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!

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!