A New Year, A New Adventure.

I know its June, but just for this post I am going to pretend that it is January and make a resolution. I want to be better about keeping everyone updated and informed about our little family. I figured with our family making a fresh start in California this summer, it would also be a good opportunity for a fresh start with my blog. In the spirit of fresh starts I would like to reintroduce ourselves and get everyone up to speed with our big events.

We are a family of three: Jake, Meghan (me) and Rorie. Jake and I have been married for four years this June. Rorie came 11 months later and we have been a happy threesome ever since. Jake joined the Navy two years ago, and has spent those first two years completing the training required for his job as a fire control-man in the fleet. Now that his schooling is complete we have been reassigned to San Diego California for the duration of his six year contract.

Other big events that should be noted:

1. I graduated this year from my two year cosmetology program at NMU. While there is a sense of accomplishment for finishing, it has left me anxious to complete my bachelors degree. I am hoping that the four years we spend in California will give me the time to work towards that goal.

2. Jake graduated from C-school. After a year and a half devoted to school, and separated from our family, Jake is finally done with the military mandated education and is ready to join the fleet. His training earned him a promotion to Petty Officer, and he will be able to continue to advance during the next four years.

3. Rorie turned 3 and Jake turned 27! Thirty years of wisdom between them!

4. As I mentioned earlier Jake received his first duty station in California which means an exciting cross country move for our family. It is fun to think of all the amazing things we will get to do and see during our four year station. On the flip side I find myself feeling a little sad to be leaving Marquette. While this is not the first time I have left home, there is a feeling of permanence with this move that wasnt there before. The idea that we will be starting out in a completely new place, without friends or family, means that we will really begin developing our own family unit. It is an exciting and scary prospect all at the same time.
The saddest part of the move is that Jake will be leaving on his first deployment within a week of arriving in CA. We are lucky in the fact that he is joining his ship mid-deployment and will only be gone for three months, but I think they will prove to be the most difficult three months thus far.

5. Two wedding and a baby. This summer Jake and I both have a sister getting married, and we are getting to meet our newest little niece Hailey Nadine Mellor. Its times like these that make it fun to be part of a large extended family.

Well thats about it for now. Wish us luck on our move (starting bright and early tomorrow morning) and we will be writing soon from the Golden Coast!

Love,
The Kenisons
Jake, Meg & Rorie

Happy Halloween!

This years Halloween festivities were pretty low key. Besides the obvious excitement of getting a lot of candy, Rorie was pretty unimpressed with the whole affair. We got her a cheeseburger costume, which she LOVED...until she had to wear it. So the costume got very little use until we actually went out side to trick or treat, and she only gave in then because it was freezing and her costume was so warm. We went trick or treating with her cousins Anna and Ben around my parents neighborhood and the kids had a blast. Ben got a little nervous whenever we ran into "spooky" decorations/costumes, but he got a lot more comfortable when he realized he would be compensated with chocolate for his bravery.

Aunt Ashley joined the kids for trick-or-treating after work. They were required to dress up so she was sporting some cat ears and whiskers.

The three cousins (Rorie, Anna, Ben) posing on the porch before we headed out. Anna was a scary witch and Ben was a sweet little pumpkin.

All in all it was a fun day and we all got way more candy then we needed. Hopefully next year Rorie will enjoy dressing up too!

Happy Halloween!

Love,
The Kenisons

Falling For Fall

It has been a busy few months and I just haven't had the time to update the blog. We made it back from Chicago and we are back in our fall/school schedule. Rorie is glad to be back home but misses having her dad around. We have been lucky enough to have a few visits with him, but we are looking forward to the holidays when he can be home for a couple of weeks. Our happiest news is that we are now living just around the corner from Angela and the kids (and occasionally Ethan). It has been wonderful to have the cousins together and it has made it easier for both Angela and I to have a lot of family around while our guys are away. We decided to have a photo shoot with my extremely talented friend Amber. The fall colors were amazing and we managed to get some great pictures despite the touchy weather. If any of you would like to see more of amber's work click here. I can not say enough good things about her and her work. I love the wonderful candid shots that she always gets, and she is fantastic with the kids!

I just have to add a little side note to this picture. We were trying to get the kids to smile by putting our fingers in the corners of our mouth...and of course they copied us. It was impossible to get a normal picture out of them after that. We especially love the ridiculous look on Ben's face because it is a classic Ethan expression. Just when we thought they couldn't look more alike!

Summer Time In The City!

Well now that summer is in full swing I thought I would do an update to share some of our wonderful Chicago adventures. First of all I would like to say that it has been wonderful being together as a family again. It is easy to forget how important family is until you are apart. It has really made us appreciate each other more!

One of the fun things near the base is the Jelly Belly Factory. You get a free train ride tour of the warehouse, some free jelly bellies and access to their huge Jelly Belly store.

Dad and Rorie posing in front of a Jelly Belly display, wearing their official Jelly Belly hats.

Another favorite activity of ours is a place called Lambs Farm. It is a charity petting zoo in a neighboring community. We have gone several times and Rorie just LOVES it!

Riding the carousal at Lambs Farm

One of the main attractions for the kids is the goat pen. There are tons of sheep and goats that the kids get to brush and pet.

Our first visit was with the GLAM (Great Lakes Area Military) Wives Club. Here are all the kids taking a quick break on the swing.

Rorie and Goat. BFFs.

We were able to take Jake back to Marquette over Memorial Day weekend, which was a great treat for him. Marquette in the summer time= Beach time, and we took great advantage of the opportunity. Our beach outings were even showcased on the front page of the local paper, showing Rorie "buried" at the beach. It was a wonderful weekend.

Visiting a local favorite, Frosty Treats, to cool off after a day in the sun.

While not quite as exciting as downtown Chicago, our local area has a lot of family fun activities to chose from. Recently the fire department hosted a Fire Safety Expo at Gurnee Mills. Rorie loved all of the fire trucks, but was a little scared of the firemen. She was also made an honorary firewoman and was given an "official" fire helmet.

Getting a little tired by the end of the afternoon.

Rorie and Dad posing with Mr. Sparky

Fire Truck!

The huge flag they had hanging from one of the trucks.


On one of Jake's duty free weekends we decided to venture into the big city. We took the train, only to find out it was a 1 1/2 hour trip. Rorie was not thrilled. The trip in, plus the time it takes to get anywhere in Chicago by bus, meant that we only had time for one acivity. We opted for the Shedd Aquarium. It was fantastic! Rorie LOVED it and spent the entire time running from exhibit to exhibit. There was just about every kind of water animal imaginable from gold fish to Beluga whales.

Rorie watching to penguins swimming.

Rorie hugging the penguin display

Rorie and I infront of the beluga whale tank. Notice the white blur in the lower left corner.

Ok well this entry is starting to get a bit lengthy. So until next time, adieu!

Two Year Portraits (Readers Digest Version)

For Rories two year pictures we decided to step outside of the box a little. Instead of doing the traditional portraits I had my friend Amber (who is an amazing photographer) go with us to McCartys Cove to take some more candid shots. Here are a couple of the over two hundred shots (!) we ended up with. We had a ton of fun and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do! If you want the rest of them you can check out my facebook page.

I got a little creative with the editing of this one...I love it!

The water was freezing but Rorie could not get enough. All three of us were soaked by the end of the shoot.

A silly shot

I love Rories Suprised face!

Smile

The only slide shot that wasnt a grimace. I really think that Rorie is an adrenaline junkie. She is fearless!

A Little Taste of Chicago Life

I am going to keep this short and sweet. I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it safe and sound to Chicago and are loving spending time with Jake. Hotel life has its drawbacks but on a whole it has been a great couple of weeks. Here are a couple of pictures:

Cookie Monster!

Handsome Boy!

Daddy is not feeling the love.

Rorie sliding at a park on base.

Swing!

Rorie Turns Two!

As hard as it is to believe this month marked Rories 2nd birthday! Since the weekend before her birthday also happened to be our last weekend in Marquette before we left for Chicago, we decided to have a big party with all of Rories friends at a local park.

The party was fish themed to honor Rories love of all things aquatic. A couple of weeks before her party I found an adorable goldfish table cloth while shopping at Target (I just love that store!) and the whole party grew from there. We had fish placemats, plates and cupcakes. We even had a fish bowl cake!

The weather couldnt have been better...except for the gail strength winds that kicked up shortly after the party started. One particularly strong gust kidnapped all 48 hand decorated cupcakes and proceeded to smash them to bits on the ground. I was disapointed to say the least, but my dad saved the day by running to the store for replacements. Other than a few other minor wind related incidents, the party was a great success. Rorie had a fun evening at the park with her friends and she got some amazingly thoughtful gifts.

Here are a few pictures of the big day:

My sister Ashley with her boyfriend Joe

Rorie in her Birthday outfit opening a present from Sammy.

Rorie's friend Eliza and her Dad, enjoying some Pizza.

Logan was pretty serious about his pizza consumption!

Sammy supporting a frosting mustache.

SLIIIIDDE!

Rorie really wanted to climb with the big kids.

The sad cupcakes...if you look closely you can see the dirt on them.

A "before" picture of the cupcakes...so cute...sigh.

The fish bowl cake. I was pretty proud of myself. The top started to melt a little but overall I thought it was a pretty good. Teva thought it was pretty cool too (note the dog nose in the bottom left corner).

I am so lucky to have such an amazing daughter and it was a blast helping her celebrate her special day. I hope that all of her birthdays can be this much fun!