up. It was a great evening for Kenz. Thanks Zach for a great night!!

Still friends after all these years!

Almost eighteen years after being out of high school, and we are still close as ever. We aren't able to get together as often as we would like to but we still manage to keep in touch. It takes a new baby, a wedding, a birthday or in this case, a Christmas Dinner. We still try to see each other as much as possible. Between the eight of us pictured, we will have a total of 30 children after Nicole and Angela have their babies in March. Wow, I can't believe it. Weren't we just in high school last year? We can't possibly be that old. We were missing a few friends that evening but they were there in spirit! Old friends are always the best friends! I love you guys, what would I ever do without you all?
Julie Haight, Debra Knowlton, Holli McDonald, Sarah Howe, Nicole Grada, Angela Kotter, Angela Fletcher, Natalie Gleave

Team McDonald

We have two amazing basketball players in the McDonald home. Kinnley and Kennedy have been playing on a couple of great teams this past season. They both have managed to get quite a few baskets and have had a great time playing and getting better with each game. We are proud of you both!!

Valentine's what? A date?

We did it...we broke down and let Kenz go to the Valentine's dance at school. We have told her that she could go to Junior Prom if she gets asked. She doesn't turn 16 until the end of June but we thought we would cut her some slack and let her go in May. Steven had to go and ruin that for us. He asked her to go to the dance with him a few weeks ago. We decided after having a discussion with him, that we would let her go. WOW, I can't believe that she is getting that close to dating! How scary! They went with a big group of good friend and they had a great time. They went to dinner, the dance, sleigh riding and to a friends cabin to watch movies. She rolled through the door five minuted before her curfew, and slept way into the next afternoon. Steven is a cute boy and we all really like him! He made a great "first" date for Kenz.