Bam Bam or Pebbles?

This was Lily's first time eating my ribs. She LOVED them. It was so funny to watch her chew on the bones.

Ali Z's Debut Dance Video

So, tonight the kids were outside playing and Trevor turned some music on for them. Of course, Ali couldn't help but dance. The first few videos we took were the best, but when I thought I was taping I really wasn't. Darn. I just can't believe how amazing Ali is at moving her body exactly to the beat of the music. I could watch her dance for hours. I hope you enjoy it too.

Our first photo shoot by Ali

Next time maybe our heads will be included.

Ward Family Temple Trip

We went with a few other families from our ward to do baptisms for the dead. What a wonderful experience we had.


Ali and her friend Isabel on the side of the Los Angeles Temple. Aren't they so cute. I can't beleive Ali is going to be 13 in less than 2 weeks.

Temple apartments, or is that a jail cell?

This was my first experience with the temple apartments. I didn't expect extravagant rooms by any means, but come on. I felt like I was in jail. It was a fun adventure, but next time I will be roughing it at The Doubletree.

The Beach (my family's favorite place to be)

After the temple we went to The Santa Monica Pier beach for some fun in the sun.

Lunch With Friends

Before school started, I was invited to lunch with two of my favorite ladies. We stayed and chatted for two hours. It has been a long Summer with not much time to spend with my friends. I have missed them. They always uplift me and make me laugh. What would this world be without great friends and great examples to follow

Reid's Baptism

Precious Picture

This picture is one of my favorites. I don't consider myself a photographer at all. I am always cutting off heads and getting way to much background in my shots, but this picture is one in a million. It is proof that anyone can eventually take a priceless picture. SO SWEET!

Happy 35th Birthday to Me

I had the best birthday ever. Heidi (with the help of my friend Lisa Slaughter) made dinner for our whole family and a delicious eclair cake for my birthday. I think dinner and dessert on your birthday might possibly be the best gift that I have ever received.


To top it all off, my friend Emily organized a girl's lunch for my birthday. Nothing beats a lunch with friends, except for maybe a day with friends. Just so you all know, that huge bowl with 6 scoops of ice cream and 6 brownies was for all of us to share.

Reid's 8th Birthday

We celebrated Reid's birthday a couple days early because Trevor was going to be gone at Young Men's camp on the 22nd. Then we celebrated all of the July birthdays at Kandy's house. On Reid's actual birthday we were in Ukiah so we had to celebrate there too. My mom treated everyone to a day of roller skating. Reid had lots of opportunities to celebrate his birthday, but no special birthday cake from Mom. It was a crazy time and I just didn't get the time to make a special cake. Next year's cake will have to be extra special.

Grammie's Birthday

My Mom was in town visiting for her birthday this year, so we had to celebrate. My niece Natalie also came with her for this trip. She is the cute blond, oh wait, there are a lot of cute blonds in this picture.

Reid's 2nd baseball season

 

 

 

 

The Great Race of Life"

Trevor and I had the opportunity to prepare and train for a memorial run in memory of his sister, Ginger. Last year, just two months before she passed away, Ging ran in the same race. This is what she said in her blog about the race, "I wanted to have a goal for the 5K, so here's mine: I want to finish in 30 minutes or less. I'm not even sure that is realistic, but that's an average of 10 minutes per mile. Surely I can do that, right? thinking positive thoughts....wish me luck.." Her finish time was 29:59.55

Trevor's brother Jason wrote this after Ginger had passed away: "Ginge, you ran a great race and you finished at 30 (at least this leg of the race). You didn't let anyone hold you back, but you definitely helped countless others along your way. You broke the tape first in our family and we look forward to seeing you when we cross the line and giving you a huge Ginger-style victory hug on the other side of the finish line. Until then, we know you will be watching us, cheering us on."



This is a picture of all of the friends and family that ran in the race in honor of Ging. Our shirts all had Happiness... written on the front. That was the title of Ginger's last blog entry the night before she died.

"We are part of something amazing! Enjoy the memories!"(g.d.c.)

That is a quote from my sister-in-law, Ginger Dee Clinton. Ginger and Wendy put together a very special picture book for the whole family in 2007. That quote was on the inside cover.
I am part of something amazing. I could not have asked for a more amazing family to have married into. What a blessing it is to be a "Zierenberg". I will forever be grateful to Ginger for teaching all of us how lucky we are to be a part of this family. I can't wait til our whole family is reunited again.
The picture is of some of the family the night before our 5K run in The Great Race of Agoura.

Lilia THE MODEL

One night Lily decided that it was time for her very first solo photo shoot. She was hilarious as she posed for these pictures. She was eating the camera up.

Happy 9th Birthday Maddi! We love you.

We had a family party for Maddi's birthday this year.

I am so lucky to have Maddi in our family. She is a special girl. She looks so much like I did when I was her age. She even loves to be with adults like I did when I was young. She has blessed and touched all of our lives. Her smile is infectious and she is always happy.

Our Valentine's Day trip to the snow

Lilia's 1st birthday party

Our tradition is to let our kids have their own birthday cake to dig into when they turn 1. The expectation is that the child will just go wild and start stuffing their face. That has yet to happen at our house. I remember with Ali I had made a chocolate cake and she thought it was dirt. Anyone who knew Ali at that age, knew that she did not like to get dirty. She started to scream and tried to shake off the cake. So, one of the children in attendance (Brooklyn Benson) ate the cake for her.

This time I made the mistake of covering Lily's cake with sprinkles. So, she spent about 10 minutes just trying to pick off and eat every sprinkle.


Her brother and sisters were more than happy to help her eat her cake.

"My Goal"

I am letting you all know that after a year and a half break, I am back on the workout wagon. Hip, Hip Hooray! Nothing is going to stop me now. I had to include these two pictures because they are the only ones that show the smallest I have ever been. I know that size doesn't matter, but feeling good does. I was on top of the world in these pictures. I was working out 3-4 times a week and I felt great.

I have been meaning to start working out since I had Lilia (she is a year old now). I just kept having excuse after excuse as to why I couldn't do it.

Then, came my inspiration..........


Many family and friends of my sister-in-law Ginger are going to run "The Great Race" in her honor. This is the same race that Ginger ran in last year. Most of the family are running the 5K portion. I decided that I couldn't very well run a 5K without any training. So, I started last Tuesday at 4:30 AM. That's right, you read it right, AM. The time that I have to workout might give you all some perspective as to why I have been dreading getting back to it.
I thought that the first day after not working out for a year and a half would be pretty grueling, but I made it through. There was one point where I thought "Why am I doing this to myself? I can just stop right now and no one will know." Then I pictured Ginger cheering me on and I knew that I could go on. I am grateful for Ginger's cheering on in so many instances in all of our lives. I will run this 5K race and when I feel like I can run no more, I will remember who it is that I am running for and her strength will pull me through.

This morning was the 4th time that I have worked out and I ran two miles and walked one and I am still alive to blog about it. In an excerpt from Ginger's blog about her great race time she said, "I knew I could do it." Those words will continue to ring through my head as I train for this race. "I can do it!"