The Adventure

These last couple of Months

2010-01-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, time is flying on wings! I can not believe that we are already done with January! It is defiantly cold here. But here are a few pics recently. Sara and Jess are doing pretty good. They miss their mom, but who wouldn't. They are infatuated with Cade, and keep asking when we are going to have another one. I love the way they have bonded, and you can see too.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I can not believe that I have not posted anything from Paris and Edinburgh. So here are a few from our trip. It was so much fun, I can not believe that I am seeing these places from my dreams. Mom and Dad are a blast to travel with. I hope we can do it again very soon.

Make a Smilebox collage

And last we finished in Edinburgh! Wow is all I can say for Scotland! I love it. I can not wait to go back. This city is a must for all world travelers!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Jessica's Birthday

2009-10-18T02:41:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone. Jessye's Birthday was a huge success. She was planning the day for about 2 weeks before, and every day telling me the right when she woke up that we had to decorate because we would run out of time. And she was a bit right. The missionaries had to help us after their visit with the streamers. But other than that, she had a blast. She had planned a butterfly party, and wanted to have face painting, making her own wings, and we rented a bouncy slide for her as well.

She was adorable all day long. I didn't get a picture of the wings they made, but they were perfect. Kendrick bent hangers in to the shape of wings, and I covered them in stockings. They were a hit, and are still being worn by both our girls. Even Cade has had them on from time to time. Jessica was so cute about here cake. I was pretty proud of it myself. But every time she saw it she would say "Thank you so much Karlee, you worked so hard on it". It is nice to hear her being grateful for all the hard work that goes in to kids.

These first few are just some funny pics from the last couple of days. I hope you are all well and safe.

My kiddies

2009-09-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone. So it has been a while since I was last here. Sara and Jessica are doing amazingly. Their laughter fills this house with so much noise! I love it. Cade also has developed quite a loud scream as well. I think the girls are rubbing off on him. Every day he greets them at the bus stop, and is filled with giggles and smiles for them. I love seeing the relationship that they are all forming now. They both love their school, and are making quite a few friends. Both have some b-day party's to go to this weekend. We had Cade's blessing on the 2nd of August...sorry for the delay with pics, but it was beautiful!

Kendrick has been gone for the last couple of weeks. And he is really bummed to be gone so much. Cade has finally started to scoot across the room. It is adorable, and the girls had their first sleep over. So many firsts, he will just have to play catch up. Hope all is well.

And sorry for the full nude little man. But it cracks me up. Once he hears the bath started...he starts the full body freak out...and it does not end until well after the bath, I love it!

Camping in Normandy

2009-06-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Normandy is an experience that no one should miss out on. It is simply amazing what so many men did for France and our country in the name of Freedom. I was not able to see half of the things that I wanted to get to. But I will go again. We started out a Pointe Du Hoc. It is where a group of Army Rangers tried to climb the Cliffs in between Utah Beach and Omaha. However they were discovered as they climbed and the Germans started to shoot them off the Cliffs. It is so sobering seeing the intense cliffs that they had before them and I can only imagine what must have been going threw the head of the men while they bullets were flying and men were falling. The Craters that have been formed in the ground from all the bombs that we dropped are simply intense. It is completely torn up ground. And how amazing that so many men gave everything so that we do not live in a Communist world!

As we drove we came on this Angel. It is the Angel of Peace and is simply Beautiful! The Church is in the town of Sainte Mere Englise. Just outside of the city is where so many men from the 101st Airborne were dropped. A man and I wish I knew who he was dropped and his parachute was caught on the side of the building. He was shot in the leg but had to hang there for hours pretending he was dead so that the Germans did not shoot him again. Soon his unit came by and he had them get him off the building. But they had to switch him out for a dummy. They said that it was the original dummy that was hanging on the building...but I am skeptical. All across the town were people who dressed up in War attire. So many people have restored old Humvee and Wheelies. It was impressive how many people come out just for this celebration.

Our uys were able to dropin on the origonal Iron Mike Drop Zone. It was quite a sight. So many men jumped in on Sunday the 8th. I do not know all the details from the DZ, but one of the pilots was Iron Mike and I guess he dropped the most men at this location. It was impressive. However it rained on us all day long. Cade sure was a trooper and stuck it out with me. I say it all added to the experience that happened 65 years ago.

The last place that we were able to go was the American Cemetery. It is humbling to see just how far this cemetery goes. So many...9,036 in all. And there are so many that are not named, simply known only to God. It can make even the toughest man cry for the incredible loss of life. It is right above Omaha Beach. And you get a real sense of what it must have been like for the men. It was an amazing camping trip. One I will never forget. I will always be grateful for the Men and Women past and present who fight so bravely so that I can be warm in my house holding my baby in peace this evening. Thank you all.

The Man Cub is getting so big!

2009-06-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

So we have had a great couple of weeks. Cade is so active now. He laughs, cries, and talks ALL the time. I truly love it. He now is out of almost all his 0-3 month outfits. Man it is so true that they grow up way too fast. Kendrick is doing great. He is in Yuma at the moment finishing up his 7 level cert for his job. YEAH! It is good that he finishes this. Anyhow he is missing Cade and me so much. Every time we talk on skype, Cade just stares at him, laughs, and gets so excited. No one can make this little man happy like his Dad. Sometimes you feel that you spend so much time, and you should get the giggles and smiles. But the second he is in his papa's arms, no one else exists anymore. I am loving my Boy, my hubby and my life. It could not get any better at this point.

My card finally worked

2009-04-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

So I have not been having the best of luck with my camera and card. But Kendrick was able to get the pics uploaded from the last month of my little boy. He is so cute. And I apologize if all I do is have him on my mind, and on my camera. But I can not get enough of him. So here are some pics of my boy from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital experience, to his first ride on the London Underground.

He has grown so much, but he is still such a tiny tiny baby to me!

My family in England

2009-04-08T05:42:00.000-07:00

So this month has been so full of highs and lows. My dearest friends in the entire world traveled thousands of miles to be with me and my new little one...I can not even begin to tell anyone how much that means to me. Just to have family around when you feel so very far from home is the best gift anyone could have given me. My mom and sister made this special time even better. We laughed and cried all week. They were such a support for me while Cade was adjusting to this world in his own way. And not once did they complain about being stuck in Mildenhall. And thanks to my great friends that I have made, they eventually got out of here to see something other than the farm lands. Thank you so much for coming to visit me! It means the world. Kolton was also able to come and spend some good time with us before he heads off to his mission. It was really nice to relax and get to know him better. Kendrick actually feels that his family is not so distant from him after all. We were actually able to travel a bit his last week here. We went to Norwich Castle. It was kinda neat. So incredibly dark inside. I never thought of how it would be without having windows for light....and it is so gloomy. No wonder everyone was drunk back in the day. Something had to lift the spirits. But we also were able to go to one of my "top destinations before I kick over" list. Stonehenge!!! So all my life I have wanted to go. What a complete let down. I somehow imagined it being so different. A grand structure, huge circles dug out in the ground, thick trees and somehow exotic. Well you pass over this little hill, and out in the middle of this farm field, is a pile of rocks. Not quite what I had imagined. I was somehow thinking before we moved here that I wanted to come over on a summer solstice celebration in the henge, am I so glad that I did not do it before it was just a 3 hour trip. But we did have a blast.

I have no idea what my computer is doing, but it will not accept my card from my camera. But soon I will have more pics of Cade!

Cade Kendrick Passey

2009-04-01T09:37:00.001-07:00

I know you have been waiting for him, so here he comes! More to follow!
Born: March 15, 2009
Weight: 9 lbs
Length: 20.5 in
Little fuzzy hair and already so cute!

WE are so happy for all the prayers that went up while he was in the hospital! Thank you for all you have done! He is safe and well, and growing more every day. At his two week appointment he gained weight! We love you all, here is our pride and joy!

Cade's Shower

2009-01-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

The tummy of course!

So I have the best Squad here. My lovely Ladies have given me the best shower. I now have quite the stock of Huggies...Clothes...and such. It was so much fun. Between my GREAT family, and now my squad, I think that I can finally have this little one with not feelings that I am not prepared at home.
I am not one much for games, but I have to admit, it was such a good idea my girl Genavive had. We have not really decided on a middle name for Cade, and so they had to think of one for us. Now most of you know how much my honey and I love to go out on a nice cruise on our bikes. And one of the ladies put down Ryder for the middle. So once again, the name has changed. We are now thinking of Cade Ryder Passey. (No worries mom, his first name is sticking!) Anyhow, just thinking, between my family and friends, how lucky I am go to have so many great people in my life!

Finally seeing Kendrick Jumping!

2009-01-10T01:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone...So I have finally put this on the blog. About 2 months ago, Cade and myself were able to watch my honey jump. He is always somewhere else when they do, but the Commander here is so great, and he knows that we as women would like every once in a while see what our husbands and dad's are out doing. So he scheduled this jump on base for us to come and see. It was so cool. And of course once he landed, my camera died!!! I suck. But at least I was able to get in a couple of shots. My husband is so cool...I love him.

This Christmas

2008-12-28T10:17:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone, we hope that you had a great holiday and were able to have everyone and everything you need with you. We had an amazing Christmas. It was so fun to be together all day long, and simply enjoy hanging out. It has been a month of party's and party's for us, so it was really nice to have one day to do nothing but lay around in our pj's. Cade is so big, and we can not wait till he is here in our arms. Truly he is finally plumping me up. But I will accept it if it is for him. 10 weeks to go, and he will hopefully be here. Merry Christmas, and we hope that the New Year is great.

The Wedding...a bit late

2008-11-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

So many people have been bugging me about not having any photos from our wedding on here. So I am sorry that it has been a few months, but here you go.

Thank you to everyone who came to our day, it was such a great one.

And finally here are the last.

A Birthday in London

2008-08-01T00:58:00.000-07:00

What a day it was. We went to London to celebrate Sara's Birthday...originally it was going to be in Paris, but we were informed from Sara that Hanna Montana does not go to Paris, and she would much rather see the Queens Castle....and the non stop talking about Big Ben. So we headed down to London on Saturday. It was a blast. We started off at Buckingham Palace...it was great. Very crowded, but seeing the changing of the guards was great. Even Sara asked where the men with the really tall black hats were. I guess it is a ceremonial outfit. But it was something that I myself have always wanted to do.

We ended up walking in the park, and finding some snacks. We could see the Eye from the river, but not Big Ben, and it was a concern for her. However once we turned down a street, we had succeeded. We found him. And I must say, it is really quite a sight. The rest of the church is incredible. Just to the left of the tower, is the river Thames,( I think that is how it is spelled), and the Eye is on the boardwalk. So many live statues and breakdancers lined the street. It took us just about an hour to get to the other bridge, which was really not that far. But the girls were so amazing, we walked all day long, and it must have been quite a few miles. But they were so happy to be in London, it did not matter. Sara was so excited because we found a restaurant!!!! I know that sounds kinda silly, but we really do not have any restaurants to speak of around where we live, and she has been asking "to go to a place you know where you sit down and eat at". It really was great food, I needed that. With everything that happened, I was amazed that they had enough energy to become monkeys on the train. It completely reminded me of Japan as a kid!

All in all, I think that she had quite the birthday. Her friend Briney came and played, and another friend Emily visited on Monday. Not many people can celebrate 3 days in a row. It has been a very great summer with the girls. We are very sad to see them go, and it will be a very long year once again without them to make the house alive!

We even have had time to celebrate a very merry un-birthday for Jessica since we never get to join her on her birthday. It was small, but very nice to see the excitement on her face. I hope all are in good spirits, and we will see you all very soon!

Our first two weeks in England

2008-07-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

We have made it to England, and things are great. Sara and Jessica really love this place, and are adapting very well. We have found a house and even both of us will have a job. So many people tell us that we have rushed things, but I guess neither one of us wants to live out of our suitcases for much longer. Anyhow, I do not have any pics of our new home. But I am very excited about it. I will get some the next time we go over to it. Hopefully we are moving in on Monday.

First things first with the pic sequence. As you can see with the pics, we had a bit of luggage. The girls were such troopers. Not once did they complain about having to walk all over the London Airport. It really was not to bad of a flight. Once we were here, they put us up at a Bed and Breakfast. We have been staying in a Cottage at the Lakenheath Hotel. At first I did not care where we were. As they say, Jet Lag effects you much more once you grow up. We are finally out of that stage...thank Heavens!!! Anyhow, The first night we decided that we should celebrate with Fish and chips...GREASY! WE all felt like we had drank a full gallon of Oil by the time we were done. Even our next door neighbors were feeling the same. Oh well, did not move here for the food :). But we did find a Red Phone booth on our trip. So very England.

As you can see, a Carnival came to town. It was so much fun. Jessica and Sara ran around the playhouse forever. And of course we could not miss out on the bumper Cars. Jessica drove me around, and she is nuts. I do have a video of her driving, but the loud women screaming, GO Jessica is quite annoying!!! But she was so great, She screamed at me for about 30 seconds telling me how fun that was. They both had some great prizes to get. It was a lifesaver, we needed some new toys around here.

Well these last are some random pics. We went to Bury St Edmonds this weekend. They had a market going that was GREAT. I think that is going to be my fav part about England is the amazing deal on fruit and veggies at the market. I have never found better prices then here. Anyhow, Kendrick and I just wanted to make Brock and his boss salivate a bit with the GIVI helmet. So Mom, if you talk to him, make sure he sees this one just for it :, and I found a BonMarche here!!!! Can you believe it. The forests are amazing, I feel like a Werewolf should be jumping out at any moment.

Well tomorrow is the 4th for us. We have a picnic to be going to. I know it is crazy but I do wish I was with you all to celebrate it. The party for the Murray fam sounds Great. We do love you all and we shall talk to you soon

K,K,S,and J

2008-06-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

What a month this has been. We started off in Idaho where we were able to see all of our family....and so many parties! No one can say that that week was not GREAT. We ended up back in Vegas for Nick and Sierra's Grad. What a blast it was to see everyone, and simply relax by a pool. I don't think that it could have come to soon. Relaxing was just what was needed. Mom stayed in Vegas to help us finish up all the last minute details. I could never express how much help she was and is. After what seems like a never ending move, she helped me to survive this. Around the 27th we finally have Sara and Jessica back in our arms. It truly is so hard without them in our lives every day. We have been enjoying every minute of having them with us. Now that all of our stuff is on a boat, or plane we have finally been able to play....and we have. We started off riding horses in the back yard. Of course Jessica would not get off, but others had fun riding behind her. And just the other night she let Kendrick know that she does not want to be a horse anymore...it did make us a bit sad. But she is over it. Moving on to the next best thing in life. Babies are all she is consumed with. The day before Solee came to our lives we all went on a hike to Mossy Cave. The kids played in the river, and Sara learned to skip rocks. It was a wonderful hike up to the water falls.

The next day we had an early start to have Solee arrive. Kendrick watched all the little ones, and they joined us a couple of hours later, to see their new cousin and sister. She is so cute, and the little kids are adorable with her. It has been nice to have everyone enjoying her. The next day Sara, Jessye and Jake went to the Wild life Museum... It was really great for this little town.

On Saturday our little fam took a hike in Bryce Canyon. We did the Navajo loop, as well as the Queens Garden. The girls loved it, and Sara could not get over her climbing skills!!! At the end it was a bit hard, but all was great at the days end. We needed to take off to Kim and Carols house to drop off Sir Deagan before we take off. It was so great to really relax with our family. We went swimming, stayed at a GREAT hotel with a fab dinner, had a camp fire with marshmallows, and we even had a chance to see Great Grandma Passey before we leave. I regret to admit that I did not have my camera on me all weekend. I did not get to record Sara and Jessica giving their papa his presents that they picked out themselves. Sara had to get him a Blue Power aid, and other such gifts. Jessica also was so proud of her presents she chose for him. It was a great fathers day! The girls were able to take a ride in the side Car. And it was so exciting for them.

Well we finally have received our visas from the fiasco that it was, and our plane is set to take off Thursday morning. The girls are getting so excited, and the plane could not take off any faster if it were up to Kendrick or I. Finally the adventure is truly setting in to action. We love all of you that have helped out in this move, and continue to support us. As far away as we are, you all hold a special place in our hearts. And we hope to see you all soon.

Bon Voyage!!

Kendrick, Karlee, Sara, and Jessye

This Crazy Life

2008-04-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

So many things have happened in the last couple of weeks. Carol, Kim, Kolton and KC all came down for a quick trip. We had a blast. For starters, we went to indoor Skydiving!!! I have never seen Kim and Kendrick turn in to little boys, it was the best, and the expressions on everyones face were priceless. Even Carol could not get over how big the smiles were. Everyone should try it. Of course, Kendrick was a natural, but even after doing the real deal, this was still a blast. We have to go again.
We had a BBQ that night, with Cheesecake...yum yum (Crystal), and sadly they had to leave the next morning. But the little time we had was great. Kolton hung around with Kendrick and I the next day, and it was really nice to have some one on two time with him. He is really quite a guy. Funny, caring, and very much like his bro.
It was short, but I was very happy to have the time with them. We will be seeing them soon up in Idaho for a farewell party. I love that my Mauna will always throw a celebration. And anyone who has been to a small get together of hers will understand my excitement!
Anyhow, things are progressing here. So many last minute papers to fill out, schedules to arrange, and a house to pack. I did start, and I think Kendrick kinda wishes I would wait a bit at least. Our kitchen is bare, all that is left are the essentials. But I can make do. It is slow, but progressing at least!
Next week we will have a house-full once again. Brock, Abbie, her sis and a friend are coming down, and Mindy and her kiddies will join in. I can't wait. Brock is a bundle of joy, and I can't wait to plan weddings! Brock and Abbie are engaged, and we have so much to do. I am trying to get all of my end of our Temple day planned, but I am very lucky that I have a mom who truly makes the day exactly what I want. I have told her that I really do not want to have to much to do with it....I really do not have time to concentrate on all the details. But Mindy and my Mom are all to happy to take over for me. And that is such a blessing in disguise!
Well I hope that all is well wherever you are. And hopefully we will see all of you soon!

Karlee and Kendrick

Thought for the Day

2008-03-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Things have changed. We now need to have everything ready by the beginning of May because a window of time has been upped! The movers will come sometime in the beginning of may and we need to have stuff stored where it will be-basically we will be living in a shell-yes bust out the sleeping bags and TV dinners! Life is Grand!

2008-02-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

And one of how beautiful you two are :)

2008-02-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

So I finally hunt down a better photo of me and my hunny...and I simply love this of Sara and Jessye!

How it all began

2008-02-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

So, on February 22, 2008 at noon, My husband Kendrick received a call from the Senior. At first he said no thanks, with a whole lot of yes sir, and no sir's. He hung up the phone and of course I asked him, what was that? He shrugged and said "nothing much, he somehow had me down to go to England".....(shocked face)!!! Both of us quickly looked and said let's think! Right away he called back to get a few more details. And said can I have 5 minutes to talk to my wife? ( I did hear a giggle on the other end, with a "of course" answer). Well now that I only have 5 minutes, we started to toss around the pro's and cons. First on the list was our little ones. Sara and Jessye are the most important in all our decisions. And since we really only get the summer, Christmas or Thanksgiving, we realized that nothing would change on this one. They would get to spend their summer in England, that would be a great, great adventure for them both. So next was of course our family, but travel is always possible. Again checked off the list. Next was the cost, and what type of things we would miss out on, but as anyone would know, MANY many more adventures are at our finger tips. After about 3 minutes of this, we needed to pray. My husband said the best prayer, and the entire time both of us had a great feeling. When we were done, with a nervous excitement, we looked at each other and he said "I think that we are goin"!
So now we are off to Mildenhall England, in the Suffolk region, and I think that I have covered everyone on the phone. I have been dancing around with my head in the clouds. I am having a very hard time trying to focus. So many things need to be done. I started to look around at all the things that I can not take. Our bed is way to big for the small homes that they have, as well as half of our furniture. Things like lamps, computers, kitchen appliances, hair dryers...the list is going on and on. The nerves have finally hit, and I do realize what we are leaving behind. But it is funny that yesterday morning we were both talking, and I mentioned that I have not been on a vacation in a while. And once this busy season with the business is over, I was planning on going anywhere, Hawaii, Mexico, New York, I really did not care. But somewhere. Then we were talking about his thinking that being a stay-at-home mom would get boring. (I of course do not think so, this is everything I want.) I interjected the fact that my adventure would be traveling all around. My papa has planted a seed that is dying to bust out again. Then we find out that our adventure is starting so soon!!!! It is simply meant to be.
The town is so cute. They have the market where you buy all your food on the stands of vendors, and a milk man comes around once a week to bring your fresh dairy. It is like I am going to be moving back in time- but I still will have running water. Thank Heavens for that. I can rough it, but three years is a long time without some amenities. The weather is a concern of Kendrick, he will not be happy if he can not ride his warrior every day, but he will have to make due, or get some great rain gear. And the best part is that I have three years to travel Europe! A dream of mine since I was young.
And so the Adventure of The Passey family begins. I truly can't wait. I guess it is good that we have until June to make it happen!