justin's senior prom 4/25/09

i'm so glad my daughter's smarter than we are....

kennedy's been having A LOT of problems with a certain 3 girls at school. they're just mean and extremely sassy and...... (uggggggggg). anyway, kennedy has been talking about trying out for a solo for her schools chorus performance since the beginning of the year (every year the school puts on this performance at the end of the year-all students perform) & what, if anything, have i learned these last few months as being kennedy's mother....."don't tell her she "can't" {insert verb...act, sing, perform..} because she always will". well, yesterday was try-outs and i guess it was very american idol style and (again she wanted it really bad), when it was first round she thought she was eliminated because two-by-two he would select to move on out of the 3 girls in the group. two girls were selected and kennedy was left standing, in her words, she started to black out and get shaky and started to cry. as the girls were consoling her, mr. mann says "NAME?" and she then turned her tears to laughter because she actually made it to second round. at second round mr. mann was eliminating groups of people, and somehow she thought that she was in the group with the ones eliminated, so she (again) started to cry and exit the band room when a boy came out and said where are you going, you're in! so needless to say it was a very emotional day for her. then as girls were congratulating her, the evil jealous bitter-betty's started saying "she's only in because she cried her way in" these girls are 10 years old and already so vicious. i know elementary has always been filled with mean, mean, horrible kids since the beginning of time, but when it's your child as the target it's very hard to "love one another". i do pray for them and for myself because i don't have such good feelings towards these (%^$&$^%^&^% *#@?*@$!@$#) girls. and to make matters worse, one always gets the character award and another really shouldn't be acting this way towards kennedy for several reasons, but i won't go into that right now. kennedy will be singing "food, glorious food" from oliver. she found it on youtube and played it for me last night and it's cute. i know she'll do a good job.

anyway, back to the topic of my post. so we frustrated parents started shooting off all these "come-back" suggestions for the next day at school and then later had her big brother talk to her, which helped more than we did. so i asked her today how it went and she had 2 encounters, the first one in the morning and the second one in the afternoon.

so this is what my brilliant daughter said.......
you haven't seen me practice for annie?....yes, i have
you haven't heard me practice my songs?..... yes, i have
you haven't seen me in beverly hills at my acting class?........well, no.

priceless, i love it! now if she could say this also to miss "character award", that would be awesome! her, kennedy just ignored. which is probably better because she's not worth the energy!!

"THE JACKET".....

 

Happy Earth Day!!

One Year Ago....

Last year, on Saturday, April 19, 2008, Trinidad & I received our Endowment at the Redlands Temple. We had family and friends there to support us. Thank you to all of you that participated in our very exciting day!

p.s. we were sooo hungry that we forgot to take pictures outside the Temple!

Thank you to~
Temple President Bringhurst & Sister Bringhurst for taking the time to meet with us and making sure that we were taken care of.

Bishop & Julie (Bishop thanks for being Trinidad's escort)

Tricia

Mat & Kira
Katie & Chris

Kathy & Gene

Mom (thanks for being my escort)

Elaine

Bucky

Wes & Julie

Larry & Carolyne

Bro. Wright

I'm sorry if I forgot anyone. Some that attended left before I could say goodbye.

Bailey's Welcome Party

my first attempt at creative photography. Miss Bailey 3 1/2 weeks old.

Easter 2009

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter & reflected on the resurrection of our Savior. Brother Wright gave an incredibly spiritual talk today in sacrament. I was so excited when I saw his name on the program. I cried from almost the moment he began to speak....

Here are (tons) of photos from today. I think some family members hold all their frustrations until "The Eggs"... We had a lot of fun. Joey & Ernie, the house looks amazing!!

LOVED IT!!!

NOT a hannah montana fan, but actually loved the movie. now i gotta get the hoedown throwdown moves down!!

"DAYS WITH MY FATHER"

This is an amazingly beautiful story of a man who gets to know is father after his mother dies.

It scrolls up and down. I had to click on the first picture then was able to use my arrow keys.

Enjoy.

Ryan's Day!!

MISS BAILEY...

i just realized today that i never posted pictures of my niece. please see march archive "it's a girl". i posted on facebook... go figure!

Well HELLO!!

It feels like forever since I've updated the blog. We were on a 5 day cruise for my job's physician retreat. I had minimal work and lots of play. I've posted a slideshow of our cruise. We went to Ensenada and Cabo.

Kennedy had her first acting class and had a blast!! She has homework, she has to memorize a commercial or write her own. He also gave enunciation exercises and information on how to break down a scene. Very cool and o'so mature! I see my baby girl blossoming in the next 2 years.

Walking around the Century City Mall, I came to realize my future for the next 2 years! Mr. Spatz allows the parents to camp out in the offices, we just have to be out of sight. I will be listening to a lot of scripture during this time.

Enjoy the slide show (big slide show at top of the blog). Here's a slide show of the docs.

hello beautiful

we went to victoria gardens last night and as it was time to go we walking to meet tyler with his friends we walked by a window and i saw this amazingly beautiful blingin' ring. went in. tried it on. bought it!

now...... the store was swarovski's

it's so pretty and i almost ran into several polls looking at it bling in the moonlight!

disneyland 3/24/09

i finally took daniel back to disneyland after his complete chanting/screaming hours-long fiasco back in january of 08 & he did really well!! we can never go to disneyland without something happening to us...well, mostly my mom....and this time was no different. at pizza planet there was an abandoned backpack. i tried to take a picture of the bomb-sniffing dog in action and was told "mam, you can't take pictures when the dog is working". i asked if he wanted to watch me delete the picture and he said no. then after everything was clear, i see him talking to the dog's massive handler and he points at me, then the talked some more, i started to freak, then they both with the dog walk over to me, my eyes are huge and i'm closed teeth telling my mom "they're coming over here", then the handler says "you can take a picture now"... i was so nerveous, i took a quick one and let them all be on their way. daniel was tall enough for all rides except indiana jones. He got on space mountain and when it was over all he would say was "that was fast....that was awesome!....that was fast..".

tyler's swim meet

tyler's now swimming on the varsity team (coach felt that since he was a wrestler he could be on the varsity swim team????....gotta love webb... as a side note, tyler has no clue what he's doing! he's never been on the swim team!!).  kennedy was there to cheer him on.  i don't have a picture of his face because he doesn't breath to the left, so here's him diving.

tyler is getting much better and is currently doing the 50 in 28. something seconds. grandma jodie (tricia's mom) says that he's pretty fast for not knowing what he's doing and when she shows him how to "swim" he's going to be really fast!! she's a pro, so he's going to be dolphinized in no time!

only kennedy.....

only kennedy would walk into f∙a∙o schwarz and say..."this store is so organized!" with complete amazement and joy, then.... she started to enjoy the toy store. this is a girl who after trick-or-treating dumps all her candies out and puts them in categories and keeps a mental inventory of how many of each kind she has, and don't think that she doesn't do random inventory checks.... out of nowhere we hear something like..."who's been eating my candy? i had 7 kitkat's and now i only have 3?..DAD?!?!?"
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this is what she wants for her birthday. so adorable... a different teddy bear dressed in night cap and gown for each day of the week!! grandma's and grandpa's it's over $50.00!!! holy moly!! but sooooo dang cute!
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IT'S A GIRL!!

I just realized (4/9/09) that I created this post on Bailey's Birthday, but never published it.... So, here is my new baby niece... Miss Bailey Danielle Ramirez

13 SECONDS OF FAME.......

Literally..... Kennedy did a fashion show at Nordstrom's this morning (7:30am!!-uggg). We went to buy her some shoes for her second screen test last week and our associate said "You could get 15% off your purchase by participating in our fashion show", no brainer..."OK!". Kennedy got to pick out an outfit (not to keep, but did buy her the sunglasses) and did a little catwalk this morning. There were well over 100 kids, most of them could barely walk down the catwalk, so it was more the mom's dream coming to fruition. Well, it was finally Kennedy's turn (they do by age goups) and I was not prepared for her to walk with her "best friend" (she went alone???) so I did not get her videoed entirely. Here is her 13 second video and some pictures from video.... oh, as a thank you, Nordie's gave 15% discount for the day, so for Kennedy's 13 seconds of work she earned the family over $60.00... not toooo bad!!



Kennedy walked with Jermaine because she was scared and she couldn't get anyone to walk with her, so Kennedy said she'd go with her.

FACEBOOK

i was soooo anti-facebook, but this is why i'm lovin' it...............

connecting with family....

THE PLAYGROUND

I received "the call" from John today and Kennedy is being given the opportunity to attend Gary Spatz's The Playground acting school for the next 2 years. John loved her, but even more amazing is that Gary loved her too. I AM SOOOO BLESSED! It's a huge commitment, but this is what she has wanted for a few years and there's no way we could turn down this opportunity. Tyler attending Webb and Kennedy attending The Playground, all I could do was fall to my knees and pray, give thanks and cry.

PRINCIPAL'S HONOR ROLL

Kennedy earned Principal's Honor Roll!!

Way to go Kennedy! Kennedy asks Mom,

"Where's my 50 bucks?!?"

Yes, we pay large sums of money for straight A's and starting next year it will be more.

Even larger when you earn Honor Roll at WEBB! Tyler's an honor roll student as well,

they just don't have them stand in front of a group of people and give them a certificate.

THEY CALLED!!!!

So at 4:53pm yesterday, John called and said that out of the 189 kids he interviewed Sunday only 14 are being called back an Kennedy was one of them. We are to show up at Gary's Playground tomorrow night to be put in a studio and see what she's got, that Gary liked her. Not knowing who this "Gary" person was, we looked him up and he is a big-time acting coach, mainly to the Disney stars....holy moly!!

We went tonight and John saw Kennedy and immediately started walking over to her and Mama cut him off at the pass and shook his hand (I didn't realize I did this until the drive home). He handed her a Skippy commercial to read and 4 kids/parents went to The Sandlot Theater studio. John coached the kids as they were standing below on the stage (FREE COACHING....I LOVE IT) he told them how NOT to act when going on an audition and then called Action. There were 2 teens and 2 youngers. Kennedy volunteered to go after the 2nd person and she said her first name and age and he asked her to say her first and last name again, but slower, then she read her commercial. He said she was great and told her she was "SUPER CUTE" and was asking her what she ate to be so cute or what she did to be so cute and just kept commenting on how cute she was... then he told me to call him tomorrow at 3:15. There will only be 5 out of the 14 asked back. Again, who knows if anything will come out of this, but we are so greatful to have been given this opportunity. Kennedy did great & has no fear....man I wish I was more like her, like both my kids. She goes for what she wants and Tyler excels in school, and has fun doing it. He is so creative when it comes to making something amazing out of nothing. I'd be so much more successful with all my "endeavors" if I had a little of what my kids have. We always prayed "THAT MY CHILDREN BE EVERYTHING I WASN'T", and me and Trinidad work hard to allow that to happen. I am truely blessed to be their mom and also be a big part of Daniel's life. Daniel is awesome, he's a little fiesty, but boy does he LOVE LIFE & always finds GOOD IN EVERYONE. He holds the gate open for me in the mornings and he tells me I'm beautiful.

MY HOWARD FAMILY

The Potpourri I call..... FAMILY

HAPPY 50TH UNCLE RICK!!

My Uncle Rick lives in Utah and was down (during his 50th birthday weekend) for his daughter's dance competition thing in Santa Ana. Aunt Susan and his siblings worked together to get this Surprise Party together before they left for Utah tomorrow. Main surprise was that he was one of the first to arrive, but it was a lot of fun. I'm still trying to figure out my camera, I think I have the MPs to high and it makes us all look non-human in the group picture. Oh well, I love other things about it.

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY UNCLE RICK!!!

KENNEDY'S ON-CAMERA SCREEN TEST

Ok, you know how you're walking around the mall with your kids 3-18, minding your own business and this person comes up to you and asks you "Have you ever considered putting your child on TV?" of course they say this in front of the child (because what child doesn't want to be famous) and they hand you a card from John Robert Powers, or something like that.... then it's in Ontario (CA) and it's like cattle call and they want you to spend $800.00 on pictures that will make your child FAMOUS! Well, me and Kennedy were walking around and this lady comes up to me & Kennedy and tells me how gorgeous my daughter is and she's so petite and blah, blah, blah. Then she drops the zinger words..."Jonas Brothers, Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Drake & Josh", well she has Kennedy's attention and I'm waiting for the JRP business card and the invitation to come for an audition in "Ontario", but to my surprise she hands me a card from Kids Rock and tells me she's the owner and she wanted Kennedy tomorrow (Sunday) between 11:30 - 1:00, not in Ontario, but in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Blvd, and there would be very influential people from the industry there to meet with her. Ok, now I'm interested. She then tells me if I couldn't do 11:30 then get there early ask for her and she'd have Kennedy done by 11:30. Well, we don't start church until 1:00 and I thought "What the heck". So this morning, we got up early and drove to Beverly Hills. It was a very cool experience and for some reason based on the person that gave us the card, Kennedy was given the letter A on her paperwork. Here is her FREE on-camera screen test....I know I'm her mother, but I think she looks beautiful on camera...



Then we were moved from the screening room (which was a mini theatre) and taken to another room to meet with an interviewer. A's to the left and B's to the right... We were the only A out of the 2 rows in the room, so that was pretty cool! This HOTTIE George Michael look-a-like, is looking over Kennedy's paper and first question was "Do you speak Spanish?", she said no and he told her that if she did she could make alot of money! Dang it!! He asked her a few other questions then starts commenting on how pretty she is, looks at me and tells me how pretty she is (like I don't already know) and says she could model. What an ego booster!!! & I'm sure it made Kennedy feel good too:)! I wanted to tell him "you're very pretty too!!". He told us he mainly works with Jonas Bros and Suite Life, who knows if anything will every come out of it, but it was a very cool experience, we were in Beverly Hills, Kennedy had an on-camera screen test, Kennedy met with someone from the entertainment industry, Kennedy impressed someone from the entertainment industry and it was FREE!!!! plus we made it back in time for all of church. Here are pictures of the interview and a sample of the art that was on the walls of this suite.... sooo L.A.

MY TALENTED FRIEND

St. George finally go an In-N-Out Burger and my friend has already made friends with all the workers! So for halloween, Jen my super crafty friend MADE her boys In-N-Out uniforms.... OUT OF A BED SHEET AND A PIECE OF RED FABRIC!!!!! Then, little George lived up to the uniform and help out the staff. Here are the pictures.

HIGH SCHOOL

I HATED HIGH SCHOOL.... but it was something i had to experience in order to have life lessons to share with my son who is now dating. it's all good, no one got seriously hurt & i'm a better person for having experienced those years. Anyway, i joined facebook & yes all my senior class is also on facebook, BUT i am so glad i did because i was reminded of what an amazing time i had in High School as football manager. yes, i do have a varsity letter in football and was part of the incredible undefeated season.

ARE YOU IN THE KNOW:

JERK WAD!

If you stayed through the credits of Coraline you know what I'm talking about. I'm not to sure about the first part, but I do know jerk wad was the answer. I told Trinidad, "Oh my gosh, I haven't heard that in so long, no one says that anymore." he responded with, "No, Honey, you... were the only one that ever said that".. oh, well I was excited. Anywho, the movie was interesting, dark, wild, sad, inappropriate (Kennedy's comment), & I liked it.

Here's my "Kenoline" (kinda creepy & cool)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUCKY & ASHLEY

Happy Birthday You Lovely Ladies!!

This picture was in 2007... they are now 2 years more lovely!

Bucky (Grandma) had a Magical Birthday at, where else???? DISNEYLAND! She cashed in on the FREE ADMISSION on your birthday deal they have going on. We called her and she was having a really good time.....

We love you both very much and hope you had a wonderful day!!

VISITORS WANTED!!!

This is Kennedy's Blog. She would love for you to visit and comment on her posts!
She made these cards to hand out to her friends (I see a future in Advertising).

PANNING FOR GOLD

Tried 2 things with this field trips photo's. 1st, made the pictures all square. 2nd, and I don't think I really need to tell you what the 2nd is, but I will, they're all sepia... some look pretty darn cool...


Kennedy wants to be a gemologist and marine biologist, so it was really cool to find these adorable gemstone bottles for $1.oo each!! We bought one of every stone + real gold!! (that was $3.00)

GRADUATION 1989!

Holy Moly, I became a facebook friend with Karen today and the first photo in her album was this-


Gotta love the old pictures. I moved out right after graduation and was married a year or so after, so all my stuff is everywhere. This is so cool! I love it!

NEW ADDICTION...

So you may of heard about some crazy chick wearing a tropical flower in her hair today when it's stinkin' cold and raining outside. Well, it was me!!!!!! Ok, here's my new "addiction".... HEADBANDS!!!

Going on all these super creative cutesie-wootsie "so, New York" blogs, got my creative juices flowing. Some make headbands with feathers, some with sparkly lace (not cost effective for me right now, but I am so into the bling)...mine FLOWERS. If you know me, I really don't do anything subtle. My hair's getting longer and Todd, my friend and stylist loves when my curls are healthy and bouncy, so since he's good to me, I keep it longer for a little while and then I chop it and make it all flippy and cute....BUT and this is a BIG BUT, looking at pictures....not so cute short and flippy when I'm about 30 lbs heavier from when it was totally cute.....sighhhh, so it stays longer and all I do when it's long is pull it back because I hate having my hair in my face, on my face, around my face. So as I traveled across the USA to all these amazingly talented ladies blogs and saw how they made these totally cute headbands...
SHAZAM-O, I have me a pretty flower on my head.
Who cares if I got wierd looks & it's freezing, windy, raining, hailing and probably snowing somewhere in California and my boss says things like, "you still have a flower growing out of your head" ... I felt happy.

So with addiction comes...well...using funds to support your addiction.

Trinidad asked if I could stop at Albertsons to get a few things before coming home and I said "suuurrre", well for those of you that know where I live you also know what store is near Albertsons....Yes, the stinkin' DOLLAR TREE..... at least everything was only a $1.00 (each). Ok, I'm done buying. I have enough to make SEVERAL headbands, hair clips etc. So, my dear family & friends, what this means for you is that for birthday's and holiday's you will either get AVON, PEARLS, HEADBANDS or HAIR CLIPS.......bet you're excited now!.....OHHHH, I almost forgot, I found a bunch of stuff that I bought in China (2 years ago), so that's another option!

ANNIE TICKETS FOR SALE

BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY!


As many of you know, Kennedy tried out for Annie and was casted for Mrs. Hannigan's Orphans. She will be in both acts.

ALL TICKETS ARE $15.00. PURCHASE BY MAY 12TH.
DON'T WORRY ABOUT PICKING A SHOW TO EARLY, THERE ARE 3 TIMES BEFORE THE PLAY BEGINS THAT YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR DATE/TIME.

PLEASE INCLUDE WITH YOUR ORDER: YOUR NAME, DATE, TIME AND QUANTITY. MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO ME! If you don't know who "me" is, but would like to come see the play, email me at madridfam4@gmail.com.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!