Homecoming 2011 & Other Adventures!

Since we have been in San Diego for three months now I thought I would try to catch everyone up on all of our many adventures here on the west coast. It has been a busy few months for us, but we are happy to report that San Diego is finally starting to feel like home! We have had a lot of fun and made some really good friends too!

Rorie & her friend Aiden playing in the rain.

Rorie & her friend Ily at Ily's fairy party

Jake left for deployment the beginning of August. He was supposed to leave several weeks earlier, so the added time was a great blessing for us. The one downside to his late departure is that Rorie and I had to leave for Michigan several days before he flew out. We were sad to miss his farewell, but we were excited to be a part of the pre-wedding activities for Aunt Ashley's wedding. Ashley & Joe's wedding was a wonderful and exciting event for our whole family. My moms entire family came to Marquette, some of them for the very first time, to be able to witness the occasion. It was also an opportunity for us to meet a small number of Joe's extended family. Because large part of his family still lives in Iran, only a handful were able to be in attendance. It was so much fun to see the long awaited event finally come to pass and to see Ash and Joe finally become Mr&Mrs Towfighi!

Joe & His Adoring Fans!

Ashley & I

Rorie and Aunt Ashley

Jake came home ten weeks after he left as a seasoned world traveler. His many stops included:

London, Africa, Thailand, Hong Kong, Guam and Hawaii. All of their ports were pretty quick, but he was able to get a little taste of the culture in each country. To my great disappointment(and to be honest, disgust) Jake didn't even bother to sample the cuisine in Thailand, and

opted to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. Where are these boys' sense of adventure?!

Although it was only 2 1/2 months, his homecoming was greatly anticipated. This was our fist military homecoming experience, and it was quite an event! There were hundreds of people, vendors and activities for the kids, and when the ship can into view the crowd went wild! We were so happy to have our sailor home!

In the days following his return we packed in a lot of fun activities. The most exciting of which was getting an ultra sound to determine if we were having a little brother or sister. To Rories great delight it turned out to be a little sister! It is exciting to be able to start to plan for our new pink addition!

On his first day off we got to spend the day at Sea World. We had been waiting for this and we were not disappointed! It was a fun day of rides, polar bears & penguins. After such a fun day we have put season passes on our list to send to Santa!

Until next time!

Love,

The Kenisons

A New Bambino!

Yes that is right, baby number two is on its way! While most of you reading this have already been let in on the big news, I thought an official blogoshpere announcement was in order.

Official Baby/Pregnancy Info

1. I am almost 13 weeks, hello 2nd Trimester!

2. The baby is due March 10 2012. Rories due date was the 10th as well and she came on the 4th, somehow I think this one might be just as (if not more) early.

3. We have already had our first ultrasound (pictures to follow). Baby is healthy and VERY active!

4. We can find out the sex as early as October 7th. This will mostly depend on whether a certain sailor makes his return by then.

5. Rorie has decreed that this baby is a sister, not a brother. Heaven help us if that turns out not to be the case.

6. We already have a name picked out if it IS a brother (Charlie) but if it is a sister than we will have to put our thinking caps on. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

7. We are VERY happy about this new little addition, and we are already counting down the days!

Cheese!

This picture was very hard won. It seems that our ultrasound interrupted a rather ruckus dance party. The poor doctor was breaking a sweat trying to get the measurements. Rorie was with me and was amazed and excited by the sight of "her" baby. It made the whole thing a lot more real for both of us. The only downside was the absence of our daddy. Luckily this will hopefully be the only baby related even that he misses (fingers crossed, knock on wood).

So here is to a fast and uneventful pregnancy! We will keep you posted as the time gets closer, and of course once we know if it is a boy or a girl!

Love,

The Kenisons

Moving and moving....and some more moving.

After four very long (and by long I mean LOOONNGG)days in the car Rorie, Jake and I finally made it to the Kenison homestead in Levan, Utah. Rorie spent the next few days running and playing in an attempt to use the enormous amount of energy she had bottled up during our cross country trek. The arrival of a dozen or more cousins made this endeavor much easier! The highlight of our time in Utah was Katie's (Jakes little sister) wedding. We finally were able to meet her fiance Tyler and get to know him a little in the days leading up to the wedding. It was so wonderful to see the two of them so happy together. Katie and Tyler were sealed at the Manti temple just like Jake and I and it was a great treat to be back in a place of such wonderful memories. Katie was a gorgeous bride, and I dont think either one of them stopped smiling all day!

Rorie posing in front of the happy couple on the Manti Temple steps

Rorie on the Mellor's "baby" 4-wheeler

With all nine of Jake's sisters in town for the big event, along with most of their kids, there was plenty of opportunity for fun. The cousins busied themselves playing with the dogs, riding ponies and even doing a little 4-wheeling thanks to Uncle Neldon. It was a great but hectic week and a half, and by the Monday after the wedding we were ready to make our way to San Diego.

Jake left mid day on Monday and arrived in San Diego Tuesday evening. Rorie and I stayed behind to allow Jake a couple of days to travel and sign the lease on our new house before we arrived. Since Rorie and I had a couple of days to kill we got the chance to spend a couple of days in Provo with my best friend Diana and her two kids. It was super fun for Diana and I to be able to catch up and to have a flash back to the good old days when we had sleep overs as kids. Wednesday afternoon Rorie and I said goodbye and made the ten hour trip to California. Never has any place looked so good! Thursday morning we got to see our place for the first time and we were immediately glad that we had excepted it sight-un-seen. It is a great two bedroom townhouse with 1.5 baths, a fenced in backyard and plenty of space. We went right to work bringing in furniture, hanging pictures and unpacking. By Saturday night we could officially call it home. It was an amazing feeling to finally have a place all our own after two years of living apart.

With all of the hard work behind us we made time this week to have a little fun and brought Rorie to the San Diego Zoo. Rorie had a blast and talked of nothing else for days. Here is a little sample of our fun at what Rorie refers to as the "zoom".

Me in a monkey mask


Rorie petting the goats at the petting zoo.

Peek-A-Boo!

All smiles on the big blue tour bus.

My favorite sight of the day: mama and baby hippo snuggling in the water! The baby hippo kept blowing bubbles, smiling and snuggling up closer...too cute!

Tomorrow Jake has his "flight briefing" and we be given more details on when he will be deploying. Either way he will be leaving us by the end of the week. Rorie and I will miss him like crazy but we will certainly have a lot of exciting things to keep us busy. We will write again soon to share more of our California adventures!

Love,

The Kenisons

Pictures!

So after I posted last time I realized that I hadn't included ANY pictures. We had way too many pictures to not post at least some of them for your viewing pleasure. Sorry for the random ordering:

George Washingtons Mansion at Mount Vernon.

Saving the best for second...The White House! What is that red circle around you may ask? Why that is the President of the United States, his dog and his daughter. No biggie.

The Capitol Building

Some cousins came to see DC with us. RtoL: Abby, Bradley, Daniel and Rorie

Riley at Rories Party

A Sailor standing guard at a gathering at the Navy Memorial in DC.

Rorie and the Rayhorn cousins Easter Sunday.

Rorie at her party.

Jake and his mom at C-School graduation.

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!