Showing some of my True colors!

Do not adjust your computer screen. This IS my new hair color. And YES, This is exactly what I wanted! The pictures don't really show how red it really is. I will post some pictures tomrrow that ere taken outside. The kids take on it... They love it!!!! Pauls take on it? Well, let's just say I don't want to talk about it! o.k., so he hates it! Since when do we care what our husbands think about our hair anyway ;)! LOL! I actually have had a ton of compliments, who cares if they are from people that you would see hanging around downtown, with mohawks. All kidding aside, I really wanted something different. I decided to dye the underneath section of hair brownish black, and then do auburn, and then fire engine red on top! It kind of reminds me of strawberry shortcake! Haven't you ever had a time in your life that you wanted to switch things up a bit? I can only imagine what my Primary kids are going to say on Sunday! I hope I won't be having a lot of converstaions with their parents!
Other news, I entered a really big contest called: making memories idol. There were over a 1000 people that entered and only 50 were picked. I was not one of the 50. I was pretty sad, but the odds were not that great to begin with. There are so many talented people out in the world. There will be so many other contest that I will be able to enter. I stayed true to my style and I was happy with what I entered. It was fun to see my family be so encouraging and supportive of me. They are truly my biggest fans. I love that! Here are some pictures of my NEW DO! You will have to leave me a comment and tell me what you think. BE Honest, my feelings will not be hurt! Have a good day. We have the Blue and Gold banquet to go to tonight. The boys have all passed off a bunch of merit badges in scouts. Hugs to everyone!

Back From Our Caribbean Cruise!

We had such a wonderful time on our cruise! It was so fun to see all of my siblings, and my Parents. We are already planning our next family vacation. Although we all loved cruising, we have all decided that we would have enjoyed more time in Mexico. I think we will probably go to Cancun next time. The water in Cozumel was so beautiful. All of us went snorkeling. We saw all of these tropical fish, squid, jelly fish, etc... I am so hooked on snorkeling now. I want to get certified in scuba diving! I cannot wait to go back to the Caribbean again! We had so much fun laughing, and eating WONDERFUL food!!! The last night that we were on the boat I had 3 giant Lobster tails! All of the meals on the ship were A+! Taylor loved it so much that he took pictures of his food every night at dinner. That is what he wanted to remember. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was to sit around and to be entertained all day by singers, dancers, magicians, watching all of the cousins interact! I loved seeing my nephews and nieces. I am so glad that I was brought up in a home that valued family so much. My Mom and Dad planned this entire trip for their anniversary because it was important to them for everyone to be together. I love that I talk to my Mom almost everyday, and that my Dad takes so much interest in everything Paul and I are doing. He cares so much about us! Paul really looks up to my Dad. It was so cool to see my brother Matthew, put his work aside and interact with us. He makes all of us laugh so hard. When you put both of my brothers at a table together, the two of them make us giggle like a bunch of little school children! My brother Matthew, works 80 plus hours a week so I enjoyed watching him make his sweet wife smile, him whispering in baby Peter's ear to put him to sleep, playing ping pong, telling jokes etc... When my Brother talks to you, he makes you feel like you are the best person ever. His wife Wendy is a super mom. I look up to her so much! My Brother Crismon, is such a good Father! It is amazing to see his little 2 year old son obey him. Crismon is so consistent with him and he is so attentive to his wife who is 7 months pregnant! My sister Lisa has so many good ideas I love watching her be a mother. I get so many good ideas about being a mother by just watching her. My son Alex, told me that he loved being around Lisa because he really felt like she cared about him! Again, I am so blessed that I was able to spend a week with my entire family. I loved going to NASA space center on the way home. We were able to take my brother's family because we had a 15 passenger van. I will not soon forget all of the kind words, the laughter, and the smiles on my parent's faces as they watched us all talk, laugh, and tell stories to eachother. I know that I will pass on the family values that my Parent's have instilled in me. I hope I can sress to my children, the importance of staying close to your family. The pictures are of the ocean! The picture of the four older kids was in Cozumel, in front of a big fountain. The weather was a perfect 75 degrees. I am about to turn up our heat becasue we are supposed to have a fearce ice storm tonight. I will try to think of the warm sun rays over all of us in Mexico as we freeze for the next 30 days here in Missouri.

Missing in Action!

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It has been really hard to keep this blog updated. I will try harder. I want share some pictures from the Holidays. On Christmas morning the children line up from youngest to oldest. Our tree this year was pretty funny because some of our lights were not working. The kids had a great Christmas. They were all happy with what they received. They were mostly excited about what they were able to give. We draw names in our family and then the kids exchange the gifts they have bought for each other on Christmas eve. We are looking forward to our cruise in five weeks. The ship leaves from Galveston, Texas. We are looking forward to seeing some of our family members along the way. Happy New Year to everyone. We are all so happy to have so many close friends and family.For some reason I am not able to upload in photo's so I will try later.

Fun Halloween pictures

These are just a few of the pictures from Halloween. I will post more later
Chandler was a Pirate. Adelaide was Cinderella

So proud!

Halloween is getting close!!

I made this girl skeleton with my girls the other day. We had a blast making it together. I am so excited for Halloween. I look forward to it. The kids get so excited. Adelaide is being Cinderella and Chandler is going to be a Pirate. The other kids may end up making something for their costumes. After they get out of Elementary school I stop buying costumes. It gets to expensive. I do help the kids make theirs. Tricia wants to dress up this year as a fairy. She is going to make her wings with hangers and tissue paper. All of her friends are getting together to do it. That reminds me, Tricia has gone on two dates with the same boy that attends our church! He is very cute,nice and polite. Paul and I approve:):)! I love Sunday evenings. I made waffles, home made strawberry, rasberry, blackberry jam, and real whipped cream. mmmmm. Have a great evening!

King of Singing!

Doesn't Taylor look great it his tuxedo? He felt like a million bucks. He was so cute last night at his concert. He wanted me to take a lot of pictures of him! This is very unusual behavior for Taylor. He does not like to be photographed. He really did feel like he was a handsome little devil. I have to agree. He stands about 6 Ft. 1 in. He has a great singing voice. We can always hear him in the choir. We are so proud of him. He is such a stud.

Bad Blogger!

I have really slowed down posting on my blog. I am so busy with the kids. Paul had his Birthday on the 11th. He had to work so we are going to celebrate on Monday. He wants a white cake without frosting from Costco. I am going to make Chicken Divan, his favorite. He wants a Turkey fryer. I think it is an interesting request for a Birthday present. My Folks are coming for Thanksgiving and he wants to make a fried turkey. I sure would love to know if anyone has ever had a fried turkey. I hope they are good. Costco sales a lot of them this time of year. I entered this card to the Scapbook trends magazine. Cross your fingers. This is a bad scan. I sent the magazine an actual picture. It looks much better in the photograph. Taylor has a Madrigal concert tomorrow. We had his pants cuffed tonight on his tuxedo. He looks so nice all dressed up in his tuxedo. I will post some pictures in a few days.

My Favorite Time Of Year!

The sound of the leaves crunching under my feet when I take a walk with the children.
The smell of My Mom's spiced cider cooking on the stove.
Getting up early on a Saturday morning to rake leaves with our family.
Going on long walks with Paul along the Missouri river in our matching sweat shirts.
Fresh cinnamon cloves.
The feeling of a cool breeze hitting my cheeks.
Taking long drives to find the trees with the most beautiful colored leaves!
Decorating the front porch for Halloween with the kids.
Getting the children dressed in their costumes for the annual parade at school.
Circling around the television, with pillows and blankets, to watch General Conference.
May you all enjoy the fall season this year!

Happy Labor Day

Hi! I hope everyone had a great day. It seems like now that the kids are getting older, they think the Holidays are days that are spent only with their friends. I am at the computer, Paul is in our room taking a well deserved nap, and all of the kids are out with their friends! We went to the church luncheon at a park this morning. They had a pie contest and out of 36 pies, mine won! I was so happy. My Mother is the best cook, she has taught me a lot about cooking. Growing up she always worked so hard on every meal. Her presentation was exceptional. She always put together things that looked so pretty. Everything was healthy, and she always followed the 5 food group suggestions! If we didn't like something she would put it on our plate and say," Just one for color." Then we thought it must be o.k. to eat because it was colorful... I guess. My brothers never ate their carrots, then one day my mom said that it would help them grow hair on their chest. Eating carrots was never a problem for my brothers again. I have heard that Paul's mother is a very good cook. He always talks about her spaghetti and meatballs recipee. I have not tried it bit I hope that someday I will be able to. Off to plan Family Home Evening. Tonight is the night. We are so excited that Paul will be joining us. He is on vacation for 2 weeks. Hooray! Bye for now.

Fun pictures!

These are some fun pictures I found. 1. Ty and Shelly's cabin. We visited them this summer. What an awesome family! 2. I found this picture of me in a drawer a few days ago. This was taken by Taylor a few years back. Times have changed huh? I love finding old pictures. 3. This is a piture of my parent's back yard in Utah. They have done so much work. They have water falls, a zen garden, a slate patio etc... This is the kids and some other extended family on their rock stairs. 4. I love this picture of my Mom and Chandler. They are feeding the fish in the waterfall at my parent's home. This is all for now. Off to a barbeque. Have a great Labor day!

We love our extended family so much!

Sorry that it has been so long since I have posted. We got home from Utah and two days later I came down with Pneumonia. I have been resting a lot! The kids have been so sweet. They all have been helping me out so much. Paul has been the best though. He really kicks in and literally does everything. He is the BEST!!! It is very hard going home to Utah because we miss our family so much when we come back. We do want to get back there soon. Paul keeps looking for a position there. We want my parents influence in our children's lives. It is so important to the kids, and my Mom and Dad. Paul's Brother, Matthew, and his family are moving back to Utah also. I think that we forget how important our family really is to us when they live 5 minutes away and we get to see them all of the time. While we have been in Missouri we have really understood how important our family is to us. When we get back to Utah we wil spend a lot of time with both famalies. We have made some life long friends here in Missouri. We have enjoyed living here. We had the great oppurtunity to spend time with the Cunninghams on the way to Salt Lake City. We spent the night on the way there and the way back. They have such a cool family. There kids are just beautiful and Shelli is such a great Mother. We had some very deep conversations. I totally love that family. They are so easy to love. The kids played and laughed so hard. It was so awesome! The kids start school next week. We have been busy buying school supplies. Taylor has been going to his practices for Madrigal Choir and Tricia has been running to prepare for track. I wanted to post two new layouts I have done this week while I was sick. I entered these in a contest recently. Feel free to leave any comments at the bottom of this message and let me know what you think. Thanks for looking. Jennifer

Our busy Summer

I have been so busy. Kids at camp, kids going on vacation. Kids, Kids, Kids that is my life and I love it. The house is so quiet. Chandler and Hailey flew to Salt Lake City. The rest of us will drive to Utah on Tuesday. I am trying to get all of the laundry done and all of our deep cleaning done before we go. I probably will not post for about a month. We will be gone for almost 3 weeks. Paul is really going to enjoy this time off, he has been working so much. Now that he is a Staff Manager he works so much more. The good news is hea is climbing the ladder and that is what he wants. Talk to you in 3 weeks or so. I will post one more time before we leave. Paul and I pick up Alex from camp in the morning. he has been gone for 28 days. We are so excited to see him! Hooray.

My Beautiful Little Girl!

This is a page I created about Adelaide, This is a simple layout, but I enjoyed making it. I added the little flower gem in her hair.I used a little paper flower with a gem in the middle,and I glued on the photo! Do you see the little bird on Adelaide's shoulder? I also added that onto the picture. You can click on the actual layout and it will increase in size. This is not a layout that I created to be published. It was just for fun. Thanks for looking!

some kind of wonderful!

Tricia

I can't believe she is 17. Tricia has turned into such a beautiful young lady! Lately,we have been looking at the different schools that she could go to. I think she is going to end up going to the U of U, but we will have to see. Tricia wants to major in science and do something with forensics. She has a good head on her shoulders. She will be excellent at anything she sets her mind to.

Happy Father's Day!

Anyone that knows me, knows I love my Dad so much. I have always looked up to him! He used to always tell me,"It is better to be trusted than loved" He now teaches this to my children. That quote really explains how important being honest really is. That was just one of the many lessons my Father taught us growing up in our home. As you can imagine, my Father is the most honest person I know! I have never known him to lie or stretch the truth, even a little bit. He shows our entire family so much love. He has his Masters degree in the Book of Morman, from B.Y.U, so he always shared his knowledge with us kids growing up. He has been such an example in my life. He has stuck by me and been a listening ear for all of my dramatic episodes! HA HA! I have memories of being a teenage girl... My Dad's office was on the top floor of our home, I would come home from being out late with my friends,would go up to his office and tell him all about my night. He was always so interested in what I was doing. I have very fond memories of Dad leaning back in his office chair, me on his lap or on the floor talking for hours. Teaching, praying, listening, supporting, loving is what Dad is best at. Shortly after Scott died, Mom and Dad moved me over to be closer to their home. Dad would come over every morning to help me get the kids fed, dressed and ready for the day so I could go to work. Dad often picked the kids up from daycare if I had to stay at work late. Those days were the hardest and darkest days in my life. Dad was helping me through it one step at a time.I owe so much to my Father for all of his kindness, endless support and love, but most of all his example to me. One other thing that Dad was so good at was treating my Mother like gold. I NEVER remember one harsh word said to my Mother. Dad always was doing things to make Mom smile. To this day, Mom and Dad are always hugging, kissing, laughing, and joking around. My two brothers, Matthew and Crismon, have followed his example. They treat their wives, Wendy and Sarah, the same way, like the Angels that they are! I love you Dad! Thank you for everything. I am so blessed that you are my Father.

Taylor Mason...My AMAZING SON!

This is a picture of my son. He is so tall. He is such an incredible young man, He inspires me every day. He is literally a walking encyclopedia. He reads hours and hours a day. He is the first counselor in the Teacher's quorum, and a really great example to all of the young men. He has grown and matured so much in the past few years. He has such a great sence of humor, I am always laughing around him. I know, I am bragging but don't we all brag about our kids? This picture was taken a few weeks ago,his hair has been cut since then. I am enjoying the one on one time I have been spending withhim lately. We have been staying up too late talking and laughing these last couple of days. These are the kind of days I want him to remember when he gets older. I always want that close bond that we have right now.

An easy card I made.

This is a fun card I made today. I just finished 2 layouts for Creating Keepsakes Magazine. Cross your fingers that they will be published this fall. For anyone that doesn't know, Paul went on his mission with Lisa Bearnson! She is the founding Editor of Creating Keepsakes Magazine. I think it is so cool. She just happens to be the most well known person in the industry! I wished that would help me get published in her magazine. Ha Ha Ha. She doesn't even have a clue who I am. I would like to do a layout of Scottland, maybe that would catch her eye! I am working on a contest through Better Homes and Garden,they have a scrapbooking magazine. The contest is called,"Fresh Face entry." I will post my entries soon. The picture below this one is Adelaide at the park,she is getting so big. This was taken yesterday. I posted the wrong e-mail address for Alex the other day. His e-mail is: campcocacola@wymancenter.org
He would love to here from you. He needs a lot of support. I can't believe he has only been gone 4 days. It seems like a lifetime. I am not very good at being away from my children! I hope it will get easier.

Adelaide Sommer Haywood

Bitter Sweet!

Alex left yesterday. Tricia,Taylor,Alex,and I headed to Eureka about Noon. We had a great time driving to Alex's camp. We sang at the top of our lungs, and laughed really hard. We tried to keep things really happy and upbeat. We got to the camp and Alex met his camp leader and the other kids that would be in his cabin. Alex was a bit reserved, but I think that was normal. Only I could go up to the cabin with Alex so Tricia and Taylor said there goodbye's. I have always known that my children have a close bond but I love to observe how close they really are. Tricia gave Alex a long hug and told him that she would miss him. Taylor gave Alex a pep talk about being good. You really could see in their eyes that they were going to miss their little brother.It was really special. Alex and I sarted up the hike up to the cabins. He had so many bags. I had my arms full, but Alex had more to carry than me. He saw another young man struggling to get up the hill with his belongings and the young man didn't have his parents with him. Alex could hardly carry what he had,and he asked the young man if he would like some help carrying his things. I was so proud of him, already he was looking to help someone in need. Alex is always looking to lend a hand. He cares! He will be loved at this camp because he is always wanting good for everyone around him. HE will be missed. I try to not think that he will be gone for an entire month. We love him. I already have a care package made for him. Paul and I will be able to go visit him in ten days. I will take pictures and post them. Paul really misses him also. He got home from work last night at midnight, and he came right down to the computer to e-mail him. Paul gave him a blessing the night before he left. I know that will help him. I am off to take the kids swimming. On my next post, I will be putting up a picture of Adelaide going down a waterslide. This is not just any waterslide. You'll see! If anyone wants to send their support to Alex you can e-mail him at: sniperhaywood@yahoo.com

My Birthday Present

Summer Events

Today is Sunday and I am feeling a bit like a single mother. Paul works from 1:00p.m until 11:00p.m. It has only been hard these last couple of weeks. The kids are out of school and I am back to being with the little gems all day. Don't get me wrong, I love having them home. I just wish Paul was home a bit more. Tricia has been a big help, she takes them to the pool almost every day. She is working on her tan and the kids are loving the pool. We bought a summer pool pass so they can go every day if they want. The kids are busy. Tricia is babysitting for people in our ward. She is saving almost all of her money for college next year. My mom and Dad are matching what she earns and Paul and I are also. She has a good nest egg going for college. I can't believe she will only be home for one more year. She has grown up so fast. I have enjoyed the special bond that we have. Taylor just ordered his tuxedo for Madrigal Choir next year. He is a tenor. He is getting so tall. He teases me on a daily basis because he towers over me. He is such a good kid! He makes me laugh so hard. He has such a charming personality. Alex leaves for Camp Coca Cola tomorrow. He will be gone for an entire month. The camp is ran by Coca Cola corperation. I am a bit freaked out that he will be gone so long. I am not telling him though. If I show any emotion he will grasp onto that and feel the same way. This camp is such an awesome oppurtunity for him. Tiger Woods will be giving the kids at this camp a golf lesson, they will be river rafting,exploring caves, playing baseball with the Cardinals etc... During this entire experience the Camp leaders will be incorperating leadership skills, goal setting, among many other life skills that the kids will need in their lives. Alex was one of 180 kids nominated in all of Missouri to be a part of this camp. The camp leaders then narrowed it down to 80 kids. Now that he is in the camp, he will go every summer for the next five years. He has to keep a 3.5 grade point average and do 15 hours of community service every month. This will be an amazing experience for him. This will prepare him for his mission. See,I am trying to convince myself that I will be fine. I am just trying to gear myself up to saying goodbye to him. I'll be o.k! We are going to miss him so much. The 6 kids have such a close bond between eachother. I am off to watch a movie with the kids. Tricia is making popcorn right now.

Pictures of the kids for my family to see.

Sisters

Hi Sherry! This is the Neifert family. They have been our great friends here in Saint Louis.
Tricia and Rachel after the graduation. This night was pretty hard for Tricia. They are great friends. Tricia is planning to visit her at BYU.
This is Paul and I at Rachel Neifert's high school graduation. Rachel is Tricia's best friend here in Saint Louis. She leaves for BYU on June 13th. We are going to miss her!
This picture is of Hailey with one of the student Teachers at the school. It was taken after the play. Hailey put together this Fifty's outfit and we only paid $6.00!
This is Hailey on the night of her play at school. She had a solo, and she was awesome!
The picture below is of Adelaide on the last day of School

I am 32!

Yes it's true I'm 32! I have been digesting this the last few days and I can finally put it out there. HA HA. I was very happy because I finally got some new organizers for my scrapbook space. They are from EK success. My Husband stayed up most of the night putting them together. For anyone that is thinking about investing in the cricut,I must say that I am very impressed with their customer service. I used the mat only 7 times and it wasn't sticky anymore. I e-mailed Provo Craft, they sent me 4 mats, Fed Ex,overnight,FREE! I use the cricut almost daily. I posted some pictures of my kids below,Hi mom and Dad, these were taken a few days ago. The picture of Hailey was taken at her Grease play at school.

This is so you can put my face to my blog. I still need to figure out all of the details of this blog so here I am. Little ol me. Hi Mom and Dad

My first post

Well this is my first post. I am trying to get my name out in the crazy and fun scapbooking world so I thought this would be a great way to get going. I live in Saint Louis Missouri with my sweet Husband and children. I love 2peas. I find most of my inspiration there. Thanks for reading!